Do yourself a HUGE favor and give consideration to Sealord's advice regarding Bradford-Union Vo-Tech. Having gone through their program 2 years ago, I can say from first-hand experience that it is a TOP NOTCH school!
In an effort to find a universally understood analogy, let's assume we all enjoy a cool, refreshing adult beverage on occasion. That said, why would anyone pay $6 for a six-pack of Milwaukee's Best when you can go up the road and get a 12-pack of Budweiser for $1.60? How about that Budweiser for FREE! Have I lost anyone yet? Well, here's the deal:
If my memory serves correctly, at Roadmaster you get a 160 hour course for around $5,000 (or is it $6,000?). At Bradford-Union, you get 320 hours for $1600. Think 160 hours is enough? Some may argue it's plenty. I simply can not imagine having achieved the same level of proficiency in a 160 hour course that I did at Bradford-Union. We weren't rushed to complete any objective, and there were NO shortcuts. For example, take the off-site driving (actually on the road). I believe it was a 1000 mile per student requirement. Both schools claim to deliver it. I've heard that some of the 3-4 week wonders will put as many as 4 students in the truck at a time and go 1,000 miles, each student driving 250 miles. Everyone in the truck gets credit for the 1,000 miles on the premise that they can learn as much watching another student drive as they can actually in the driver's seat. We each got the 1,000 miles in the driver's seat (2 students in the truck at a time). So if you subscribe to their theory, we actually got 2,000 miles experience
No doubt about it, you get a lot more for your money with the Vo-Tech program.
One other bit of info: When I went through the school, they were handing out grant money for tuition to everyone who signed up. Don't know what the source was, but what I do know is that I didn't pay a dime in tuition for the course, nor did anyone in my class, or the class before and after mine. They were trying to use up the last of it for the year (a use it or lose it scenario), and the only requirement to receive the grant was filling out a 30 second questionaire, the contents of which were essentially basic CDL requirements. Didn't even have to demonstrate need (I was actually stilll drawing active duty military pay for the duration of the course). Definitely look into this before committing to Roadmaster. Even without the grant, it's still a much better deal.
Also, it seems I rememmber the staff mentioning there was another Vo-Tech program in Orlando, but I may be mistaken. Might be worth looking into. As it's a state school (part of the public school system), tuition, curriculum, and policy would be the same.
Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions regarding Bradford Union. They have a good website, or I can give you the contact info.
Looking to start my taining with Roadmaster.
