Capstone College — Local services in Pasadena

This school is a waste of time, and I advise anyone thats looking enrolling into a trade school to go elsewhere.

I joined the HVAC program in October 2024, and in the beginning I struggled. Bad.

It wasn’t just me either, and overtime I came to realize why. The school is money driven.. they would rather cram as many students paying 18 grand in tuition and force 30+ kids to be taught by three instructors. Kids would get left out, lose focus, and check out because it’s simply too much for the teachers to handle it all. I found the enthusiasm the students had was incredibly poor, and for those who genuinely wanted to learn became held back because the instructors were busy answering questions that have already been gone over.. multiple times.

Students would show up late, stay glued to their phones, listen to music on their AirPods, showing complete disregard to the teachers trying hard to maintain a classroom. And of course, when the time came to show what they have learned the previous days, they don’t know… causing more time to be wasted because they have to be caught up due to their own negligence. It took time that I needed away from me, all because most students didn’t care. I’m not blaming the teachers either, watching them juggle everyone for so long and never achieving a level of focus from the students is incredibly draining. Why teach someone who doesn’t want to be taught?

The school doesn’t have any structure. It’s just a free for all and if you really wanna learn you cannot rely on the instructors. They are simply overwhelmed, and in this trade intimacy is the key to understanding.. and It’s just not possible here.

The school is cheap. They refuse to buy new equipment and force us to use old outdated tools and units. We work with more broken parts and being taught on why they are broken instead of seeing functional ones. Only a couple machines work, and those that do work are constantly having to be troubleshooted by the instructors because students take it upon themselves to attempt different services, but almost never put it back how they found it. Instead of learning a specific topic for a day is almost always changed to figuring out why we can’t turn the unit on to try and test said topic. Again, taking more time from the instructors.

When you first enroll to the school They go over percentages of students who enrolled and graduated through the school and the pay rates they achieved, but it’s a lie. They tell you that once you graduate and receive your certificate, it guarantees you will find a job, but it’s simply not true… and this goes back to what I mentioned earlier. The students go about this school thinking they could just get by each day with minimal effort and the school will grant a certificate, then that will get them a job. It’s this mindset that has driven most kids to not care about what is being taught, and absolutely waste everyone’s time for the 8 month enrollment thinking it’s an easy ride. It was incredibly frustrating to me because I went into this trade determined to change my life, and I was held back by a school who could care less if I achieved that, but only that I continued paying them.

After 6months, with intense dedication and long days coming in hours early and staying after class, I was able to achieve a technician position, and after discussing this with the school I had the OK to leave school and pursue my new found job. Two months later, the school calls me and tells me they want me back or they will drop me from the program, even though I got a job THROUGH them. The agreement was I would be excused until my graduation date because I secured a position, and they took back their word. Unbelievable, but it’s how they are.

To sum it up, they will NOT set you up to be successful in this trade. If you want to make this a genuine career, it will take so much more than what this school can offer. Please, if you want to pursue HVAC, DO...

Overall, I did learn a lot at this school — but unfortunately, that had everything to do with the instructors and nothing to do with the school’s administration. It’s honestly a shame that the school wasn’t willing to take proper care of great instructors who genuinely went above and beyond for students. The few instructors who truly cared about our success — people who made a real difference — are no longer with the school. That alone should be a huge red flag about what kind of environment this really is.

Worse yet, the school actually dropped a student simply because he was getting real hands-on experience outside of class — the kind of experience we should have been getting through the school itself. But instead of encouraging that kind of initiative, they punished it. Meanwhile, we were stuck using outdated units and wasting time in so-called “training” that felt more like going through the motions. It’s honestly pathetic that the administration would rather students receive fake, useless training than anything that might actually prepare them for the real world.

The office staff? Completely disorganized and uninterested in helping students. At one point, someone assigned to assist us with résumés couldn’t even spell the word “college” correctly and didn’t help us build résumés at all. Several classmates said he included completely inaccurate information on theirs — which is ridiculous for someone whose job is supposed to be helping students become job-ready.

Then there were the pointless assemblies that wasted valuable class time. One of them turned into a three-hour sales pitch from Klein. Another, right before graduation, was hosted by union reps who barely mentioned HVAC at all and instead focused on the electrical program. When I brought this up to the office, their response was to tell me to “chill” — like I was the problem for wanting my time to be respected. Clearly, they had no clue what those presentations were even about, and even less interest in whether they were relevant to our field.

Graduation wasn’t any smoother. I had to repeatedly chase the office just to find out when I’d get my certificate, only to be told they were too busy because the school was being audited — which only raises more red flags. I also had to handle my own financial exit paperwork because no one followed up with me, even though that was their responsibility.

As for job placement, the promise of a 95% placement rate turned out to be nonsense. I got a few job leads right before graduation, but none of them matched what I trained for. There’s no real system in place to help students get meaningful employment — just empty promises and marketing tactics to get people through the door.

At the end of the day, the instructors were the only redeeming part of this school — and now they’re gone. The people who made the program worth attending were pushed out or left, and what’s left behind is a disorganized mess that does a disservice to the students it claims to support. If you’re thinking about enrolling, be warned: you’re not walking into a program built to help you — you’re walking into a school that’s willing to let good teachers walk away and students fall...

As a recent student of Capstone College, I feel compelled to share my experience in the hopes of shedding light on the significant challenges this institution faces. While the school has its merits—chiefly, a back office staff that is nothing short of exceptional—the issues with instructor retention, rolling admissions, and resource allocation are impossible to ignore.

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: the cost. Attending Capstone College is not cheap, and one would expect that such a financial investment would be met with top-tier resources and facilities. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Despite the steep tuition, our class frequently went weeks without the necessary equipment and materials to properly study HVAC. It’s hard to justify paying premium prices when you’re left twiddling your thumbs, waiting for basic tools to arrive. It’s like paying for a five-star meal and being served a microwave dinner—disappointing, to say the least.

Another major issue is the school’s inability to retain instructors. The teaching position seems to have a revolving door, with new faces appearing almost as frequently as the seasons change. This constant cycling of instructors creates a lack of continuity in the HVAC curriculum, making it difficult for students to build momentum in their learning. Each new teacher brings their own style and focus, which, while potentially enriching in theory, often results in a disjointed educational experience. It’s like trying to read a book where every chapter is written by a different author—interesting, perhaps, but ultimately confusing.

Capstone’s approach to attendance and digital assignments is surprisingly lenient. While flexibility can be a boon for students juggling multiple responsibilities, the lack of structure and accountability often leads to a disorganized learning environment. Deadlines become suggestions, and attendance feels optional, which undermines the sense of urgency and commitment that studying HVAC should instill.

Perhaps the most baffling structural issue is the school’s monthly rolling admissions format. Each month, new students are introduced to the class, while some senior students may graduate. On paper, this might seem efficient, but in practice, it’s frustrating. The class is perpetually held back by the need to accommodate the newest members, who are often grappling with foundational HVAC concepts that more experienced students have long since mastered. This format artificially constrains the pace of learning and leaves advanced students feeling stagnant.

Adding insult to injury, Capstone’s website was woefully out of date when I applied—by more than a year, no less. I had to apply twice before I received a reply from the school. The first time I applied weeks passed without a reply. It would be one thing to hype up your program with glossy promises; it’s another to leave applicants guessing whether the HVAC curriculum they’re signing up for even exists in its...