DH had great experience @ Sage in Indianapolis, IN

[kimmeegoose]

Sage only has locations at IVY Tech Colleges in Indiana, I don't know about other states. The CDL A class is 5 wks long, not sure about the Class B course. The instructors were truck drivers themselves and gave tips about driving beyond what was necessary to pass the test. They taught logbooks and trip planning with extra pointers thrown in (not creative logging, in case that is what some of you are thinking). The driving time was one on one with different instructors so you get more than one style of teaching. DH got the skills down pretty quick so the instructors found more challenging routes for him to drive to keep it interesting. Instructors didn't just teach to the test. There were only 3 people in the class and one took a leave of absence for medical reasons so the class finished almost a week early because they could double up on driving times some days. DH had all good things to say about the trainers and, most importantly, he passed the test on the first try. There were 3 guys there from a CDL mill and none of them made it past the lot. They failed the skills before even getting on the road. That says a lot right there.

The only thing that might be a problem for some is, though the cost is less than the CDL mills in Indy at just over $4000, they don't offer financing through the school. They do work with Work One for WIA grants but other than some type of retraining grant you have to get your own financing or self pay. We had to borrow most of it from family. They also don't put you up in a hotel but from what I've read on here the rooms that the CDL mills use are usually oversized ratholes. So, maybe, arranging your own lodging would be a good thing.

So many on the board have had bad experiences with different schools. I just wanted future truckers to know that there are good schools out there too. The school also deserves the positive recognition.

Another thing, the classroom instructor gave the students a list of questions to ask the recruiters that came to the class so they wouldn't go in blind. She also gave them information about companies that didn't send recruiters. If former students gave her info on a company that hires grads or she heard good things about a company she would tell the students so they had more options for jobs when they graduated.

Hope this helps some people get into a good driving school. Avoid the CDL mills if at all possible. DH went to one of them for one day and that was enough for him to know what a rip off it was, but that is a whole other post.