Varsity Driving Academy

Terrible experience with them. Had nothing but trouble every step of the way. I am not sure how they are still in business with the way they treat people.
Do yourself a favir and stay away from these rip off artists.

Both of my kids went through Varsity Driving School and learned so much more than their friends who went to other driving schools. They were extremely professional and so helpful with my kids’s questions.
My daughter requested to only have a female instructor and both women were AWESOME!!!
If you’re looking for an excellent school look no further.
Varsity Driving School is above ALL others!!!

Varsity Driving Academy did a great job of guiding us through the details of the driver’s permit and test process. There’s a very specific set of timelines and documentation that you’ll have to follow for the DMV and VDA described it all clearly and made it easy to comply. But follow the directions closely– trust me, you want to minimize the number of times you have to visit the DMV.
The behind-​the-​wheel driving instruction was very good and preparation for the actual driving test that will be taken at the DMV is very thorough. My son passed his driving test on the first try and wasn’t even nervous because he knew what to expect.
Highly recommend Varsity Driving Academy for anyone going through the process of getting their driver’s license.

Do not use this company for traffic school. They mess up the paper work, make it seem like it’s your fault. You have to go to the courthouse to get it fixed. Bad customer service. They do not do there job!

With the help of varsity, my husband also got his California drivers license in just one attempt. Special thanks to everyone there especially Becky for her professional advices. Luckily we chose them! Highly recommend Varsity to anyone who needs a good driving school.

My daughter took the on-​line driver training and the 6 hour behind-​the-​wheel driver training with Varsity Driving Academy. After having her learner’s permit for only 6 months she passed her drivers test and received her license on the first try. The whole process with VDA went very smoothly and worked very well.
I was a little bit concerned about going with on-​line training because my son took a good in-​class program a couple years ago elsewhere. Problem was it was very time consuming and quite a bit more expensive. At the end, I didn’t feel the on-​line program was in any way less valuable then the in-​class program. Also, the other program required six — 1 hour driving sessions. This was also difficult from a scheduling standpoint. VDA goes with three — 2 hour sessions spacing them out, one right after receiving the permit, one about midway from when you expect to take the test and the last one as close to the actual scheduled test as possible. This strategy worked very well.
Isaac D. her behind the wheel driving instructor was excellent. On time, easy-​going personality and knowledgeable.
Finally, the cars were late models with instructor side brakes, for those nervous about sending kids off for their first driving experience.

This is my third child going through varsity driving academy– and we have had three 5 STAR experiences! Everyone-​from the office staff who takes the initial phone call, to the driving instructors who dealt with each of my very different kids, to the owner, Mark McKinney, who personally checked on each kid after their test– made my kids feel like they could do it! Not only that, and WAY more importantly, they teach them the skills they need to survive on the roads! Nothing is more scary than sending your kid out in a auto alone for the first time, but after the training they got from Varsity I was confident they were good defensive drivers and safe on the road. Mark and his staff are friendly, understand what it is like to be the parent, but most importantly, expertly qualified to produce a driver you will be confident to put behind the wheel of a car and let drive away from you. Thank you Varsity for getting my babies safely on the road! We love you!!!

20 years ago if you suggested that my wife would be a licensed driver I would have told you to seek a mental evaluation.
Fast forward to 1÷14÷2016, she is now exactly that, a licensed driver!
Thanks to Varsity Driving Academy and in particular Bill who did all the behind the wheel instruction and Paula who handled all of the scheduling.
Seldom today do you find people who are not only competent and professional but who also care. Bill and Paula fit both criteria.
Every appointment was confirmed, on time and in most cases even a bit early
A big plus for Varsity, IMO, is that the car you practice in is the same car you can take your test in. [ additional charge but worth it ]
Overall an outstanding experience, strongly recommended!!!

Purchased the online & behind the wheel package for my son. Customer Service was very friendly and easy to work with & all lessons went as planned. My son got a lot out of the driving lessons with all of his instructors, gained confidence & passed his driving test at the DMV on the 1^st attempt. I am 99% sure I used this same school for my daughter many years ago. Highly recommend this school to any parent seeking a good company for their teen driver. (They pick up students from a location of your choosing which is extremely helpful to working parents!)

Great service. Great instructors. Very encouraging. Becky and Kris increased my driving confidence. Becky made me comfortable on the day of my test. She was there the entire time and it helped me a lot.

They are amazing and very kind. I have had both of my kids go through them and both times they have been excellent. I have referred so many people to them and they have the same response.
Thank you

had a great experience with varsity driving school, very professional and excellent for student drivers! thanks for helping me get my license!

Best driving school! Super nice people and I was 100% prepared for my driving test and passed. George and Mark were the best driving instructors!

Staff is professional. Issac is my daughters instructor for driving. She thought he was fabulous and very helpful. They’re very affordable and offer to use there car for DMV Use for a fee. We are very pleased with them.

I purchased six 2 hour driving lessons from Varsity Driving Academy for my 16 years old son. Veronica, his instructor, was excellent. I found her to be very calm and patient. She’s also knowledgeable about California teen driving laws. BTW, my son already has his license. Here’s why the private instruction was so important to me:
In Newport Beach, we experienced six fatalities in the past year involving reckless driving by teenage boys. I can only imagine the pain these parents must be feeling. And my son is no different than any of the other kids — he thinks he knows everything. He calls me «controlling», and yes, that may be true. But one thing I know for sure… having a drivers license does NOT mean our kids are good drivers. Ongoing training is vital. I see it as an investment, just like his math tutor. So thank you Veronica, I appreciate your text messages and feedback.

Varsity Driving Academy was awesome! Our teenage son liked both of his instructors (Bryce and Mark) a lot, and felt very confident going into the testing situation. He passed the driving portion in Costa Mesa on his first try! Katie was very helpful and accommodating when scheduling lessons. We have two younger children and won’t hesitate to use VDA for our future needs. Five star rating!

My experience at VDA was really great. My instructor was very helpful in pointing out common pitfalls other drivers make, and correcting some errors that would’ve made me miss points on the driving exam. For the last lesson, you’re taken out to the actual DMV that you will take your test at so you can practice the course a little. I took my test at Costa Mesa (which is actually pretty hard – I wouldn’t recommend it), and the way one drives in Costa Mesa is pretty different to somewhere like Irvine, so I was kinda nervous. But my instructor was really helpful and I ended up feeling pretty confident going into my test. I ended up successfully getting my license and a large reason for that is due to the great instruction I received at VDA.

Great online course. instructor was cool. passed permit and license test first try. thanks!

Their instructors are okay. However it is very hard to schedule lessons with them, even harder to change the schedule when you have high school kids who are already busy in school and other activities. I had to schedule a lesson for my kid two months in advance. I could not reschedule when I called one month ahead. They must be very understaffed!
This is update on the review above — -
The owner of this driving school contacted me immediately after my review was posted. He was willing and eager to work with us to improve the outcome. He did! We were able to schedule the lesson and got an excellent instructor «Steve» for the lesson. We were happy with the outcome. However the instructor who came after that was different. She couldn’t find our house even she had come before. She didn’t wait us to come out of house to give us feedback after dropping off my kid at the end of lesson. I made several calls and got hold of her so I can talk to her. In the end I feel the school is good but customer service from different employees varies. I appreciate the effort from Mark and Steve!

Worth it’s weight in gold. I signed up for lessons after reading reviews on Unilocal and I am a foreign national, new to Orange County. Not only was the booking process easy, I had my driving test a week from then and needed a few refresher lessons before going for the test. Katie, my instructor, was just wonderful. She was neither agressive a teacher, but sufficiently instructive while letting you learn from experience. She gave me key pointers that helped me perform and followed up with a message to see how I was doing!
This place is definitely worth going to, whether you are getting refresher courses or learning for the very first time!