Chicago area help

[rick57]

I am in need of some info from someone that lives in/near Chicago. My son has been checking out auto schools ( he will be a H.S.senior this coming year) and has been talking to various reps. I had it narrowed down to UTI, which has a center in Glendale Heights, Illinois and Lincoln Tech in Indianapolis. We attended a meeting with a UTI rep a few weeks ago and went to his house last week and signed up with them. After many calls to Lincoln Tech, none have been returned and the customer service seems lacking. So their loss.
As we have been told,the UTI center in Glendale Heights is in a nice area.We are planning on visiting the school/area in Oct when I have my next vacation. Just thought I would check with others that may have some input for me. Thanks,

[TonyPSchaefer]

Rick,
I have no experience with UTI, but Glendale Heights is a very nice place. It's far enough from "The City" to have parks and trees and greenery but close enough to be within an hour's drive to Michigan Avenue and the Lake.

If you wish to provide more information on your expected visit dates, we can try to arrange a meet-up for that weekend in Glendale Heights.

[bnlfanmatt]

I don't know exactly what the question is, but Glendale Heights is a nice area, like Tony said, suburban enough to be green areas, with parks, and everything, but within an hour of the city. Although, since it'll be just your son there, he might not like it, not close to enough excitement, parking downtown can get expensive, and public transportation from Glendale Heights into the city is lacking. You might like it, he might stay out of trouble.

I mainly need to reprimand Tony. Come on man, the guy's on vacation, do you think he really wants to see a slew of Priuses (Prii, etc)? Give him a break. :wink:

[rick57]

Thanks for the replies. A slew of Pri' wouldn't bother me but not sure about my wife, .
UTI is Universal Technical Institute. They can be found at www.uticorp.com. They teach auto,diesel,marine,and motorcycle at many campus' across the country. They also have the Graduate schools for BMW,Porche,Volvo,MB,etc. Even Toyota is connected there! My son is signed up for the Auto Technology with the Toyota add-on program.The nearest school to us in in Glendale Heights. My wife is worried about it being so far and in Chicago. She thinks of all the bad you see about the town. I know a kid can find trouble any where if he looks for it. At least this area should be a nice place to go to school. I have checked in to it and it is ok by me. I have still to visit and am planning on going in October during my next vacation to check out the school and maybe the area while we are there.

[tag]

I own a building in Carol Stream (neighboring village to Glendale Heights) out of which I used to work and, as it happens, I've have driven by UTI numerous times in the past. There is no reason to be even remotely concerned about the surrounding area in terms of safety and the school itself is located in a well-kept and sort of upscale office/industrial park.

The only thing that could be problematic, as Matt and Tony indicated, is transportation. AFAIK, UTI has no dorms. There's plenty of housing, single family homes and apartment complexes, but it's hard to imagine living in the Glendale Heights area without a car; everyone drives everywhere. There is nearly zero public transportation that services the area except for trains going into the city. I guess that's fairly typical for a medium density, big city suburb.

If you need any further information or other assistance, I'd be glad to help.

[rick57]

Transportation & housing would be no problem,tag. He would be taking his car with him. Also UTI helps in acquiring& maintains a list of nearby apartments. They also keep a bulletin board of neighboring part time job openings to help pay expenses. That makes me happy he can at least help pay for his shool/expenses, . They are very helpful in seeing that every student is taken care of.

[popoff]

My son and his wife lived in Glendale Heights for several years before they bought their first house.

We felt very comfortable there when we visited. I would echo the positive statements about the area.