Orange Technical College - South Campus

"This review may be long, forgive me, but I have a long history with the OCPS school system. When I moved from NYC to Florida for the first time in the early 2000’s, I received my GED through OCPS at their location in downtown Orlando, it was a great experience that gave me the confidence I needed to accomplish all the things I did following that achievement. I’ve been in the mortgage industry since 2016 but became miserable with it beginning in 2020. I decided I was heading for the hills in mid 2023, so I decided I was going to get my CDL license. I researched a bunch of these corporately owned schools that provide a 3 week program which teaches you nothing for over $7k, it made absolutely no sense to me. So I decided to look into OCPS again, this time Orange Technical College. Once I learned that it was an in depth, 8 week program (CDL Class A), I went deeper into the rabbit hole, got my CDL permit, met with a counselor who was a great great help, her name is Dorothy Brannigan, and got the wheels in motion to begin class on December 11, 2023. I just tested on January 30, 2024 to get my CDL Class A license, it was a little stressful, but the hard work and practice paid off. I am now just on the road with my instructors for the final three weeks driving around the state and accruing miles to my driving record before even having a job, no other school is going to do that for you. In terms of goals I’ve looked to achieve, OCPS is 2 for 2 at helping me reach them. Now the next paragraph is where I’ll get into detail about the program. My instructors were Lavelle, Nick, and Jeff. These are three men who have been in the trucking industry for a very long time, they’ve forgot more about trucking than you’ll likely ever know. Lavelle has a steady, patient, but firm teaching style. He loves to explain things and also gives you a lot of personal examples of his time in the trucking industry which will give you perspective. He will always encourage you if he knows you’re willing to listen, learn, and do everything by the book, he’s great. Nick is very old school, very by the book, more so than Lavelle. He will be hard sometimes, you’ll feel sensitive sometimes, but trust when I tell you that his teaching style is necessary. You’re learning to drive a TRACTOR TRAILER, this isn’t a joke, he is an encyclopedia of knowledge that you can tap into if you step outside of your own ego and tap into. If you listen to everything he tells you to do, it will be impossible for you to fail, just don’t be sensitive. Jeff is the newest instructor of the three, he’s extremely knowledgeable, relatable, and patient. I believe Jeff helped me the most as I was practicing the 10 maneuvers they teach to little success. He knows how to make things click in your mind, he’s very good at that. Understand that you won’t be starting out in the greatest equipment, your practice trucks will be a lot older, trust me, it will make you better. Once you get into a new truck, it’ll be like cake after you’ve gotten used to the practice trucks. I forgot to mention, there are other instructors as well, Ted and Keith, but they didn’t train me, they administered my state testing for my license, but that’s how they work it. If Lavelle and Nick teach a class, Ted and Keith test them, and vice versa. Be wary of these brand name schools with high price tags and little instruction. There is no way I could’ve learned what I now know in three weeks, there’s no way. A three week program should be illegal, but America puts the dollar before everything. If you want to know what you’re doing out there on the road, and feel confident that you have all the tools you need to keep yourself and others safe, go to OTC and get it done."

"I took a class there GED didn't finished,failed the GED test which I always struggled in. I tried to enroll in this school again few yrs ago was going to take a program but they wouldn't accept my HS Equivalent Diploma Continental Academy 2006, recommended I take the GED I'm like NO NOT AGAIN!"

"I’ve been never be treated so bad in my entire life. The front desk guy on the building “admissions” Ralley I think is his name. Was FREAKING rude!!!!!!! My experience with this was unfortunately quite disappointing. I encountered instances of rudeness and unprofessional behavior. It's disheartening when someone in a service-oriented role fails to treat others with the respect and courtesy expected, impacting the overall atmosphere of the college environment. I hope the necessary steps are taken to address such behavior for the benefit of everyone interacting with the front desk. That’s why you guys have bad reviews because people like that should not be dealing with other people if they don’t have the patience to explain stuff and give some informations. People like this ruin the image of the school and I’m sure there’s incredible people and professionals working at that location however first impressions linger in our memories, casting a lasting influence on how we perceive and remember individuals. It emphasizes the enduring impact of initial encounters, underscoring the importance of making them positive and memorable."

"Second time going there, the telephone is never answered, and since last month I’ve been trying to enroll. I go in person and I’m told the admissions person is not in, I guess they only have one! Ok I go home and keep trying by phone, no luck! I just went there today Monday 13,2023 and is 2:15 PM and an unfriendly person says that I have to come back any day before 2:00PM what a waist of time trying to enroll, I think Valencia will be getting my business. I will not recommend this place to anyone, classes are cheaper but it will be so uncomfortable to deal with people that are miserable doing their jobs. No can do!!!"

"- (CDL A) Understaffed. I witnessed one student get dropped from the class after week 1-2 because this student had trouble with the forward and backing maneuver. With time not being on this students side as he/she falls behind, The instructor moved on to teach the next maneuver to the rest of the students which is understandable because he can't slow everyone else down but at the same time, watching this person struggle for 30-40 min with no help and her spot in the class on the line, it was very unfair to her and unacceptable. We pay over 2k for this class, no reason that a student should go through that. Could have easily been prevented with 1 or 2 more instructors on the range CONSISTENTLY to help out. - This Program is TIME BASED, that was not emphasized enough, they will drop you with partial refund if u fall behind but at the same time are too understaffed to even help students in that scenario? Very unfair. - As far as knowledge goes, the instructors are up to par. Having knowledge vs Knowing how to teach it are 2 different things tho. Ted was okay. As far as the other 2 instructors, (Jeff & Darren) it's not surprising why Ted does most of the teaching. I've experienced and heard students negative experiences with the other 2 instructors. More so Darren, The delivery in which he corrects students is sometimes condescending, demeaning, and borderline disrespectful which can be very discouraging and stressful when you're on the road trying to learn. A student said he/she overheard him talking bad about this student behind his/her back when it came to their driving skills, using explicit language in the process. If you take the class, try to see if you can get in with the instructors that teach the other class, they seem more easy going. If not, look elsewhere. - For women enrolling, Only 1 company came in to promote themselves to the class, and they lacked female trainers which implies that they can't hire any women which is completely pointless for OTC to have them visit if you're a female student wanting to know about this company. The guy didn't wanna say that until someone specifically asked that question. (Davis Trucking) - Understand you only get like 5 or 6 times, 30min-1hr each, to practice on the road leading up to the Road test. To protect their passing rate for the road test, they will drop you from the class and tell you to pay for the next one if they feel you aren't ready for the road test. So don't be fooled with whatever statistics are out there about the passing rate. It probably doesn't include the students who didn't even make it to the road test. - If you get dropped from the class because you're not "proficient" enough to take the road test, they're going to basically tell you to pay another 1k, redo 5 weeks, relearn AND retake ALL the tests (coupling, maneuvers. etc) with the next upcoming class, even if it's DOCUMENTED that u passed them previously, As if you're a whole new student. That time could be used to work on your weaknesses on the road. You'd think that if you choose to retake the class that they'd have you focus mostly on your weaknesses but nope, you'd have to start from scratch, probably cause they're too understaffed to be that flexible. - If you want to drive automatic, You will end up doing more than half of your practice in a old manual truck because they don't have enough automatic trucks to practice with. - One student even tried to sue the program, It's the cheapest school around and I see why now. Do your research, ask the right questions because they will sugar coat things and may leave u hanging in the end."