Concorde Career Institute / Concorde Career Colleges review: Not fulfilling their career placement promise 13

I attended Concorde in Portland in 2005. I was hired by my extern site. I went from being homeless to making 20+ dollars an hour in 5 years. You get out of the programs what you put into them. If your not commited then stop pointing fingers and blame yourself. I wasn't the smartest and I didn't have the best grades and scores. I did however have perfect attendance. My attendance in class along with my competencies is what got me hired. There is no hand holding. If you made mistakes and poor choices in your life that make it harder to get that job after graduation. . . . . that is on you! You have to work harder to show you've changed. this includes volunteer work, AA membership if applicable. Whatever it takes. Some of my fellow classmates gave up and cried sour grapes just like I read here. Some did the work. It took over a year but the ones that didn't quit trying GOT HIRED!

I attend Concorde Portland Campus Rt program and I have never had any problems the instructor is great and the course work is easy, I am however displeased with how Kevin Jackson admissions director conducts himself, he is unbelievably rude, and clearly doesn't care about his students

Although I cannot speak for all of Concorde-Portland, the Concorde Surgical Tech program has been on the mend for about 2 years now. I am proud to be a part of this program. I am a recent grad and all but 2 of our graduating class is employed. All of my class was placed at clinical sites and we all obtained the required hours/surgeries to graduate. The latest program director, Doug Hughes is amazing. He really is trying to turn it all around and I would say he is doing a fabulous job. If I had to do it all over again I would still choose Concorde.

Concorde is the worst school, they could care less about you as long as they get your money they don't care how they screw you over. I wouldnt waste your money!

I have to say...I'm a bit confused by people complaining about Concorde lying to them in regards to availability of jobs or whether or not you can get a job as a felon. It's a business. Of course they'll give you inaccurate information about how great your career choice is. But then again, community colleges do the same exact thing. I graduated from a medical program at the local college being promised help with job search. I was told that employers will come TO ME to offer me a job. And...what do you know. Only 7 out of 24 students got hired in the last 3 years. There are absolutely no jobs in the 100 mile radius.
The point is...it's YOUR responsibility to get factual information about the jobs out there. It's common knowledge that former felons don't get hired in the medical world. Heck, some hospitals don't even hire individuals who had a DUI 10 years ago. With all the applicants out there, they can nitpick at the smallest imperfections.

Prior to applying to Concorde or any other school, do a quick search to see how many jobs there really are out there. Check what the requirements are. Check what the disqualifications are. Admission offices are not going to give you accurate information. It's up to you to do your homework and see if you're making the right decision.

I went to Concorde in Tampa, FL for Medical billing and Coding. I was promised so many things. I never saw any of it. I graduated with honors in 2004. I paid almost 11k. Which I had a grant and finacial aid but it still didn't cover all of it so I still had to pay the school on top of it. Anywho I don't know if state make a dfferences but I was told they we're suppose to help you find a job if you couldn't find one. Which in florida it was very hard to even get a interview for medical billing and coding without any experience. Well I did my externship and then graduated and I made sure I keep in contact with the job placement lady and they never did help me find me a job. Anywho I decided that I wanted to go back to school again and decided that I wasn't gonna go to an instutition again after Concorde. Well Concorde won't give me my transcripts so now I can't go back to school. I feel if they would have done there job like they promised me from the beginning then I would have paid what I owed them but they didn't do there job.

I am sorry to hear that you are unable to find a job but it seems pretty common sense to assume that if you have a felony you're not going to be hired to work in the medical field. I would at least have done my own research and asked the companies that I would apply at if they would hire someone with a felony. One of my friends graduated from Concorde in 2001 and has been working as a dental assistant ever since without any problems finding new employment when she decided to switch dentist offices. She is happy with the school and I remember going there for her to work on me in one of her classes. It's all what you put into it and how much research you do before hand. Do some shadowing and ask the people you would want to work for if they would hire you with an education from this type of institution. Plain and simple.

I went to concorde for medical assistant/xray tech in portland back in 95. Ive been gainfully employed ever since. I have a few friends who just graduated from the portland site last month. I encouraged them to find there own extern site, which they did. Dont wait on the "school" to do anything FOR you. Do it yourself. The school gives you the basis for getting a job in the medical field. It is what you make of it! If you go in with the expectations of them holding your hand and walking you thru to the end result of a job, then this is not the place for you to go. This is an education center at best. YOU are in charge of what you do with the information they teach and give you.

my husband is considering going to the portland campus this spring for RT, I'm hesitant...what to do?

I am also very disappointed with Concorde Career Colleges in San Bernardino. I am an ex-felon who was led to believe that this was the answer to all of my past problems. After passing the background check, I was accepted into a medical assistant program and accepted as an intern at a highly respected urgent care center.I graduated with high honors and was even offered the job until the hospital ran my background.Needless to say they denied me employment.This leads me to believe that Concorde didn't provide the hospital with adequate
information.I personally believe that the banks own the schools and they bend the rules to fit the needs of the capitalists.This in turn controls the classes.It keeps the poor, poor and makes the rich, richer.In other words it's a SCAM.I need a few good people to give me some information
on how to start a class action lawsuit against these schools and against the banks.Contact me @rixfix45@yahoo.com .This is a very serious
problem for all Americans and it must stop.

I have to agree with the above comments. I have a child going to Concord and all I have seen is my wallet become smaller and smaller through loans to this "school" which should be called a unethical business. I find many of their practices "shady" at the very least and the "help" that is offered is minimal at best. My child has had so much stress and it has spilled over into our family. I wish I could just end this, but I have invested too much money already and am sure they would not let it leave their coffers.

Anyone considering using this institution please do yourself and your family a favor and go elsewhere. They misrepresent and fail to uphold the things they say they will do. They are looking out for their bottom line only, not the students.

Concorde is a corporation, not an institution dedicated to educating it's students (otherwise known as customers). I attended Concorde in Portland, OR, studying surgical technology. I, too, was lied to about the program, the syllabus they showed us at the beginning of the year was deviated from, and the instructors, for the most part, were not very intelligent or helpful. They violated some of the ASTs guidelines, and when I confronted them on it, they denied everything and made me look like a crazy person. They asked to have a meeting with me at one point, and when I asked if I could bring a witness or a tape recorder, they stopped communicating with me. I withdrew and after a long fight I was repaid part of my tuition.

It's a terrible institution. The bottom line is money, not education. Please, do yourself a favor and go to a REAL school.

This is terrible to hear. They had no business giving that type of advice. I am also sad to hear comapnies are being so closed about giving you a shot a life. I sincerely hope you get some sort of resolution with Concorde and that you find a company willing to allow you to expand you commitment beyond the classroom and itno the workforce. If you interview and have the appropriate opportunity, be sure to tell the person leading the interview that you are so serious about moving forward with your life that you invested $10, 000 and would just appreciate a chance. Surely someone will have enough common sense to know that people do not invest $10, 000 in their education unless they have left the past in the past and are extremely committed and excited to move forward.