Best community college for CDL training

To Brianman72:

A school in my area would be ideal, but I am willing to relocate. I currently live in Massachusetts, and their is no community college in the state that provides CDL training. Their is NETTS, but it is too pricy and I heard bad reviews. Their is Avon Parker, but they only provide 6 to 8 weeks training on 48ft trailers. Their is White Mountain Community College in Berlin, NH, but I would have to relocate to meet the residency requirements anyway. I contacted HCC today and left a voicemail response. I will take a look at Lonestar College. Thanks for the reply.

 

Thanks for the link. I heard about the Georgia Northwestern in the past. I will get in contact with the advisor, and I will message you if I have any questions.

Thanks

 

Update:

After culling through the numerous PTDI certified driving schools, I narrowed the selection down to two schools: Houston Community College (HCC), and Iowa Central Community College (ICCC). Because I have relatives living in the Houston area, it was convenient to visit the campus when I was in town 2 weeks ago. The school is located at the Codwell campus off the 610 loop in North Houston. I would estimate that their were about 20 trucks and just as many trailers for students to practice on in large lot, I observed for a short time as students were practicing backing maneuvers. The instructors appeared patient and and assisted the students through the process. The trucks are equipped with Eaton Fuller 10 speed manual transmission in case anyone is wondering. The course at HCC is 7 weeks long (from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm) and cost $3,375. A new course stars every two weeks, and the total hours accumulated is 286. They also provide bi lingual classes for those who speak English as a second language, but they are no PTDI certified. The advisers were helpful and informed me that the school has a 95% placement rate and as a PTDI certified school they provide the best quality of training.

If you're an out of state resident, you have to convert your license before class starts. You also have to find a place to stay as the school doesn't provide room and board.

I compared the information gathered at HCC to ICCC and noticed a great contrast between the schools. HCC only provides 7 weeks of training, whereas ICCC provides a minimum of 11 weeks. HCC provides 286 hours of training, whereas ICCC provides 390 total hours. At HCC you will be learning how to operate a rig in one of the largest cities in the United States (the traffic can be quite intimidating for a new driver), ICCC starts drivers in a rural setting, than a urban setting once student gains confidence. License conversion and room and board is provided at ICCC, whereas in HCC you have to complete these aspects on your own. As mentioned earlier, a new course at HCC starts every two weeks, whereas Iowa Central has only 6 classes for the 2013 school year. It makes me wonder if HCC expand the resources available in terms of instructors and equipment with such a schedule or if they stretch it too thin. The one advantage to HCC is that the course is substantially cheaper than ICCC $3,375 compared to $5,350 + $575 in fees + $400 for room and board.

Overall HCC appears to be more ideal for those who live in the area, and want to get into the industry immediately while obtaining reputable training in the process. ICCC appears to be more accommodating to those who are from out of state and desire more training.

It is these factors that help shape my decision and select Iowa Central as the school I will attend on March 1st. I included links to both schools below as well as a link to a list of PTDI certified schools for those who are looking for the right school that will compliment their needs.

Houston Community College:
http://www.hccs.edu/hccs/business-c...ation/transportation/commercial-truck-driving

Iowa Central Community College:
http://www.iowacentral.edu/transportation/full.asp

PTDI certified schools in the U.S. and Canada:
http://ptdi.org/schools/schoolslist.aspx#alaska