Drivers' Educational School, Inc. Midtown, Anchorage

PLEASE READ THIS REVIEW!! PART 1/2 Before I get heavy on the details of my experience taking the Student Drivers Learn To Drive Program, I want to first briefly summarize some information about myself. I am a twenty year old male and I have always been afraid of driving, especially because I know that one mistake can be devastating under bad circumstances. I had never touched a steering wheel until 19, and I had only drove 3 times in total beforehand. All three times were in parking lots, and I...
Read full review had never been on the road. This horrible driving anxiety that I had affected me in so many ways. It was always embarrassing to have to let other people know that at my age, I had no license, and no permit. (I had gotten my permit in June), but beforehand everyone would laugh or be confused as to why I didnt even have a permit. At the same time, working was limited for me, I could only work at places I could walk to, and that is exactly what I have been doing. MY DETAILED EXPERIENCE OF THE LEARN TO DRIVE PROGRAM. 8 HOUR CLASS: The first thing that will be taken is the 8 hour defensive driving class. Within this class you will be learning information about driving, the car/vehicle itself, and how certain circumstances must be dealt with. Before going into the building I was scared that I would be one of the only people there. I dont know why, but I was also sure there wouldnt be a lot of people around my age. I was wrong. The room was absolutely filled and most of the people were around my age or younger. There were two older women, one of them having her daughter as a translator to be there. Our teacher for the day was JACOB. When I tell you that this man is AN AMAZING, ENGAGING, AND FUN person, I am not lying. He immediately had all of the classroom pay attention, and get ready for the LONG class. He had our groups of tables come up with names, or assign one ourselves. Most groups did not pick their own names, he assigned them haha. The class had a ONE HOUR lunch break. Jacob put on some music, and people were free to eat inside the classroom, many people doordashed as well. The class went by extremely fast and by the end of it you are given a certification paper of your Defense Driving Course today. This can get you a discount on car insurance. The class itself was long, however went by really fast, the people were funny, nice. and during lunch I had a blast while talking to other people who are like me, learning to drive. The class is so rememberable, I can recall the group names, The back group, blueys, pooh bear(that was my group lol), the nerds, american hand sanitizers, and da cherries. 4 DAYS OF DRIVING : Once you are done with the class, you have four days of dedicated driving lessons with a one on one instructor in one of the provided cars from the school. One or two days before your lesson, you are supposed to get a call or text from your instructor to talk about your lesson. I had a minor problem here, my instructor never called or texted me, and when I called the school to ask why, they said they had my number with 307 instead of 907? I was confused since I remember putting 907 and I had a picture of it as well on my information paper you had to fill out in the beginning of the defensive driving class. None the less, they fixed my number, and were extremely kind about it. The day finally came where my lessons were taking place. My lessons were scheduled at 10:30 am to 12:30 pm, I was terrified, I was excited, but most of all, I was NOT EXPECTING what would happen next. My instructor Tanya came out of the car, affirmed who I was, and kindly asked how I am. After that, I assumed I was going to be taken somewhere to learn the basics of driving. I tried going into the passenger seat, but Tanya laughed a little and let me know that Im actually going to be driving! I genuinely thought she was joking until it was obvious she wasnt. Get this, I had no experience at all in driving beyond a parking lot. I had only drove 3 times, and I had extreme road anxiety. (PLEASE FIND PART 2 HERE, MY REVIEW IS TOO LONG! )

Rick answered questions, gave straight forward instructions, gave suggestions, and gave excellent feedback helping with road confidence. My daughter felt so much better about driving after this and has more confidence on the road.

I took a J-1 visa holder here to take a road test. The visa holder had been in the United States less than 90 days, had a valid international license, and had proof of recently passing Alaska s written knowledge test. The J-1 visa holder was therefore already a lawful driver in Alaska allowed to take a road test. They nonetheless claimed she needed a permit to take a road test, but then said she could test anyway, but it could be flagged by the DMV who could void the test. This is entirely...
Read full review inaccurate. Permits are not required for those over 18 who are currently lawful drivers. And if it were correct, then they shouldn t have administered a test. They were evidently aware of their wrongdoing, as rather than risk trouble with the DMV, they failed the poor J-1 visa holder for supposedly not getting the entire car within cones set up for parallel parking. This failure involved cones surrounding a half-plowed mess, and the J-1 visa holder, a non-native English speaker, didn t understand what she was supposed to do, as the tester explained only in rushed English. Everything about my interaction with this business wreaked of their ignorance and money-grubbing, served with a subtle side of bullying. I recommend looking elsewhere.

The road test is a bit pricey but worth it. The instructor makes sure you re ready and comfortable before the test which is honestly such a good thing for nervous teens. The test is pretty much a guaranteed pass unless you are genuinely a TERRIBLE driver. (Practice before taking the test!!! Remember the test is $70-$100) The parallel parking does not need to be perfect, as long as it s in the parking spot and you don t hit anything. To anyone who plans to take their road test here, good luck!

Paid close to $1k for driving lessons for my teenager. Closed up shop without a phone call or a refund? I m hoping if and when they re open we will get a full refund! Editing to add that I did get a full refund. Frustrating few weeks of uncertainty but very happy for the refund!

The driving instructor Jose is extremely rude. His tone of voice is very discouraging and disrespectful and today he ended our class 20 minutes early at 9:45 He also does not help at all most of the time he just sits and doesn t say anything. I would like to contact whoever is in charge to do something about this.

I signed up for the instructors class, driving practice and the drivers test. The instructor class was really helpful, it taught me things I didn t know about and those things now are common sense to me. The driving practice was very very helpful. My instructor was Nicole and I felt so comfortable with her because she was helpful by giving advice and really kind too. And for the drivers road test I didn t get his name but he was very helpful after taking the test buy giving pointers on how I can improve. Overall great experience, 10/10!

I went here to take my road test, and everything went smoothly! Right when I walked in, I was greeted by friendly staff. The lady at the front desk, Joy, was very kind and made sure that all of my questions were answered before my road test. The test only cost $70; it was very quick and easy! The examiner, Tim, used simple directions and gave helpful tips after telling me that I passed. Overall, the staff did a great job at making me feel comfortable! Thank you for the amazing service, I highly recommend this place to take your road test!

I took Drivers Training with Nicole. She is one of the best and really makes u fell like she is your friend. She knows what she is doing and i learn stuff that I did know but make it better and easier.

When I had failed the first time, the examiner had given me a few tips and had helped me to be better. After 7 days, I took my test again and I passed even with a different examiner. They re very professional and confident with their job! It was a great and awesome learning experience and I got my license the same day I passed. Definitely recommended to anyone. Just be yourself, don t be nervous, and know that every move that you make when the examiner is in the car are graded. Thank you!!!