Universal Technical Institute — Local services in Irving

I've read a lot of awful reviews. A lot of them being concerned of the price, before you even sign anything the price is promptly stated. If there's an issue, why continue on with the school? Secondly, I'm reading a lot of concerns about jobs after school. I am currently employed at a dealership right now, just being promoted to 'shop help' (oil changes, tire rotation, and alignments) once I have some uti schooling under my belt, that's when I become a technician under the shop foremans watch. I feel that both of these concerns are misplaced by students. But I'm still uti the benefit of the doubt, I hope the experience will be wonderful and very informative. I start school January 17th and will change my review as school goes on

August 26th, 2018 I have graduated UTI Dallas this past April and before I gave my final thoughts, I decided to work a little bit afterwards to give the most down to earth review I can. I can begin with I regret going to this school. the overall curriculum is practically a joke. In some of my classes, which will remain anonymous, I did not do a lab or two (classwork) and still on my progress report I got full credit for something I did not do. Before most of the quizzes, we were told the answers in a different order from the quiz. There was no learning that was going on at this school, a lot of "just enough to get by" attitude. I was able to get past all that, but one thing I was NOT able to deal with was Shawn Rizzo. I had the misfortune of being in several phases under his supervision and it was terrible. The man consistently talked negatively about other instructors who worked at the same campus, he did not allow you to have an opinion on anything he knew about, nothing. He would every day throw in your face about how much money he has and how his house has a lift in it. even had the audacity to say to one of the classes I was in "lets compare bank accounts to see who is more successful." I was amazed at how a grown man was talking to all these young adults. At the moment I saw how it was acceptable to talk to students like that and OPENLY talk bad about your coworkers, I knew this school was nothing special. Anyway, Finical aid is another horror story, I had to supply several large amounts of money to that school while in school because of their errors, they also wanted several checks that were written to my moms name to be cashed and brought to the school. Made no sense to me whatsoever and they never fully explained why the money is addressed to my mothers name and not the school. The education managers at the time were wonderful and assisted me in the few times I went to them about some tardy issues. I brought up other issues I was having with instructors but nothing was done over that, anyway, look at the good over the bad. So, in the end, would I go back to this school if I had the chance to? Never. Do I feel I learned anything to help me in the field, not as much as I would have like to, but like I said earlier, there was not a lot of learning going on here in the first place anyway. Do I feel like the school was worth the 30k in the end? No, I do not.

My advice to you- parents or potential students- ask yourself if this is really what you want to do. It is not a rewarding career, you destroy your body, and, well, the pay is terrible considering what you have to pay for (school loan, tool loans, whatever personal things you have going on.) Pretty much what I am saying, do not make the same mistake I did. you can see I was optimistic about this in the beginning, but in the end it was nothing like I thought it was going to be.

Attached is a picture of myself and Mr. Mitchelle to show you guys I am not lying or someone who is out to get the school. I was a student and I am giving my 100% honest review over the school. let my experience be a lesson. If it matters to any of you, I will be attending UTA later next year to have the knowledge I need for a better career. I wish everyone who reads this the best of luck in whatever career...

I attended and graduated in the Diesel Technology program between Sept. 2013 and Aug. 2014. The following review is, of course, based on my own experience. It is rather lengthy, in my opinion... quite typical.

Most of the instructors are very good people. They know their stuff and are good at what they do. My only complaints with the instructors is they continually sell the school as if it is the ONLY option for an automotive/diesel education, and they sometimes contradict each others teachings.

The curriculum itself is pretty decent, but the delivery is all over the place. Some topics are only discussed in class/lab while others are only discussed in the online courses. The online courses are required portion of your grade, yet way too often they don't function properly.

The labs aren't quite what you see on the TV commercials. When you get into lab you are placed with a lab group that could be anywhere from 3-6 people and you're all sharing the same auto/diesel part and the same set of tools. The instructors tell you that if you want to learn it, you'll need to force your way to the front of the group. Effectively turning students into hyenas fighting over the scraps of a gazelle.

The cost is outrageous. As a veteran, I expected to be able to use my earned education benefits to get a decent education. When I went through the admissions process I told them that I planned to use post-9/11 GI Bill to cover the cost. They told me, "since it takes a while for the GI Bill payments to kick in, we need you to sign up for federal student aid... once GI Bill kicks in, you will be caught up" I reiterated to them that I didn't want to have a student loan balance and they assured me that I had nothing to worry about. About 6 months later I get a bill from the school for $1,800 (I had to pay it within 2 weeks to continue in the program) to cover the difference between what my GI Bill covers and what the loans covered. Fast forward to graduation and I end up with almost $9,000 in federal student loans.

Snapon tool voucher... a half-truth the administrators advertise as a perk for completing the program. They say you are entitled to roughly $1,000 value of tools. The reality is, the Snapon salesman has preset packages for you to choose from. As an example, the "package" I chose came with a half-inch air impact with shallow impact sockets, nothing more.

Bottom line, I would recommend attending a local accredited college with an auto/diesel program instead of UTI... especially if you're a veteran. If you do choose to attend UTI, always be wary of where your money is going and where its coming from. They will make it seem as if they have your best interests at heart, but UTI is a for profit school... and at the end of the day, that's all they are worried about.

Hindsight is 20/20,...

When you first visit the school, they present everything in a very appealing way to encourage you to sign up. When it comes to choosing between Automotive or Diesel, they almost always recommend enrolling in both so they can charge more, even though the programs are nearly identical with only a few different classes. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many others, taking both at the same time doesn’t make sense since you can only work in one field, and the content largely overlaps. For that reason, I decided to focus only on Automotive.

The initial classes were very disappointing. The instructor would simply hand out printed instructions and then leave for the rest of the class with little to no explanation. Whenever I tried to find the instructor for help, he was rarely present. Most instructors (not all) didn’t seem engaged—they mainly repeated what was written in the book and then sat down, showing little genuine interest in teaching.

After finishing the program, I went back for their job placement assistance. They helped me two or three times, but after that, they stopped responding to my messages. I eventually found a job on my own while still in school. Later, I was asked whether I had found the job through UTI, and when I said no, they insisted again as if they wanted me to give them credit, but I stood firm. It was clear they just wanted to report to their supervisor that I had been placed through their efforts, which wasn’t the case.

In my honest opinion, the school does provide information, but three weeks per subject is not nearly enough to fully learn the material. Everything I truly know today came from working on my own personal projects and the opportunity I got at a dealership. I don’t recommend spending $43,000 on this program when you can attend a community college and earn the same degree for under $10,000. However, if you have the money and are comfortable spending it, the decision is yours. I just wanted to share...