Does it really matter what real estate school you attend?

The technical answer is No.  If the real estate school is accredited, then the state will allow you to attend and become a real estate agent.  But the devil is always in the details.  

In my review of dozens of real estate schools over the years I have determined that it really does matter which real estate school you attend if you want to become licensed with the least amount of frustration and difficulty. 

The technical answer is no, it does not matter which school you attend.  

Here are some facts you may not know about the real estate schools and how they fit into the real estate licensing process. 

• The name of the real estate school does not appear on your real estate license or any public records.
• Schools are independent from real estate companies and have no impact on what real estate company you select.  
• Schools have to be accredited by the state and if they receive this status, they are in good standing with the state and allowed to offer classes. 

With these facts in mind, lets look at some of the drawbacks that can be associated with this system.

• Because the real estate school is not associated with the license, we have no idea whether the agents generated by that school are successful or not.  This applies to the exam pass rates and post licensing sales success.  
• Many schools that are held at real estate company space have pressured prospective agents into joining the company with the implied promise of preferential treatment.  This happened to me with the first classroom based school that I attended.  The promises were never fulfilled. 
• Just because the school is accredited does not mean that the way the course is delivered or the instructor that delivers it will follow the approved curriculum.  An online based course ensures that it will.  A classroom based course opens the door for the class to be derailed by the students or the instructor that is more interested in telling war stories vs. presenting the accredited materials. 

I have found that the decision should be more about whether to take an online course vs. a classroom based course and once you make this decision in the states that allow for online courses, the decision is fairly clear between 3 or 4 schools, depending on the state. 

Classroom courses can truly be a hit or miss because of the two factors that I listed above.  

The Students and the Instructor.  

Why can the Students cause a school to be hit or miss?

Questions
Commitment
Wait for full class
The know it all

Student questions can be a powerful way for the instructor to explain a key topic or principle, yet they can also derail the entire class by taking the subject down a rabbit hole with unintended consequences.  It takes a strong, disciplined instructor to keep the class and the conversations on track.  This can be difficult during evening classes when students and the instructor are tired after already working a full day.

The commitment of the other students can vary from class to class.  If they are not as committed as you are to read all of the assignments prior to class, then they may be asking questions that were already covered in the reading materials.  

Their commitment to start class on time or return from breaks in a timely manner can impact the classroom experience.  They also have to be committed to limiting sidebar conversations and chatter that can cause distractions and commit to having civil discussions regarding topics covered in class.  In today’s political environment this can be very difficult to achieve due to the polarization of certain topics, opinions and conspiracy theories.

In some more rural areas, real estate schools delay the start of the next round of classes until they have enough students committed to attend the courses.  Until they do you are left waiting, even if you are ready to go. 

And we have all been in the class that has that one character that seems to think that they know it all or know it better than the instructor.  They spout off every opportunity that they can and can be confusing the requirement materials for something they saw on an old episode of HGTV or This Old House.   There is material that is required to be covered in an approved manner and these know-it-alls can’t help but add their 2 cents worth every chance they can.   

You can see from these examples how students can cause a classroom based real estate course to be a hit or miss situation.  

The other way is because of the instructors.

Why can the Instructors cause a school to be hit or miss?

Experience
Commitment 
Control of the Students
Different for every class cycle

When you sign up for the course, do you really have any idea of the experience of the instructor that is assigned to a particular class.  Remember is elementary where you couldn’t wait to find out who your teacher was going to be and how you knew the reputation and experience level of the teacher before you ever stepped foot in the class.  And heaven forbid that you got a new, inexperienced, teacher.  You wanted to get out of that class and transfer to another as soon as possible.    

With a real estate school, you truly have very little idea.  

After I completed the first classroom real estate course that I took, I looked up the sales production level of the instructor that had taught my course.  Come to find out that they had only sold 2 homes in the past 3 years.  

The commitment of the instructor to follow the course curriculum as approved and accredited by the state and maintain control of the classroom schedule and students is very important.  If they waiver in any of these areas, you as the student suffer. 

And they may be a great instructor, but combined with a non committed class of students or troublesome students and the instructor may lose control of the situation.   Maintaining control of the students and staying on track is difficult in a classroom full of star pupils, but you can see how it can be hit or miss. 

Unless the real estate school is one that only employs one instructor, your ability to determine if the school’s reviews apply to one instructor or another can be difficult.  Each time the class is offered by the school, it may be a different instructor due to scheduling reasons.  This is a hit or miss that you might not want to risk.

All of these variables are removed with regards to an online course delivery.  You are the only student, so there are no distractions from other students.  And there is no chance that the instructor will not follow or present the materials because the class is already laid out in a format that has proven to be a success for a number of students that have attended before you.

In states that allow online courses, this narrows the choice down to one of four schools.  

I am providing links to each so that you can make a decision and get started today.    

The CE Shop 

Colibri

Kaplan

AceableAgent

Our mentorship program helps you decide which of these is best for you. 

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