Capstone College - Pasadena, California

Robert F.

The 12 month plumbing program has provided me with the tools, experience, and the right connections to land a fantastic job sooner than I imagined. Our instructor Ruben Sandoval is hands-on, informative, and always provides positive constructive criticism. If you are thinking about enrolling at Capstone, go in with a growth mindset, be ready to get your hands dirty and ask questions. Be on time, and take full advantage of what this program has to offer!

Luke W.

All front office staff are highly unprofessional and incompetent. The first interaction I had with Angie from financial aid was very inappropriate. I was faced with a bad attitude, hostility and she seemed to be upset about something or had something against me. Not only did this make me uncomfortable because this is a person who handles finance but frankly her demeanor is rude and annoying. Due to me missing some classes, she was unable to find me as a had a family emergency. It then came to my attention she was trying to get me dropped explaining "they pay me to go to school". Sad a financial aid lady thinks they pay my BAH which I earned through my service. Safe to say you will be faced with the same disrespect from other office staff. An instructor I believe named Ernie is known to make fun of students and barrate them if they don't know "the basics". Someone I'm not comfortable learning from. Based on the staff alone I highly advise using your benefits elsewhere. The material is very dry and repetitive. The school seems to be undergoing changes but I suspect the staff unprofessionalism will remain. I also got a job through school and was told I didn't have to return as I got a job secured. Weeks after I am harassed via email by Brittney saying if I miss one more day I will be dropped from the program. She clearly didn't want to hear my side when I was told "I never got approval not to come school". I was given permission from the school owner during a conversation Brittany was not a part of. I very tempted to reach out to a state official and the VA on this matter. Veterans be warned they don't care about you.

Aric _.

I took the 8 month HVAC program here in May of 2024. The school has a small staff that is friendly and welcoming, though relatively unorganized.

The primary instructor for the HVAC program -Mike (who no longer works there) was an older gentleman who had a passion for the trade. While being well intentioned and highly knowledgeable, the majority of class time was spent lecturing in theory.

When questions were asked it would often take 30+ minutes to get to the answer.

We spent two weeks going through a 400 page book on Mini split systems and never even got to put our hands on a physical unit.

A lot of the students were disruptive to the class making it hard to focus on what was being taught.

I would often see students who graduated (both in HVAC & Electrical program) 3-6 months later visiting the school to get more experience as they STILL had not landed a job.

Aside from butting heads with the main instructor, I did appreciate Armando, who was the assistant teacher. He was very practical and made concepts simple & easy to understand.

Some areas that really need improvement:
- teaching basic fundamentals to begin work in the trade.
- sufficient equipment to work on.
- lack of resume building / job placement resources.

overall the school does not prioritize its students and their time. While I appreciate the efforts of the staff and the opportunity to get my EPA certification, I do not feel that the programs provided were more resourceful than YouTube.

This is my honest opinion without trying to be overly harsh or critical of the staff that keep this institution going.

Thank you

E B.

What I was promised is not what was given. Administration didn’t help look for work. I didn’t talk to anyone in the office until I was done with school to receive my certificate. I would’ve chosen a different program after the experience I had. I had to look for my own work without help and administration was adamant about me leaving a good review. I had to buy my own equipment because schools equipment didn’t work.

ethan A.

This school is a waste of time, and I advise anyone thats looking enrolling into a trade school to go elsewhere.

I joined the HVAC program in October 2024, and in the beginning I struggled. Bad.

It wasn’t just me either, and overtime I came to realize why. The school is money driven.. they would rather cram as many students paying 18 grand in tuition and force 30+ kids to be taught by three instructors. Kids would get left out, lose focus, and check out because it’s simply too much for the teachers to handle it all. I found the enthusiasm the students had was incredibly poor, and for those who genuinely wanted to learn became held back because the instructors were busy answering questions that have already been gone over.. multiple times.

Students would show up late, stay glued to their phones, listen to music on their AirPods, showing complete disregard to the teachers trying hard to maintain a classroom. And of course, when the time came to show what they have learned the previous days, they don’t know… causing more time to be wasted because they have to be caught up due to their own negligence. It took time that I needed away from me, all because most students didn’t care. I’m not blaming the teachers either, watching them juggle everyone for so long and never achieving a level of focus from the students is incredibly draining. Why teach someone who doesn’t want to be taught?

The school doesn’t have any structure. It’s just a free for all and if you really wanna learn you cannot rely on the instructors. They are simply overwhelmed, and in this trade intimacy is the key to understanding.. and It’s just not possible here.

The school is cheap. They refuse to buy new equipment and force us to use old outdated tools and units. We work with more broken parts and being taught on why they are broken instead of seeing functional ones. Only a couple machines work, and those that do work are constantly having to be troubleshooted by the instructors because students take it upon themselves to attempt different services, but almost never put it back how they found it. Instead of learning a specific topic for a day is almost always changed to figuring out why we can’t turn the unit on to try and test said topic. Again, taking more time from the instructors.

When you first enroll to the school
They go over percentages of students who enrolled and graduated through the school and the pay rates they achieved, but it’s a lie. They tell you that once you graduate and receive your certificate, it guarantees you will find a job, but it’s simply not true… and this goes back to what I mentioned earlier. The students go about this school thinking they could just get by each day with minimal effort and the school will grant a certificate, then that will get them a job. It’s this mindset that has driven most kids to not care about what is being taught, and absolutely waste everyone’s time for the 8 month enrollment thinking it’s an easy ride. It was incredibly frustrating to me because I went into this trade determined to change my life, and I was held back by a school who could care less if I achieved that, but only that I continued paying them.

After 6months, with intense dedication and long days coming in hours early and staying after class, I was able to achieve a technician position, and after discussing this with the school I had the OK to leave school and pursue my new found job. Two months later, the school calls me and tells me they want me back or they will drop me from the program, even though I got a job THROUGH them. The agreement was I would be excused until my graduation date because I secured a position, and they took back their word. Unbelievable, but it’s how they are.

To sum it up, they will NOT set you up to be successful in this trade. If you want to make this a genuine career, it will take so much more than what this school can offer. Please, if you want to pursue HVAC, DO NOT come here.

Daniel H.

Angie has always been very helpful to me from the very start with any questions I had about the school financial process and anything I needed with my financial aid . She really made sure I got help whenever I needed it and for that I’m genuinely thankful . Thanks Angie!

Ivan R.

Did the HVACR program and the HVAC instructors Mike, Armando and Alexis are some of the best in the business. The only down side at Capstone would be that the facility is a little Small and could get really noisy and packed because it’s shared with the electrical program, other than that I highly recommend.

Selena M.

By far the best trade school ever! The staff is friendly and patient! The teachers are knowledgeable and caring. The lab is spacious and clean. Overall, I would definitely recommend coming to Capstone College! My brother recently graduated from this school, he absolutely loved it. Without Capstone College, my brother wouldn't be a successful Electrician right now.