Only applies to electrician program: The teachers are on top of their course material, but they are bottlenecked by the administration. Students were promised their electrician trainee card by the 3rd month, there has been no sign of that in month 7. Multiple times the we've had to modify what we do in the hands on portion of curriculum due to administration not having the materials available on time or at all. read more

Went to the school to file a complaint against a employee for texting me to "grow up" because i hung up on him since i was at work. Arrived at the school and before i could put a name to the face he actually greeted me and was cool but once i stated my name and told him it was me you were texting that he was super unprofessional and he should not talk to people/future students that way if i answer fine if not im busy and BUDDY WAS READY TO FIGHT. I said i need to talk to a higher up to file a complaint and he said he was the highest in the building and that we can talk. As we are conversating he became more agitated and started stepping up to me and telling me to be a "man" and then guided me to a empty classroom to talk behind closed doors. I said ABSOLUTELY NOT with the way he has been aggressive and essentially baiting me into an altercation. I stated i wanted a 3rd party there due to the tense situation he was creating. He then guided me to the welding area and pulled the welding teacher aside infront of students and started again saying be a man and say what you have to say and again i said i need someone thats in a high position i need to do some type of formal complaint and know its been acknowledged. Whole time the man was swaying back and forth belittling me and just asking for a fight which was not my intentions at all. The welding teacher was completely clueless and wasnt understanding what was even going on. At that point i just asked who can hell me file a complaing because this guy is extremely upset and wanting a altercation and i was directed to an office. In thay office a nice lady helped me and immediately stood up when she heard what i was trying to explain. Whole time the man was there being aggressive and still approaching me trying to coax me into doing something. The lady noticed that and quickly got me the Director of Operations even tho the man lied and said hes the highest in the building. As i was waiting the man and i were going back and forth and bickering and ultimately just displays his unprofessionalism and lack of control. He denied it was him that texted me even though he answered when i called the number with the unprofessional text message, he lied saying i came in making noise when he greeted me and i simply asked if he was who i think he is, he lied saying i went to the welding area disturbing them when he guided me there. All that for a simple text he should not have sent but he thought it was okay to do that. Never did i go with intentions for an altercation. I felt if he felt like he can just send a text like that as an employee to a possible student he clearly doesnt respect people as he should especially being in the front greeting people onna daily. I was disrespected and be littled being called less than a man and out of my name but none of it bothered me as i am confident in myself as a man, father and veteran. Moral of the story if you lose your temper as a employee and attempt to coax someone into fighting in your workplace behind closed doors theres no space for you in that establishment at all. I spoke to the director and followed the instructions he gave me to move forward and i have also submitted a complaint with BPPE. I have never been put in this situation before so i will file with whoever and wherever because this was unnecessary and someone could have been hurt or arrested. read more

I am grateful to have an instructor like Chuck Bouchonnet, he is a cool guy but most importantly a very smart and great welding instructor. He takes his time to help you with whatever you need, communicates clearly with you and the entire class. If you actually put the effort in his class he will give his all to help you succeed. read more

U would put none but yelp makes you put a star before posting. But No stars horrible school were students and teachers take it as a joke while other are trying to actually learn. In my opinion don't spend your money on this place, look around for serious school with teacher who take pride in teaching you. read more

Good school to learn beginner welding. There are great instructors who know what they're doing. Shoutout to Z, Jay, & Johnny for checking up on their students and building great relationships and environment. Upside of the school is you could put in extra time if you want more practice. They offer 5 different welding courses: mig, stick, oxyacetylene, flux core, tig. They offer career services as well, miss Deborah is there to truly help students get on track with a job by the time you're done with your courses. This school location doesn't offer certifications upon completion so be aware of that before signing up. Expect to be independent while attending. You'll need to have a strong sense of motivation, as the learning environment encourages independence and self directed learning rather than guided instruction. read more

This school is a SCAM. Take your money elsewhere. Extremely unprofessional on every level. Staff is unqualified and rude, please beware.

Summit college has been without a doubt the worst college I have experienced. This is a for profit organization that only cares about quotas. I attended to the school from the 30th of December to January of 20th. Thinking the electrical program would be beneficial for my career. After only one week enrolled I realized that this course is nothing but an "online program" with mandatory in person attendance just so they can get the full VA benefit. There is not a set of lessons and two many students in different levels. The intermediate and basic level share the same classroom and share class time for the night. I submitted the needed paperwork and after review the school needed to validate my high school diploma from one of their providers. (I've used the same certification with other colleges and never had an issue). I requested the validation of my certificate just so I could finish the module and didn't have to pay my housing back to the va and own any money to the school. Believe or not even after paying $150 for my certification the process to validate an international high school diploma can take more than a week, which makes sense to me but not to the school. I was threaten to be dropped from the module if I didn't "summit" (get it?) proof of payment so I did but had to wait to get a response back from the certification office. I was dropped on the 27th of January, a week after the first module finished. Trying to get some information from the education manager about whether or not I was going to own any money to the school and requesting a copy of the contract I was not given any answers, said it wasn't her department and pretty much hung up. I would not be surprised if they requested payment for that module even though according to the VA I withdrew from the class even before it started so I never attended according to their documents. Never set foot on the school, never existed. This is just my opinion and cannot verify but since I never got a response from the school, I would not be surprised if they cancelled it just so they could re enroll me even though I had stated that I didn't intent to continue with the program. It's likely that they would make me pay for the previous module and have the VA pay for the rest of the course. The course is designed so it can be appealing to VA students, as long as people do their online work they will get certifications, however learning is limited. students spent their time watching Netflix and on their phones. I'm sure this won't be surprising to know since a supervisor walked into the classroom and found a student sleeping in the middle of the classroom. The tuition for the whole program costs more than 16000 but all you get is a canvas subscription for an electrical program. If you want to be forced to seat in a classroom for 5 hours just to be in front of your computer or would like to catch up on your favorite shows, this is a good place to go. If you are straight out of the military or high school I would look somewhere else. I feel bad for the people that get into debt or have to pay out of pocket for this course. The VA department at the school is extremely helpful and patient and the admission advisors will go out of their way to help you, too. read more

If you are a veteran,looking to use you benefits at this school, go somewhere else. This college does not know how to report to the VA properly. They try to have students make up holidays, even though the school is not open on those days. Other schools only report the clock Hours that VA students are supposed to be in class. If you miss a day at Summit college, they report to the VA so you do not get paid as much. They VA pay tuition and fees but this school adds sosup"supply fee" that comes out of pocket at around 1100. This is outrageous! Do yourself a favor and avoid this school at all costs. read more

I tried to reach out to "Summit R (Business customer service)" privately But haven't received any answers. Not sure how summit is now sorry for my experience when they still haven't changed anything. IF Summit really cared about students.. why they don't offer AWS welding certifications? After students waste almost 20000 for this program WHY cant students come back to practice before their job interview? AND why are graduates expected to pay $100 for their own graduation. So if you're still interested in this "school" i highly recommend you ask these questions before signing up. Please don't waste 20000 on a school that just shows youtube videos during class. invest on a welding machine and learn yourself. and save your money!! read more

If you're a vet and love to be disrespected, then this is the place for you. This is the place to have aggressive teachers shout and curse at you and have then lie about it. (In a classroom filled with students) Katherine, the lady that is in charge here seems to love harrassing students and covers for verbally aggressive teachers. Bring it up higher and nothing gets done around here. Seems as if they will boot out a student before they consider weeding out staff that absolutely hate their jobs and borderline physically confrontational. Katherine threatens to write you up for "wasting material" when there was zero material wasted. Forget about trying to learn how to operate all the machines at this school. It's not allowed. For 19k from the GI bill, they sure limit students to the extreme when it comes to using metal for welding. If still interested in attending this school, feel free to speak with any random student while being given the tour of the campus. The students will tell you the same thing I'm typing here. read more

VETERANS!!!!! EVERYONE, Stay FAR FAR AWAY. UPDATE: 11/19/2024 They reported to the VA that I dropped out of school before the month of October ended on the 31st. When I asked the Va about it they said the school had to fix this. When I asked the school I got no reply since I want it in writing. When I asked the teacher for my log in records he claimed that he didn't have access to the sign in sheets anymore. Thankfully there are GOOD people that attend the school. A student simply asked for the documents the teacher claims he no longer has access too and sent me a picture of it. So I have the proof that I was in school, I have proof these people are lying and pretending that none of this is happening. I have the emails that I keep sending but no one is answering. Do not attend this school unless you want to learn by YouTube, be stolen from and lied to at every turn and then made out to be the bad guy for noticing. UPDATE: 11/14/2024 After asking for all farther communication to be recorded they have ceased communication entirely. Still trying to grade my assignments as if I'm in class. They know EXACTLY what they are doing. THE SCHOOL DOES NOT TELL YOU HOW THEY USE UP MORE OF YOUR BENEFIT THEN YOU WOULD THINK. I started the school in August with 15 months of benefits. Just about every veteran I've been in class or training with understands that if a course is 9 months long. We get housing paid for 9 months and school paid for. After the program is over, you will have 6 months left. Well here at SUMMIT! They charge you 9 up front and then an additional 6 one month at a time. One veteran I'm in class with started the program a month ago and has used up 5 months of benefits already. He was completely unaware and now unsure of his future here. When I asked Summit College about it I was told that they weren't aware of how things worked and that they just send information to "someone that works with the va" and that's it. Someone reached out to me to explain how they USED 9 MONTHS IN THE FIRST 3 MONTHS of school. They then use another 6 to pay out housing. When I asked them to stop using my benefits since the school was paid off in the first 3 months already, I got a deer in the headlight look. I proceeded to say I MAY drop out if I have to continue using benefits and was met with an excited, "Okay! I'll send the email now to confirm but sounds good" basically seems like they don't care if you drop out because they already charged you for the 9 months up front so if you leave they can just fill the chair with another unaware veteran thinking he's made the right choice. Sad to see that veterans get taken advantage of. I understand it's too late for me but please, ASK ABOUT THIS BEFORE YOU SIGN UP. Please be careful veterans. Don't lose your benefits unknowingly. Hello Kate, he is already included in the emails. He's been CC'd but has yet to respond to anything. read more

I've currently been attending Summit college for about 4 months now. I'm currently in the HVAC program which runs for 9 months. When I started this school, my benefits were at 24 months and some change. I went to check today and seen that I now have 13 months and some change. It was brought to my attention today that even though it's a 9 month program, they draw from 15 months worth of benefits. This doesn't seem fair or make any kind of sense. I've been to a few schools and was always charged 1 month for 1 month. This breakdown was not mentioned when financial aid and GI bill use was being discussed and I feel very disrespected to have this hidden. If it was discussed up front, I'm more than confident in saying that many more veterans would steer clear of this school and it's dishonest practices read more

Horrible Management, our campus manager Kevin Bradshaw has been on vacation because he tripped and fell in the office and got "Hurt". Katherine has been the only help I get. I don't recommend this school at all. SAVE YOUR MONEY KIDS. Just learn from youtube because thats all this school shows. Youtube with ads, ITS A JOKE! read more

Summit does not seem like a college at first glance. The main office building is separated by a minute drive to the rest of the classrooms. The enrollment process was very easy, 100% ANYONE can come in and be enrolled as long as you are willing to pay. For overall upcoming students: This is a private school, therefore you cannot be surprised in how much money these programs are. As a campus, they do provide all the necessary requirements to be accredited. There are multiple programs offered, and I had attended the Licensed Vocational Nursing program so I am not really aware of the other programs. For future LVN students: This program is doable. I am a licensed nurse and that is because I attended Summit. Additionally I can say that more than half of my classmates did pass their NCLEX-PN exam first attempt. The location is not in the nicest of areas, and is fairly limited to resources due to how small of a campus it is with minimal/changing staffing. I was only the second nursing program. So things were fairly new, which I do take into consideration. What truly lacks at Summit is organization, communication and consistency. Do I recommend Summit? I do find that there was more red flags necessary, however I obtained my licensed which was the sole purpose of attending here. Rating this school was choosing between two stars: "Could've been better" and three stars: "OK". The phrase "Could've been better" resonates more from the year that I spent here which is why it is 2 stars. In conclusion: I find that you really need to have that drive to learn on your own, despite the obstacles presented. More or so, I think this is a place where you need to apply yourself, and if you do not have the ambition then you should not attend here. By the end of the day, if your grades are there you will be able to complete the program and get to where you need to be. read more

I had the pleasure of working at Summit College in El Cajon as an instructor for over two years under the leadership of Kevin Bradshaw. Kevin was a great supervisor, and I truly enjoyed being part of the team. During my time there, I learned a lot, built meaningful relationships with students, and saw many of them go on to land great-paying jobs. Summit provided students with the tools and support they needed to succeed. Who knows--I might find myself back there again in the future! read more

Staff there is not helpful at all, they won't give you the information that's required for financial aid. They aren't very good at answering their phones.. When I try to apply there. I sat there for 20 minutes waiting for staff then I called the head of the schools and was just given the runaround. I will definitely take my business elsewhere as I've heard many negative things about the school. read more

I would avoid this school at all costs. They are a for profit school and that seems to be all they care about. I attended the Electrician course in hopes up bettering my life and learning a trade, however I spend most of my time there just waiting out the clock. When I brought my concerns to Administration I requested my tuition back since I did not get the education promised, at this time they sent me around to many other administrators who just seemed like they wanted to get me to give up. After many months of waiting and trying to get into contact they did thier own independent investigations (of course they are going to say they didn't do anything wrong) and denied my claim. Many students had the same issue as me, do not attend this school no matter how much the advisor makes it seem like a great place. I recommend starting a paid appenticeship, you'll spend 18k+ to attend and only make about $19 an hour starting (another thing they lied to me about to get me to sign up) read more

Loved going to this school the instructors are great and helpful. Big thank you to Instructor Zarate. One of my favorite instructors. Would recommend to apply. read more

I did the welding program, my teacher Z was the best teacher I have ever had. He is a great instructor and I learned so much from him.

The welding teachers at this school really help teach the basics of each process to their students as well taking a hands-on approach for a more visual learner. They take the time with each student that is willing to put in the time and effort to learn a new skill. read more

if I could give zero stars I would. Catherine at the El Cajon campus has been utterly useless: aside from the fact that she is capable of printing progress reports reminding you that you are behind or on mark. I had injured my foot and she didn't give me any guidance on how to go forward other than to say "I know some people don't always wear steel toed boots"(because my foot couldn't fit in the boot at this time). I was beyond confused and shocked, as she was telling me that I could make the choice of going in the WELDING SHOP without the proper PPE so I wouldn't drop behind. This woman then proceeded to tell me she had never welded in her life. So my thought was, "why in the f*ck is she telling me to do something dangerous and against policy so that I could maintain hours?. why is she putting my health aside to maintain hours and not trying to offer me any alternative options that actually made sense." The instructors are the absolute best. Big thank you always to Eddie Rivera, Z, Jay, and Rigney read more

PLEASE READ BEFORE JOINING I'm going to start off by saying I never had or used yelp or needed to make a review. But ILL TELL YOU WHAT! This school has made nothing but fake promises, been in class since March. I've seen 2 classes graduate with NO testing opportunities or certifications before leaving. I am scheduled to graduate 11/23/22, & still there is no definite answer about testing!! We were promised VERBALLY it would be $100 to $150 for testing for certifications. WHICH WAS SUMMITS MAIN SELLING POINT TO STUDENTS looking to certify within 9 months! Which is aggravating to go to a trade school and leave WITHOUT a certification is ridiculous!!!!! IF YOU ARE A VET don't waste your Benefits here, looking for a welding school, I'd go to CET ! There are constant problems with pay, totally incorrect funds at random times, I've been shorted a few hundred dollars on recent payments. loans and funds in general none of timelines given for money/ loan have been met and going on 2 months past due. As Far as instructors go, I have no complaints they are knowledgeable and most have field experience. They push you as much as you put in, definitely help and guide students who want to be there. But lack of materials and correct ordering, sets hurdles for instructors. While I've been there, plenty of times instructors made due with what was given and providing materials to weld...... instead money is being spent on unnecessary ultra vending machine instead of rods, wire, materials ,maintaining equipment. Or spending money on hiring an inspector come to school to test students as promised, campus up north doesn't have problems with testing or certifications.... So don't know how they got lost here. Honestly only thing this school as going for them is the instructors (jay,George,Zárate) you can take that to the bank. INSTRUCTOR RATING 5/5 STARS As far as books go, they were paid upfront before school and picked up. Half way thru they changed everything to online. There was no hard copy offered only option was to buy and pay for shipping for new books! Instructors weren't even issued a copy and have to pay aswell. Program didn't work first 6-8 weeks for half students, which piled on to teachers work load. they once again went beyond, made print outs and worked with new book program. Basically spent the last 7 months learning and pushing myself to not be able to get certified and get a participation paper. Thanks summit college for 9 months of a trade school with nothing but a reference on a resume. Current student... 10/4/22 read more

The teachers were the best part of this school Ruben, and John were my instructors they had a lot to show and teach us as the old timers they are picking their brains was the most anyone can do i was in the welding program and to keep everything short this school was disorganized couldn't keep anyone to work there just allover the place they are a business that only care about the money they don't give you everything you need like a respirator. The ventilation's are all messed up. machines are all old and the worst thing you do not get certified for anything DONT GO HERE IF YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR MONEY STOLEN ITS THE EL CAJON ONE BY THE WAY read more

Took my LVN program in Summit College El Cajon. If you are not 100% in it to study like you've never studied before, don't do it. There will be a lot of early mornings, late night studying, writing, and TONS of reading like there's no tomorrow LOL but totally worth it. The program is not perfect (nothing is), it's a work in progress, all I can say is be determined enough to finish once you start this program that no matter what happens you keep your eyes on the prize! read more

I was interested in the welding class they have and in orientation and speaking with them they make it seem like after 9 months you get certified but it's all that work for a reference..I chose Center for employment training instead where at the end of the 9 months I'll have 4 certs for the 4 kinds of welding. read more

I got supplies stolen from here , over a $1,000 worth of tools/supplies, campus manager showed NO regard...... , my instructors Are great but that's the only positive comment i can honestly give. would NOT Recommend read more

After serving 8 years in the military as a Machinist Repairman, I applied to summit college to become an LVN. I must say, it was a challenge. I went from being a machinist to now performing bedside care for a variety of different patients. I couldn't have recently graduated and overcome all those obstacles if it wasn't for the help of the instructors and Dr.Gerber. She showed resilience with making sure all of her students succeed. Her support brought comfort and calmness throughout the storms I faced throughout the program. I appreciate everything Dr. G and thank you Summit College! read more

Summit College HVAC program, has great instructors that are experienced and very knowledgeable, for you to do good in this program you have to be willing to put in the hours and participate in class and get your moneys worth, Jose teaches the basic courses and is easy to talk to and learn from he'll work with you and teach extra, noli teaches the advanced HVAC classes and has the most experience and engineering background he's very experienced and will get you work ready and put you ahead in the field and trades , HVAC is a great course that will teach you how to work on electrical sides and mechanical side of the trade, summit college is pretty fun to be at and learn and great place to make great friends from older vets to younger folks. You get people from all over the trades and construction fields that teach you different things here too. read more

Summit College's Nursing program has really turned around. There's a huge emphasis on including NCLEX prep into the overall curriculum with the inclusion of ATI. The staff really ensures that the students really understand the material instead of memorization tactics. I found the program challenging towards the end but overall has helped me to pass my NCLEX & now I am practicing as a newly licensed nurse. read more

At the beginning of the school, lots of inconsistency with their program especially LVN program, all are start quitting. But blessing in disguised that Dr. Gerber took the responsibility for everything as a DON. The program starting to get better and already have their concrete plan for everything especially for NCLEX NGN. I am grateful that Dr. G has this brilliant mind and a hands on in helping each one in our cohort to conquer the fear with NGN. Her team and admin now will gonna help and support you to pass the NGN. I would say her formula to pass the board is working. And for me as a student, focus in learning, not in complaining. read more

I'm a current student in the HVAC program and today I promised the "Campus Manager" to disseminate my opinion of the program to the public, so here it goes! TL;DR: Unless you are using your Post-911 GI-Bill benefits, get paid to go to school here and are dedicated to practicing on your own time, don't spend your money going to this school. I knew what I was getting into when I signed up. Summit is a for-profit school and I was expecting everything to be about their bottom line. I have tried to not let that tint my observations. With that being said, it's very hard to look away from all the details that show me the school's primary concern is not education. - The program overview says that "When you complete the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning/Refrigeration program, you will be prepared for the testing required to obtain EPA 608 Universal Certification." The school doesn't let you take the certification exam until the last month of the program when there is no schooling pre-requisite to take the exam. I have asked to take it early since it's included with the tuition but the "Campus Manager" has refused. The only reason you need it is to legally handle refrigerants. I can go online or to a refrigeration supply store and pay to take the test. It is not an indicator of competence in the HVAC field and the only reason they withhold it until the last month is so they can ensure the students stay until the end. - It's better if you buy your own tools. You get to keep the bag but the tools are loaners from the school. There's nothing wrong with used tools but some of us have had issues with their quality. They were issued on the first day and we were all missing thermocouples. We found out a few weeks later that those are used to measure refrigerant line temperatures to help determine if a system is working properly. Thankfully our instructor also brings his own tools. - It's all about the HOURS: No matter how well you do in school, if you are not present in the school for a minimum of 80% of the class hours, you will not graduate. The issue I have with this is that they really do not care what you do during that time as long as you're present. We had a class about the US CONSTITUTION on "Constitution Day" while we signed up to learn about HVAC/R. - You should definitely practice on your own. As I said before, I knew ahead of time what I was getting myself into. The instructors know the field but have to deal with the limited resources available. I'm getting my own tools and equipment to practice at home. Eventually, I plan to replace the AC system in my home with a new heat pump so at least I will have that experience under my belt by the time I graduate. read more

The only reason this "school" is getting 2 stars is for the great instructor Zarate if it wasn't for him this place would get zero stars. Z goes above and beyond when it comes to delivering the information and teaching the skills when it comes to welding. Zarate is everything you look for in an instructor however for the school it's self I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who wants to get the best welding experience. When I first signed up for the school they had promised that at the end I would get certified and right before I finished the school they had canceled all certifications and that was my biggest issue because why would you promise all of the students to get certified and then not uphold it. read more

So far it's been a great experience. Z and Jay are the best instructors you could ask for. The front office is spectacular and will help you and guide you with your needs. Maria, faith , Jocelyn are just a few of the whole team that are great read more

One thing I can easily say about summit it's the careers counselor, and the PM instructors are on top of their game. I graduated in December 2021. I've kept in regular contact with my instructors and the career counselor! Started a welding job in January if I hadn't gone to summit I would have been fired immediately! Thank you all so much l! read more

If you are a veteran do not go here. Unless you like being paid less than you're owed have an incompetent staff except for the four girls upfront in the office. They're rad, and instructor Zarate but other than that don't expect to get your money on time or in full. Incompetence . go to an actual accredited welding school. I can't speak for the HVAC class but I can't imagine it being any better. ‍ read more

If I could I would give zero stars out of 5. This school is a joke. They only care about the money and not their students. I am currently an LVN student and will be anonymous so they can't retaliate against me since that's what they do. This school only has like two good instructors and the rest are not qualified and it shows. Plus, is they want to become an instructor they should leave favoritism out and not be rude when a student doesn't understand and asks questions. It also seems like you can't go to the DON when you have a problem with another student or staff because they'll just justify anything according to favoritism and they will victimize. They have kicked out fellow classmates for "behavioral misconduct" when speaking up on their side of the story of any type of incident. I would suggest you look into another school. read more

It is a great school and I hold lot of fun. I have improved So much because of Noli and Jose the HVAC/R instructors. I will recommend HVAC to any student that wants. All the staff is welcoming and loving. read more

i would like to Thank Sebastian and Bernie for all the knowledge they provided to me .You two holding the school together thank u once again

I'm in the welding program. This school has 4 welding instructors. 3 of them are extremely smart and have a bunch of knowledge in welding. The other one is honestly terrible. I have no idea how Cristin Celedon got a job as a instructor. Zero field knowledge and real life welding. Terrible at teaching, this is a complete fail on summits hiring process. Only reason I'm giving it two stars is because when you go to a school for a trade you want ALL of the instructors to know a lot about the trade not just what a book says. read more

This school is great, I've been going for a few months in the welding program and started as a federal work study recently. The instructors are great, super knowledgeable and ready to help. The new people working the front office want to see all the students succeed, and it's all around a great environment to be in. I would definitely recommend looking into attending this school if you're interested in a trade. read more