Here are some tips for selecting schools, based on an analysis comparing each school to all others across dozens of factors:
Schools Concentrating On Automotive Mechanics
- Focus: For schools with a focus on this career area, look at Pasadena City College, East Los Angeles College, Rio Hondo College, and Riverside Community College.
Fastest Response From Schools
- Request Info: For the fastest information for prospective students, look at the Spotlight schools on this page.
Student Body
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Rio Hondo College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Palo Verde College, Mendocino College, Lassen Community College, and Monterey Peninsula College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Santa Barbara City College, College of Alameda, City College, and Taft College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Lassen Community College, Taft College, College of the Redwoods, and Reedley College.
Excellence
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at City College.
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Spotlight California Schools Related to This Career
- Locations: Gardena
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Diploma
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Study from Anywhere at Online Schools Related to This Career
- Programs: One relevant program; click the school name for details.
- Degrees: Coursework, Diploma
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Sequoia Institute • Fremont, CA
Studying Automotive Engineering (completion in 2003)
• 9/18/2011
"If not for this school, I would not be a successful technician. The program gave me everything I needed to become Tech II certified."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend this school to others with a note about the students. I have heard that my complaints in regards to the student body have improved over that last ten years. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | Many technicians in the Bay area have either graduated or have heard about the school. Their reputation is known throughout northern California. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The school had a good program but the problem was with housing and students. Most seemed to be delinquents trying to find a way out. |
| Instruction | 9 | The overall instruction was great. And we were hands-on early in the program. The equipment was top notch and served for the entire semester. The school also provided their own books. |
| How Difficult | 6 | For someone who knows nothing about cars the program can be intimidating. There is a lot of math to learn along with physical engineering. This was the hardest part for me. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The program is about 30% reading and 70% hands-on. In the second year you are assigned a final project that is almost 100% hands on. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 8 | The classes were mid-afternoon and night. One could easily work and go to school. I chose to go full-time and only take the day classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | This is a very well-equipped school with a reference library for every car made in the USA. They have 20 hydraulic lifts, tools, and every piece of equipment any modern garage has today. |
| Social Life | 4 | I did not like the students there. They commonly had very different lifestyles as compared to my respectable upbringing. I mostly kept to myself. |
| Placement Services | 9 | Sequoia found my internship and then referred me to my present employer. As soon as you graduated you are guaranteed a paid internship at one of their listings posted in their placement center. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | After I worked in the garage, I went back to the school to see if they could help me. They referred me to another Sequoia graduate who ended up employing me to this day. I probably would have been still at my old job if it wasn't for his help. |
Wyotech • Freemont, CA
Studying Motorcycle Technology (completion in 2014)
• 10/11/2011
"I believe that I received adequate instruction. The school's "for profit" mentality made dealing with administration a nightmare and generally hurt the school's reputation."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | If you already know how to work on vehicles, most of the instruction you get will be redundant. If you are starting from scratch, you will learn everything you need to know. It's a bit expensive, and if you take a loan you may have a hard time making your payments on a "skilled laborer's" wages. |
| Program Reputation | 1 | I have actually been turned away from jobs because I went through this program. They run the school for profit so they pass everybody. |
| Program Quality | 5 | I received decent instruction. I felt that the school's reputation was poor because they would pass anybody. |
| Instruction | 8 | I had many qualified instructors. I had one instructor who was practically illiterate and one who was verbally abusive. |
| How Difficult | 1 | The subject matter was easy to absorb. The work load was light. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Shop day was every other day. I was very satisfied with this. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 1 | I was forced to switch back and forth between morning and evening classes 3 times because of a lack of class availability. This did not go well with my employer. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | There was a large shop. They had plenty of up to date tools. They had a large amount of relevant manuals. |
| Social Life | 1 | There was no structured, school sponsored social events. I think I got a free hot dog once. |
| Placement Services | 2 | They were relatively unable to find me a job in the area that I live. I had to do this myself. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | If it existed, I was unaware of it. I never utilized it. |
Universal Technical Institute • Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Studying Automotive Technician (completion in 2006)
• 10/23/2011
"I was very satisfied with UTI. It was easy to pick up a job at a BMW specialty shop in Los Angeles."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would highly recommend the school. They provided a great learning environment and had intelligent and knowledgeable staffing. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | UTI has a good reputation. Many companies have heard of it and it markets themselves very well. A lot of shop owners accept a UTI certificate as a four year degree. |
| Program Quality | 9 | My school provided me with basic and advance knowledge of cars. They also gave me support within the first two years after graduation. |
| Instruction | 9 | The quality of instructors was good. All of them worked in the field and had experience, but some of them were injured and resorted to teaching because of it. |
| How Difficult | 2 | The workload wasn't challenging at all - it was mostly memorizing and light critical thinking. As long as you read the material you shouldn't have had a problem. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | It was very mixed. We would spend an even amount of time in the lab and also in the classroom. We had to alternate with the other class so it worked out fine. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | It was extremely flexible but I didn't really have any time constraints. I even double phased my last two courses. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The school had labs in all the classes and a main garage for hands on experience. They didn't really have a tutoring program or any after school help, but most of the information was pretty direct anyways. |
| Social Life | 7 | My personal social experience was great. The school's social wasn't that good. They were all about just passing on the information to the students. |
| Placement Services | 8 | Job placement was good. They referred me to some large companies. After two years they stop giving you a call and checking in on your progress. |
| Alumni Network | 3 | The schools alumni program is poor. They should send out a newsletter or hold annual events. Since the school is a private institute they don't really need alumni funding anyways. |
USC • Los Angeles, CA
Studying Mechanical Engineering (completion in 2010)
• 10/28/2011
"I am very satisfied and proud to be an alum of USC I think my education there was instrumental in making me a success in my career. I am very happy with my decision to go to USC."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Yes, I would definitely recommend my school to anyone looking to get into automotive repair or any field of mechanical engineering as it will give you a great backbone of knowledge and a degree from a very well known and respected school. |
| Program Reputation | 10 | USC is a very good school with a very good reputation. You will most likely easily find a job with a degree from them. |
| Program Quality | 10 | USC taught me everything I needed to know to be a professional in this field. I learned almost everything I needed to know about Mechanical Engineering from them. |
| Instruction | 8 | My school was very thorough about teaching me everything I needed to be successful as an automotive repair specialist. I highly recommend them to anyone looking to go into this field. |
| How Difficult | 8 | The work load was very heavy and the material very difficult, but it really got me ready to work in this field and I think it is very important to work hard to be successful. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | USC offers a good mix of both hands on and text book studies. I would have liked more hands on based classes though as I think they are the most important part of learning this craft. But overall, it was a good mix of both | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | USC has many classes that will work if you need a flexible schedule, but the work load is heavy and you will need to dedicate a lot of your time to be successful at this school. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | USC is a big school with all the facilities you will need to learn. I would like to see more actual automotive style labs built though, mostly pertaining to real world auto repair shop style set ups. |
| Social Life | 10 | USC is a big school with many social outlets to attend, but my main reason to go to the school was to learn my craft and get a degree. |
| Placement Services | 7 | Again, there is good job placement help for alumni, but I did not use it much and found my job on my own. |
| Alumni Network | 7 | USC is a very good alumni network for people wanting it. I am not involved with the network as much as I would like to be, but anything you would want or expect is there for you. |
American River College • Sacramento, CA
Studying Automotive Technology (completion in 2010)
• 10/27/2011
"I didn't get to go to the four-year school that I wanted, so I chose ARC to get an associates in a skill that would get me a steady job. It was a good experience, and I would recommend going there. It's a good education for the price, most definitely."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | As mentioned before, community college is a good education for a lower cost. If one can handle the people, then they're fine. It's all about getting through the work and the classes and past the financial difficulties that come up so often. ARC is a very good school, though, and it can only get better. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | ARC has great teachers and small class sizes, but the location gives it a bad reputation. It has a very diverse demographic, so all kinds of people come and go, some worse than others. |
| Program Quality | 6 | ARC has many programs and it's a great community college. I had a difficult time paying for some classes though, and that took away from the experience. |
| Instruction | 8 | My teachers were always intelligent and knowledgeable about the subjects that they teach. When I didn't understand something, they took the time to help me. I always felt like they cared. |
| How Difficult | 7 | This was not my original plan, so I had some trouble adjusting. I got a degree because I figured that people are always going to need cars. I guess if you work in the right place then you have better luck. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Because of the program I was in, I had a bit more hands-on experience with the cars. We usually had some to work on. When I started we could work on student cars but not anymore for some reason, so that's disappointing. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | Classes were being removed because of budget cuts, so it was sometimes hard to find one that was open. I was in school a little longer than I liked because of this, but it's to be expected in these times. |
| Academic Facilities | 5 | We usually had someone to help us if we didn't understand how to do something, be it a teacher or a student who had taken the class before. It always works out. There is always someone to help, though sometimes they do more damage, especially in this field, when they're wrong. |
| Social Life | 7 | I met a lot of new people while I was at ARC. They're all very nice people and I do see them sometimes. I still talk to some, because often we would have multiple classes together. |
| Placement Services | 6 | They helped me find a job. It's not ideal, as I mentioned previously. |
Chabot College • Hayward, CA
Studying Automotive Technology (completion in 2010)
• 12/22/2011
"I was very happy during my time at Chabot. I was confident in my abilities after taking my classes, and I came away from the experience feeling better about myself."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would definitely recommend my school to others. I got my degree while working around my schedule. The classes are really affordable; I think they were around twenty-something per credit when I went. I have already recommended it to one of my friends. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | I think their reputation is really good, because I had heard about them from a lot of people before attending myself. I knew several people who had attended previously. |
| Program Quality | 7 | I really enjoyed my time at Chabot, and the teachers were really nice and helpful. I thought I left knowing a lot more than I did coming into it. I felt confident in my abilities. |
| Instruction | 7 | I thought the quality was pretty good, but I don't really have anything to compare it to. It was good enough for me, at least. |
| How Difficult | 3 | I thought it was pretty easy, but I grew up working on cars, so I already knew a lot. However, there were a lot of people there who were new to it, and they all seemed to pick up on it pretty quickly. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | The automotive classes I took were all very hands on. We always had cars and parts available to us. We were shown how to do things and then given the opportunity to do it ourselves. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The courses offered were very flexible. I was able to work completely around my schedule, with night and weekend classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | I thought they were really good. We had a lot available for hands-on learning. |
| Social Life | 2 | I never really encountered much in the way of school spirit. I know there were sports teams, but I never heard much about them and I did not attend any games. The only social events I attended were two free shows at the planetarium. I never saw much going on socially. |
| Placement Services | 5 | The career services they offered were okay, but I had to do most of the work on my own. I was lucky enough to come across a female-friendly shop near my home that was willing to take me on. |
| Alumni Network | I have never really been involved with their alumni network, so I don't know anything about it. |
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