I really enjoyed the Aviation program at this school when I started. For reference, I will be graduating in February 2026 with my General, Airframe and Powerplant written tests completed on my own time with a voucher from the school (one of the positives of the Aviation program). When I started, I felt like I was challenged: I was in a new field, I was using my brain in new ways to complete projects that felt out of my league; to my surprise, I have passed all of my courses with flying colors. I have never failed a final or a class, and I've maintained a steady 3.5 GPA, despite being homeless due to the egregious prices for student housing (I could write a whole other review in that alone... ) However, as I'm nearing the end of my academic career at UTI, I'm noticing a severe imbalance in the expectations for the students VS. the curriculum they're given. The curriculum, specifically in the Airframe and Powerplant sections, is either severely, SEVERELY lacking or is WAY too much work to fit into three weeks of class. For example, our Sheetmetal classes (both Beginner and Advanced) were packed full of projects. We were starting a new project every other day, and it was messy. I got along as best as I could and completed most of my projects with good grades, but I couldn't help but notice how many equally qualified classmates were struggling to meet their deadlines because of how much they were expected to finish. When you only have two pressurized air tanks and one drill press shared between classes ranging from 15 to 50 students, I have no idea how you expect every single one of us to return a perfect, industry-standard project to you. For my second example: Turbines and Props. As a technician in training, this is the meat and potatoes of being a technician. You WANT to know what is going on with these systems hands-on as much as possible, for the safety of yourself and others. But despite this, not a single day (or maybe one day, if you're lucky!) is spent doing hands-on training. We have a Piper 28R-180 in stellar condition, a Robinson R-22 and multiple turbine engines to work with. Why are we not being dragged by the shirt collars to study these?? Instead, our instructors are putting on YouTube videos for the last 4 hours we have to sit here. On that note, let's talk about the "seat time" requirement. This school is over 3 years behind FAA regulations when it comes to seat time. The FAA repealed its former seat time requirement in May 2022, according to CFR Part 147 subpart 17, Paragraph A-3 (I will attach a photo.) This seat time requirement was repealed when the FAA began feeling a rising demand for new AMTs. So, they updated the terminology from "seat time" to "proficiency-based" in hopes of training as many new AMTs as possible to fill the demand. However, UTI still insists on this outdated seat time requirement. You come in to school, get your work that's due done within an hour, and waste the rest of your day sitting in class doing quite literally nothing, and those of us who will excel in the field are passing (i.e. Proficient, according to CFR Part 17, Subpart 17, Subparagraph A-3. Look it up.) If you want us here for 4 more hours, you need to be giving us hands-on experience instead of showing us YouTube shorts. Otherwise I would love to use the rest of my day to work so I don't go into debt repaying this sorry excuse for an AMT school back for curriculum that gives me the bare minimum. Spend $50k somewhere else until this school gets it together. Lots of love, figure it the f**k out, Greyson P.S: Change the damn acronym. "Universal Institute of Technology". I will never wear this school's name proudly. read more

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Honestly not impressed with how redundant this is done two programs under the G.I. bill can't even get a job within both industries care services fails to help students not to mention When veteran students get Pell grants the score seems to heavily attack them even if the student is covered under the VA for example, the student is getting $4300 for their grant they will only see 2000 of that this school is beyond a joke it's literally turned into a glorified high school especially with the old school president getting fired for miss using school funds to add more programs just to be brought back and financial aid and career services aren't available all the times or just happen to take their two hour lunches what a waste of 85 thousand dollars for the Va to spend At the end of the day, all the school cares about is getting a certified check from the VA cause they always push for veterans to come here. That's the only way the school survives honestly, what a fucking joke. read more

This company is extremely mismanaged. Student services rarely answers the phone, and when they do, I'm either placed on hold for long periods or transferred repeatedly without getting any real help. I attended in 2023 and have simply been trying to obtain my transcript and clarification on whether my coursework was measured in units or credits. This is basic information, yet I've been sent in circles without resolution. It's very frustrating and unprofessional. Additionally, after graduating from the automotive program, I can confidently say the education was not worth the $40,000-$60,000 cost. I've seen more in-depth instruction and hands-on training at community colleges for a fraction of the price. In my opinion, the program does not justify the tuition. read more

I'm speaking on my experience in the HVACR program and it's terrible. There is one small lab with very few units, and most of the time, a couple of the units aren't operating. This, combined with the fact that there 3 classes going on at the same time, makes it very difficult for students to get hands-on. For 24,000, you'd expect there to be enough units for students to work on. There are some courses where you sit in class, watch a few videos, and do some reading, which you can get done in an hour or two. What I'm getting to is that there isn't much to do, so you're just in class, sitting down, with a lot of free time, and if you decide to leave, you'll receive infractions. With automotive, if there isn't anything to do, you can leave without a worry, but for HVACR for some reason, you're essentially forced to stay for hours without anything to do. And good luck trying to get those infractions removed if you don't have a "good enough reason". The reason why they make it so hard to get infractions removed is because they know if you get 8 infractions, you're forced to repeat the course, which means more money to their pockets. For a school that wants you to "succeed," they sure aren't helpful or understanding. If you're thinking about coming here for HVACR, don't. You're better off looking at other schools or trying to find an apprenticeship. Save your money and time, I wish I did. read more

$27.5k for the welding program. FAFSA won't even cover half of that. Who wants to take out student loans for a private for profit school? Looks like I'll be heading to Detroit's WCT, inc. read more

This review is exclusively for the Veteran's Department at this location. I have never been to this school in person. I wanted to check this campus out because I was interested in the automotive technician program. And I wanted to use my Post 9/11 GI Bill (A Veteran's Benefit). I was able to schedule a tour in person. But then, the school's veterans representative calls me on the phone. He was very pushy, telling me I needed to sign up now, so they can see if they even wanted me before the tour. "His words". He kept insisting on my filling out the application before the "classes get full." Very disappointing interaction with that individual. Too intense, too desperate, I didn't feel very comfortable with this. At the end, I just said that I was not interested anymore. Very sad. I was kinda excited that I found something I would've liked to do. Oh well. Looking for other options still. This happened a few months back, I just didn't know if I wanted to leave a negative review just for that individual. But here it is! read more

I attended the automotive and tried aviation but dropped the course due to many things. First automotive, you get what you put in, also attended BMW fast track at this school. Highly recommend that program. As far as aviation, at the current state when i attended. I cannot in good faith say this a a ready and worthy program for your money and more importantly time. I only attended the first two courses which I almost dropped out the first week due to the online and the only way to get your information from the school. The slides were completely unreadable. Not just on one but multiple different lessons. The instructor would also have no clue what info was being relayed so they would skip over the slide. I only stayed for the second course due to my experience in automotive being overall positive. But the second course was an even worse experience. Same unreadable slides but it also was accompanied by whole day labs being thrown out all together. I used my GI Bill not for the money but to actually learn something. It's sad as I can see the potential and at times I was interested but with this many problems early in the program do not attend unless you just wanna waste your GI Bill for two years. Now I owe the school more money for something they should have never let people attend read more

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I would like to share to check this campus out because I have a Nephew that was interested in the automotive technician program. he spoke to a advisor Mike Castro, (( extremely unprofessional ))) He was very pushy, telling me my nephew he needs to sign up now, really pushing . "His words". He kept insisting on HIM filling out the application and get his info while being very rude and disrespectful. Very disappointing interaction with that individual. Too intense, too desperate, he didn't feel comfortable with this. At the end, I just said that I was not interested anymore. Very sad. He was excited that he found something he would've liked to do. Oh well. Very unprofessional I hope others will see this kind of action. read more

This school used to be good when I started. I understand the A&P program was fairly new, the first aviation class hasn't even graduated at that time. The curriculum was fairly new and had its kinks which were quickly worked out. Instructors were (and still are) fairly great, I think most people here complaining about their attitudes fail to realize that this isn't high school or some sissy liberal college, and this is only a taste of what is expected in their respective fields, if they can't handle it then this isn't for them. The school has had its fair share of ups and downs and I tried my hardest to vouch for it, thinking things would get better here but it's only gotten worse. The wifi was as running issue here, with it cutting in and out, the phone service was abysmal, and some of us have families and responsibilities outside of here that may take precedence. Then the school tried to enforce the "seat time requirement" which has not been a regulation for years now. And the infraction policy has been updated to make it more restricting for us. Most of us aren't in high school, and we actually have real responsibilities which are almost impossible to follow through with because of the stupid infraction policy. Especially if you're in mid shift, because class is from 12:10 - 5:30 generally. Most establishments close at 5:00 or shortly thereafter, and because we live in fear of failing a class based off infractions, we miss out on these opportunities. Some cases, we're able to go on our lunch time, which USED to be an hour, maybe a little more depending on the instructors and how much work has been done. The problem is that the school cut our lunch break down from the usual hour, to only 35 minutes. If you're going down the street to get lunch, you'll barely even have the time to do so. I don't understand why the school harps to keep us here longer than need be, especially if the power points and classwork take us literally an hour to complete, and I don't understand why the instructor must be punished for letting students out early, even if the work is done for the day. That should be a testament to his or her teaching ability. To make things worse, the people in the Student services office apparently don't like when we go up during class hours. What I struggle to understand is... why? They were hired for this job, and they're here for us, and why can't we go during class if the classwork is ALREADY DONE???? It sounds like the staff is not trying to do their job. Also, they have a tendency to be incompetent. I had an issue starting here, as my DD-214 was getting kicked back because it didn't have "member-4" in the corner, which means it has a characteristic of discharge on it. My document did, and it was getting rejected because they were running it through a program. It takes a human five seconds to look and confirm this. This should not be handled by a literal computer program. For a time, I had to pay out of pocket for school, and they didn't tell me how to pay for it. I thought it was automatic payments, but I wasn't informed, and fell delinquent on payments and it ruined my credit score. I can't count the amount of times I have gone upstairs to talk to financial and got an "I don't know" as a response. Many students travel significant distances to come here, to a school where you can't go to student services during class, so they may come in earlier or after class, only to find out that they're not even there! And if they do get lucky, all they're given is a response that could've clearly been given through a phone call. This shit is ridiculous and unacceptable. I tried really hard to like this school, and in some ways, its good, but the cons are far outweighing the pros here. read more

Universal Technical Institute - Poorly formatted labs - Vocational & Technical School Near Me - Long Beach, California

This school is a poor excuse for an institute of learning. I am currently in my final week of attendance before graduation, and I have a 4.0 gpa. I can say I worked hard to maintain this grade, and by worked hard, I mean I Showed up. Literally, that's all you need to do to pass and get student of the course awards. The curriculum is atrociously embarrassing with very little in the way of actual learning such as hands on training or meaningful education. The program I fool hardily enrolled in was HVACR and man I can say it's easily one of my most impressively idiotic and undeniably regretful decisions of my life. There are many grievances I have faced during my time here. The list includes but is not limited to: Sexual harassment by the head Instructor Mr. Lozano, endless hours of doing absolutely nothing (not by choice but by lack of any educational content), and learning how little this school does to help you obtain certifications or acquire a job. Hands on training is almost completely non-existent depending on if you have 1 out the 5 instructors that actually teach (a tip of the hat to Mr. Christensen). Other than him, the other instructors will fill your class time with bible lecture, drug addled life stories, unprofessional conduct, racist/sexist/homophobic/homosexual jokes, midget fight videos, sleeping at their desk, and having you go home early to avoid teaching or stay until the scheduled time to do nothing if administration is present (depending if you have night or day class) . It's a lose/lose situation no matter the case. Parking is abysmal and surely the majority of your professional infractions will come from the need to park blocks away (hoping you aren't towed in the process). Career services is pitiful with only 2 job listings on their job board at any given time (the only reason they haven't been filled is because they are miles and miles away). The students here can be pretty awesome people. Veterans, recent high school grads, and older folks looking for a career change. The one thing that they all have in common seems to be their level of disappointment in the school and the cost associated. The bill is nothing short of 24,000 dollars (HVACR), which is roughly 600+ a week. This is the big problem for most of them unless the military is paying for their tuition. So prepare yourself for substantial debt and no way to find entry level work. Most hiring companies require 3-5 years' experience so their promise to earn the 'BIG BUCKS' will still come down to your own merit and networking. I would recommend looking into Brownson or just spend your time applying for jobs before coming to this school or you will surely be sorely mistaken. TLDR; This school is not what it seems, at least for their very infantile HVACR program. Expect big disappointments and disgruntled classmates. read more

My son had to get a loan in his name and my husband has to get 3 in his name for our son to go to UTI. It was a total of $52,000!!!!! Six years later we're still paying on these loans. We felt pressured into getting these loans to help him and wasn't worth it. read more

Scam of hell. If I could leave negative stars I would. Aviation program is literally 30% learning and 70% waiting for class to be dismissed. The only plane on campus is a Piper PA-28 Cherokee (Serial Number: 28R-30296). Price range for these planes is around 50-200k, yet they collect 50k from each student, start the program with 25 students per class, have a morning, afternoon, and night class, and start a new program every few months. These cheap fucks bought the cheapest plane they could find and are pocketing the difference. Go to a college or university and save your time/money. read more

It's the worst HVAC school. It's a scam waste of money and time. The teachers don't know how to teach and ask the students to watch YouTube all day long. My son wasted four months there and we're asking for refund read more

SCAM don't go there. Too expensive for what you will learn which almost nothing. Save your money. I thought I would invest in my education but I made the mistake of going there. I withdrew after a month. You don't learn anything with outdated equipment. read more

Current student in the aviation program, and infractions are some BS. If you have a planned trip, they won't work with you even after telling me they will in orientation and force you to go on LOA (leave of absence) instead of letting you make up classes, and god forbid you leave early because of work or something, they will rather have you be sleep deprived than leave early. There will be nothing to do in class but they force you to stay if not then infraction. You can pass your classes and labs but they will still fail you over infractions and you will have to repeat the course. You only get 3 pairs of shirts for 18 months or however long your course will be, no jacket or hoodie, you want more you have to pay for them, or be lucky and win a raffle or something they do every now and then.Proceed with caution when joining because they care more about making their money than your life and well-being and they certainly prefer infractions over passing grades. read more

The financial aid team here seems to never want to help or answer my questions. Every time I go there for help, I always get some stank ass attitude from people who don't even do shit but just sit on their computer all day! One person would tell me one thing ... to only find out I been "misinform" from another person ... I get financial aid, but yet uti never wants to pay me out when they're suppose to. They hold onto the money as long as they can. I pay you guys $45,000 to attend to this school and yet I get treated this way. Everyone one may seem welcoming and helpful, but the minute you enroll and give them your money ... they all disappear! Look somewhere else aka Spartan ! read more

I went here for about a year and dropped out of my remaining courses because of the disrespect and incompetence of the staff. I was asked for proof that my grandma died to excuse one day of absence, otherwise I would need to pay to retake the course. Thats just one story but theres plenty of that kind of nonsense that goes on there. 0 stars. read more

My son went to this school. He did not pass one class but they pushed him through to graduation and didn't care. I now have 17,000.00 on my credit and he didn't even pass and learn all he needed to...SCAM read more

A SCAM. Don't go there. All the equipment they have to train on is a joke. They put on a show (a joke) when car dealers come to the campus. almost all work for UTI. Don't believe anything from these people. I'll be posting more on this soon. read more

Uti Graduate of August 2024 here. All the reviews you see here that are negative are honestly reviews of dropouts, who really go to shops and either didn't pay attention in school, didn't show up, or didn't care about anything going on. I would say, like any other school, you get what you put in it. Shout out to Scott Velasquez, Manny, scott Emerson, the Financial aid team and the teachers there with their knawledge, and being down-to-earth and honest. If you are going to UTI, I would say plan to give it your all and try your best to get into an MSAT. I completed the Mercedes Benz drive program, and already got into a dealership. I personally have had a hard time getting into a dealership without going to uti, since I have had experience before attending here. After UTI, and the MSAT, I can say that they do help you get a job, and they do take you into consideration and actually respond to you, compared to somebody who didn't go to UTI and went straight to the dealer with no experience. I'm not gonna lie though, UTI is a very expensive school, and it is quite a bit of online work, but it's worth it only if you get into an MSAT, which, I am not sure who would not take advantage of all the MSATS UTI has to offer. read more

This place is a scam people don't go here. The representatives are very pushy and demand you sign up even before you can check out the campus out. I used to go there but sadly I had to drop out due to financial issues. And speaking of financial the financial aid workers are very unprofessional they promised me that the money I was going to get from FAFSA was going to straight to my classes plus the 40k federal student loan they forced me to get because in their words "this will cover all your classes and your FAFSA money will go straight to you". If anyone reads this please if you love your life and don't want to be in a financial burden where these rats lied and rob from you then don't go here you will regret going here especially when they don't give you your money you were supposed to get from FAFSA read more

When I wanted to become a student in UTI my advisor, Scott Velasquez, was super helpful guiding me through my process of becoming a student. Now 7 months into the school and I can say that I am enjoying being a UTI student , Thankyou Scott. read more