CDL Columbia Driving School Archer Heights, Chicago

A wonderful school, run by wonderful people. Ive been an Illinois CDL holder for many years (first as a Class C, then followed by Class B). When I decided I wanted to move up to a Class A license and drive the big rigs I asked friends, family, and people I trust in the transit industry for recommendations on CDL schools. Several people told me that they had heard very good things about Columbia from many people in the industry. Im on the north side of Chicago so going with Columbia meant a 30+ mile...
Read full review drive, each way, often in rush hour traffic, twice a week. I wasnt too thrilled about the commute, but I figured if even a fraction of the praise I had heard was true that it would be well worth the trip. I called to sign up for classes and was told I could come in to the office during their hours of operation to register. I explained the long commute and asked if it would be possible to schedule my first lesson for the same day that I would be coming in to register; both Ana and Karolina were very accommodating and granted my request in order to save me an extra trip all the way there just to register. They were both so kind and so compassionate, and I knew right then that I had chosen the right school. Roman, who is either the owner or the instructor in charge of training, was just fantastic. I really looked forward to the weekly classroom sessions where he would share his knowledge of the inner workings of trucks and trailers. Because of my Class C and Class B experience, Ive literally had hundreds and hundreds of hours of initial instruction and refresher training over the years. Roman knew more, and explained things more clearly, than all those other instructors put together. I finished the classroom sessions feeling like I could go out and be a mechanic if I wanted to; thats how thorough and detailed his presentations were. The skills course and on the road training were just as wonderful. I cant say enough good things about both Roman and Jose, who were the ones that took the classroom knowledge and translated it to practical, real-world driving lessons. The two of them taught me how to drive a big rig, and no matter where the road takes me from here I will forever be in their debt. After I passed my road test with the gentleman from the Secretary of State, Roman came over and gave me a big hug to congratulate me. I honestly didnt feel like a student during my time at Columbia CDL school, I felt like a member of the family. Thank you all so much!

Excellent instructors and a very organized program. You will have your CDL class A In roughly 4-6 weeks at an amazing price. Caroline was also very helpful with all the questions I had.

I recently got my cdl thanks to Columbia school. Anna the office manager and Karolina were very friendly and super helpful in arranging my classes for me. I m working full time and was able to attend morning, evening, and weekend classes. This was soooooo helpful. I d like to thank my instructors as well: Jason Zen Jerold Jose and Roman They gave me the tools and confidence to overcome some anxiety of this big rig on the road. Thank you ALL.!!!

Amazing school that gets you to pass and understand the rules of the road. Thank you so much to all the staff here for making my dream come true and got my CDL class A. God bless you all. I would recommend this school to new drivers. William, Jerry and Roman were all great to me

Termine esta escuela y la verdad que es muy buena. Nunca un problema con nada, aprendizaje muy bueno, facil de entender, material de estudio bien armado. Practicas de manejo bien desarrolladas y escalonadas, van de facil a mas complejo con suficiente tiempo para practicar cada cosa. Instructores de manejo son de lo mejor. Me toco practicar pre trip con Zen y este tipo es un fenomento. Manejar me enceñaron Jerry, William y Tom, los tres son extraordinarios. El dueño de la escuela Roman, es un hombre...
Read full review muy accesible y amable. Precio no es alto y se puede pagar de a poco en comodas cuotas. Escuela es altamente recomendable. Todo el curso pase sin experiencia previa en en tema y no tuve problemas con los examenes, los habia dado de primer intento. Agradezco a todo el personal de la escuela. Igor

I want to thank the working staff at this school that I attended Columbia school the front desk lady s Ana and Carolina and gentleman Roman for helping me study to get my CLP! When I started this program they were very super nice and very educated about everything they make you feel welcome and help you in anything and my instructor William may god bless him with many years thanks to him I learned how to do my InCab and skills and road test he helped me master everything very nice person and very...
Read full review friendly respectful and kind person everything I accomplished to get my CDL is thanks to William!!! Also Jerry was a very good instructor to me as well I highly recommend this school for anyone who seriously wants this career thanks William god bless you and your family !!!

This is a great school personally had a great experience. I got my license in 3 months the staff are great as well, William was very professional and really cares about the students nothing short of spectacular when it comes to adapting to different students. I would definitely recommend this school to anyone looking for a place to get they re license.

Awesome school and great people. I had Will and Tom as instructors and you can tell they care about making sure you learn everything so you can pass your test the first time. Office lady is super nice and will get you right with your schedule. Overall good experience. Would recommend this school if you re looking to get your CDL.

First things first I would recommend this school for anyone looking for a program and doesnt have much money. The owners are great people and you really get the feeling that they want you to succeed, even the office crew makes you feel welcome. Their payment plan is great and they are very understanding when it comes time to making payments. But with that being said the program is one of the least expensive ones and you get what you pay for let me explain, there are only like 3 instructors but only...
Read full review one is good. William is the instructor that carries this program on his back. William gets the job done, he seems to really care about the students and his job. If they had about 2 more Williams this place would be 100x better. On the other hand one of the instructors is extremely old and he really isnt zoned in enough to properly teach you, hes very good at giving positive reinforcement but doesnt explain when you do something wrong. Now they have another instructor his name is Tom and he needs to be let go ASAP, he has a nasty and very aggressive attitude with all students, Ive been told by several students that he takes naps while the student is out on the road driving. Ive spoke with a few student and none had anything good to say about him and Ive had my own negative experience with him too. He likes to put the students down and doesnt seem to really care for any of them. He is a parasite to the program and thank god he only works the weekends so if you avoid the weekend classes your experience will be 100x better. At the end I did complete the program and got my CDL and it went smoothly. Overall I hope this helps anyone looking to make a decision when finding a school and I hope this helps Colombia Driving School reflect and improve on their program.

Got my Class A CDL license from here. Great place to go to! The people here are friendly & will treat you like family. If you re willing to learn, you will have no problems here. Flexible with your schedule as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED SCHOOL!