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 Suffolk County Community College, Bronx Community College, Monroe Community College, and Rockland 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
- Part-Time: For schools emphasizing part-time studies, consider Farmingdale State College, Morrisville State, SUNY Canton, and SUNY Delhi.
- Diverse: For a diverse student body, consider Bronx Community College, Rockland Community College, Westchester Community College, and Farmingdale State College.
- Adult Learners: For lots of adult learners, consider Westchester Community College, Onondaga Community College, Monroe Community College, and Columbia-Greene Community College.
School Setting
- Out of State: For geographic diversity, take note of Fulton-Montgomery Community College, Alfred State, Morrisville State, and Herkimer County Community College.
- Dorms: For a residential campus environment, take note of Alfred State, SUNY Delhi, Morrisville State, and SUNY Canton.
Excellence
- % Accepted: For selective institutions, look at Farmingdale State College and SUNY Delhi.
- Class Size: For small class sizes, look at Alfred State, Morrisville State, SUNY Delhi, and Bronx Community College.
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Spotlight New York Schools Related to This Career
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Study from Anywhere at Online Schools Related to This Career
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- Degrees: Coursework, Diploma
Student/Alumnus Reviews of Schools for This Career and State
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Erie Community College • Orchard Park, NY
Studying Automotive Tech (completion in 2005)
• 8/23/2011
"They did not help me find a job."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | You can get an entry level job without a degree. You wont make enough money to make the cost of your education worth it. |
| Program Reputation | 4 | They're not helpful in helping students find jobs. It's not thought of as a program that prepares auto techs well. |
| Program Quality | 2 | They did nothing to help me get a job or prepare me to work. |
| Instruction | 3 | The program's not beneficial to start in field. There are not enough cars to work on. |
| How Difficult | 4 | Not very challenging work. Tests were fairly easy. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Again, there is nothing to work on after you learn concepts from the book. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 7 | There is an ample amount of classes and it's easy to schedule them in. |
| Academic Facilities | 3 | You must bring in your own stuff to work on. There are no cars available for the general student. |
| Social Life | 2 | It's a community college - who cares. It's not a friendly atmosphere. |
| Placement Services | 2 | Again they're not good at this. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | I have met no one. There was no support from alumni. |
College Of Staten Island • Staten Island, NY
Studying Liberal Arts (completion in 2010)
• 10/18/2011
"Although it hasn't gotten me to where I want to be in the long run yet, it has provided me with an affordable education and a schedule that allows me to make a living and pay for my house while still continuing my education."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It doesn't have a mechanic specialty, so there is no garage or welding materials. If you want to major in engineering, CSI is better for you. I learned my mechanic skills through my family trade and got a job at a good friend's shop. |
| Program Reputation | 7 | It is an affordable public school. The campus is beautiful and the academic standards are manageable. |
| Program Quality | 6 | The liberal arts program was nothing special. It was good considering how affordable my school is, however. |
| Instruction | 5 | You have the good and the bad teachers. I think in this school you need to be willing to take your education into your own hands a little bit. |
| How Difficult | 2 | Liberal Arts, I felt, was sort of an extension of high school. It did not require me to take very challenging classes in my opinion. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | A lot of people come to this school because they work and can't devote a lot of time to hands on learning, such as scouting out great photography spots. However, the science department is extremely hands on and requires a lot of lab hours for its students declaring it a major, or just taking the class for needed credits. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | I have never had trouble working out a suitable schedule here. They have online classes plus options in the morning, afternoon, evening, and on the weekends all year long. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | The science labs are modern and the library is large and has a great selection of reading and text books. Also they offer you all of the assigned text books in the library for free use if a student needs help. Tutors are available at all times for all subjects in their respective offices. |
| Social Life | 6 | I have never gotten along well with the Staten Island crowd. You also have a large crowd from Brooklyn, who often fight over what borough is better. I didn't find many friends, but I did find love. So I rate it slightly above average. |
| Placement Services | 3 | |
| Alumni Network | 5 | I am still attending and attempting my BS. I have many friends who still come back for the use of the library and they say that it's inexpensive and worth it. |
Hudson Valley Community College • Troy, NY
Studying Tool Technology (completion in 2008)
• 10/31/2011
"I feel I got a great education for a great price. The instructors were always very helpful, as was the rest of the staff, and I graduated with a ticket to work almost anywhere I wanted."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | Its a great education at an amazing price. The reputation is great and will only benefit you after you graduate. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Very good. It is very easy to land a job with a degree form HVCC in your hand. Also, you are much more confident to tackle a job put in front of you after coming through this program. |
| Program Quality | 9 | The program was very in depth and prepared me well. It also prepared me for the world of dealing with people. |
| Instruction | 9 | I learned a lot about cars and the new CPU-driven cars of today. I feel the courses I took left me absolutely ready for my career. |
| How Difficult | 6 | It was a very technical program which drilled home tons of knowledge. I didn't find it that difficult because I have been working on cars with my uncle since I was little. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | They have an amazing job shop which allows for great troubleshooting. They also have a machine shop which is great for learning repair work. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | Very flexible. I was able to attend at night over 4 years to earn my degree while working full time. They offer night and weekend classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Extremely good library and up to date study materials. Large computer labs with instructors always close by to help. |
| Social Life | 9 | HVCC has great school spirit - everyone that attends takes pride in the school. Sports are very popular. One week we're all cheering the football team the next it's the very, very good women's basketball team. |
| Placement Services | 9 | HVCC is always having career builder days at the campus, which allow you to get great exposure. They also do a great job of letting businesses know about the talent that's graduating each year. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | The alumni are often brought back as aides, teachers, or guest speakers and they are well respected. The school does a good job of tracking its alumni and recognizing them for their life accomplishments. |
L.A. Wilson Technological Center • Northport, NY
Studying Automotive Technology (completion in 2010)
• 12/25/2011
"I was very satisfied with the school. There weren't many events; there were no sports or parties, but it didn't matter. I went to school to learn. I left with a certificate and a vast amount of knowledge that I didn't have when I first walked in. This knowledge allowed me to get a job I still hold today."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I would recommend it. I'll agree that when you go to school, you expect to make many friends, go to many events, have parties, or join a sports team. This school doesn't offer that. It offers you hands-on training to become part of a trade. This trade is a backup plan in life; if you go to college for something else and can't find a job, you resort to a trade to help get by or pay bills. Also, technicians are always wanted in the automotive field, due to the increase in technology between electric and soon-to-be hydrogen-powered vehicles. |
| Program Reputation | 9 | Many people I know have gone to this school. Some decided not to become technicians and some have. A lot of them got jobs at big-name dealers like BMW, Mercedes and Audi. |
| Program Quality | 8 | The program was great. I learned a lot of things, due to the amount of hands-on learning that was done. |
| Instruction | 10 | Everything I have learned in the school, I have already used in the field. I am still learning as time goes on, but all of the basics to become an entry-level C-Tech were taught here. |
| How Difficult | 7 | It was fairly challenging, starting in the school not knowing much. The workload wasn't too high, but just enough to where I could split my workload and occupation at the time comfortably. |
| Hands-On vs. Bookish | Being that it was a trade school, academics weren't the main subject. It was 25% classroom theory/book learning and 75% hands-on shop work. Cars from dealerships were donated to the school over the years, for students to practice and work on. Having new technology taught to us with hybrid vehicles requires a lot more hands-on work. | |
| Schedule Flexibility | 3 | Not flexible at all; it was either you take a daytime or a nighttime class, 8am-2pm or 3pm-10pm. |
| Social Life | 1 | Since it is a trade school, not many people went there. When you went there, it was to learn. No parties or athletics. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Job placement is very good, considering the fact that they offer a work-study program. Many dealerships send representatives to the school to offer jobs to graduating students. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | The alumni network wasn't too good. It is a small school with small classes. |
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