Best Automotive Schools in the Southeast

Mechanic Schools in Mississippi

Best Automotive Schools in the Southeast

Mechanic schools all across the nation are trying to get your attention. We break through the noise with the 5 best automotive schools in the Southeast!

Best Automotive Schools by Region: Southeast

It is here, week 4 of the Best Automotive Schools by Region! Today we are looking at a large region, the Southeast. The Southeast is made up of the most states out of any region at 14 states. This made it difficult to find just 5 of the best automotive schools in the Southeast, but we did! Look at the section below to find out exactly what criteria we look at to come up with this. First, here are all of the states we looked at, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida.

All five of these schools are brand new to any lists we have put together so far. This is because the Southeast has been a little slower to accept the trade school revolution. Therefore, most states outside of the Southeast have invested large amounts of time, energy, and capital into building strong institutions. We expect to see this come in the Southeast soon as the best automotive schools in the Southeast are a glimpse into the future of the region.

Criteria for the Best Automotive Schools

To determine which schools were in fact the best automotive schools in the Southeast, we had to come up with a few parameters. To start, we looked at graduation rate. We decided that this was an important first step as it gives a glimpse into the student body’s view of the school. If students enjoy the school, they should have a higher graduation rate. With smaller community colleges, this isn’t as important because one of their main goals is to get students to transfer to larger universities. Next, we examined the median salary of former students 10 years after they attended the school. Third, we found the average annual cost to attend each school before finally ending with the average debt a student graduates with.

Although these aren’t all the factors that go into making a college great, they can help us get a glimpse into the caliber of certain schools. Before we made our final picks, we then went through and made sure that each school was a certified program by the ASE Education Foundation. Although we cannot guarantee your financial situation will match any of the numbers we have presented, we can guarantee that each of the 5 best automotive schools in the Southeast offer something great. In order to find all of this information, we utilized the amazing tools from College Scorecard.

Graduation Rate
Salary After Graduation
Annual Cost
Debt Upon Graduation

Best Automotive Schools in the Southeast

1. West Kentucky Community and Technical College

Paducah, KY
Graduation Rate: 45%
Salary After Attending: $27,300
Annual Cost: $5,777
Debt upon Graduation: $9,343

Back in 1909 West Kentucky Community & Technical College was formed as an institution dedicated to training African-American teachers. Today the school has been adopted by the Kentucky Community & Technical College System which provides a network of schools so students get the best possible training. What makes WKCTC the best automotive school in the Southeast is the community development and amazing training opportunities they provide.

2. East Mississippi Community College

Scooba, MS
Graduation Rate: 42%
Salary After Attending: $24,900
Annual Cost: $4,475
Debt upon Graduation: $8,000

East Mississippi Community College comes in at the second best automotive school in the Southeast for multiple reasons. One, this schools has done an incredible job at keeping small class sizes to ensure intentional and intimate learning environments. In fact, they have kept a student to faculty ratio of 17:1 which is quite exceptional. Along with that, EMCC offers 48 different career and technical programs. Therefore, if you change your mind and want to pursue a different career, you won’t need to transfer schools!

3. Oconee Fall Line Technical College

Sandersville, GA
Graduation Rate: 31%
Salary After Attending: $22,000
Annual Cost: $0
Debt upon Graduation: $5,621

Oconee Fall Line Technical College is the result of two different schools merging together in 2010. As a result, the single school is now able to provide over 100 different associates degrees, diplomas, and certificates. This, along with the diversity of the students they can train speaks volumes. They have programs available for recent high school grads, adults seeking career change, or someone just looking for a single class. Therefore, OFLTC comes in at the third best automotive school in the Southeast.

4. Northern Virginia Community College

Annandale, VA
Graduation Rate: 23%
Salary After Attending: $42,000
Annual Cost: $10,335
Debt upon Graduation: $11,000

If you desire a large university feel at the low price of a community college, Northern Virginia Community College is the perfect school for you! NOVA is the largest educational institution in all of Virginia and the second largest community college in the United States. This has allowed the school to reach tens of thousands of students each year while still maintaining high quality education. This puts NOVA at number four in the best automotive schools in the Southeast.

5. Advanced Technology Institute

Virginia Beach, VA
Graduation Rate: 77%
Salary After Attending: $40,800
Annual Cost: $20,495
Debt upon Graduation: $15,250

Automotive Technical Institute is the final to make the cut as the best automotive schools in the Southeast. The school has invested in its community and its community has invested back into the students. This has resulted in the graduates of ATI having a fairly easy time finding jobs in their field. 68% of ATI graduates actually do find a job in the same field that they studied which shows that the school trains their students well.

Locations of Southeast Best Schools

1. West Kentucky Community and Technical College

4810 Alben Barkley Drive

Paducah, Kentucky 42001

2. East Mississippi Community College

8731 S. Frontage Road

Mayhew, MS 39753

3. Oconee Fall Line Technical College

1189 Deepstep Road
Sandersville, GA 31082

4. Northern Virginia Community College

8333 Little River Turnpike
Annandale, VA 22003

5. Advanced Technology Institute

5700 Southern Blvd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23462

Research Your School

Continue to do your own research apart from the information we provide. These are the 5 best automotive schools in the Southeast but that does not mean they are going to be the best school for you! There are many things you need to consider, such as location, scholarship opportunity, and the ability to build relationships with instructors and local professionals. Keep in mind things like whether you want to stay close to home or get out of there. Whether you want to go somewhere you have friends or make all new friends.

As always, we are here to help you! We have many different resources to help aspiring auto mechanics find the right school to be successful. One major resource we provide is our scholarship, so be sure you check that out! Along with that, if you know exactly what state you want to study in, we have a list of each automotive school by state you can search. In the end, maybe you need some extra help or just want to talk to someone about this process, we are here for that! Fill out our contact form so we can get in touch.

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