Is Sage College in San Diego a reputable reporting school?

Hi,

I'm currently studying reporting in NYC but I am thinking of moving to San Diego...does anybody know about Sage College and their Court Reporting program?  Pros, cons?

Also, can any San Diegans chime in on the current job market there?

Thanks in advanced!

Brandi, as a student at Sage, I can tell you that the program is nothing short of fantastic.  Depending on your school's format for class sessions and testing, you may have a little bit of an adjustment period, but the student body are always willing to give you some pointers.  The faculty is extremely supportive at all speeds.  On a scale of one to ten, I give Sage a 100.

Sage also has a 100% placement rate so while I haven't experienced the market yet, all students that have graduated since I started seem to be working within no time.

I feel like a broken record because I keep saying this, but I HIGHLY recommend starting out in a community college, unless you're independently wealthy.  Community colleges are great because then you can see if you have an aptitude for this.  Seriously, some people don't and then they're stuck with a mountain of school loan debt with nothing to show for it.  You can even get your academics out of the way at a community college, which saves again.  Go to a private court reporting school when you are in high speeds -- that's when the concentrated four-voice practice is invaluable, although I think you can even get the four-voice practice in a community college program.  Cerritos college in Cerritos is one that has the program, but I know there are others as well.  Great career, by the way!  Love it, love it! 

I attended Bryan College's online program for two years; they recently went through an ownership change and now have a family running it that knows nothing about the field. Their practice/class sites are frequently down in spite of the fact that you are required to log a certain number of hours. I was a day student, but within my first 6 months had nothing but evening academics available and had to take them to be earning enough credits for my loans. Test results took upward of 3 weeks. My feeling is they created this program to suck every student loan dollar out of their customers and could care less if you end up employable. They actually locked a fellow student out of all applicable sites and wouldn't tell her that she'd run out of money for 2 weeks.

I cannot say enough about the frustration this school causes.

How DO you buy the equipment for Court Reporting as cheaply as possible?  I'm going to be a new student at Sage and am unsure of whether to get a cheapo initially and then upgrade - or if this will impeded my speed!  I'd prefer to buy a good one out of the gate but where to get a good price????