Brookline Driving School is the best!!! My experience is nothing short of outstanding! We had a negative experience with AAA Driving School because of scheduling on their end and no show teachers so we gave up and switched. Brookline Driving School exceeded our expectations. As a business owner myself who deals with teaching clients and improving client confidence, I can honestly say the quality, the instructors, and the scheduling in phenomenal here. The instructors build confidence on Day 1 and make new drivers feel good about their learning process as it really takes time. Our instructor showed up to our second lesson in a car the size of mine - just brilliant! I am so impressed I even called and thanked them myself. If you are not sure if a school is the right fit try a one-hour lesson and see with these guys first. Our pickup spot was convenient to our home, safe, well thought out and even on a T stop. They really do a great job and I highly highly rate them beyond 5 stars here. I am very pleased putting my money here as a Boston resident because I know how scary driving here can be. The student really needs a positive instructor and they have them. We booked 5 hours worth of lessons and if we find that more is needed we won't hesitate to book. Thank you Brookline Driving School staff, you knocked it out of the park! Read Less

If you're looking for a date to take the road test that is earlier than the dates the RMV offers do it through BDS! I had a foreign driver's license I needed to convert to a U.S. one, and since I don't have access to a car, taking the road test through BDS was the perfect solution. The whole process was worth the money for me, as it was the most convenient. Since I already know how to drive, I just took a one-hour driving lesson with BDS, to know what to expect on the road test and it was a great experience! I would definitely recommend taking the road test through the school. The instructors and staff were friendly and very helpful the day of the road test, giving everyone last-minute tips and helping calm our nerves. Would definitely recommend taking lessons and scheduling your road test through BDS (as from what I found, scheduling a test date through the RMV, turned out more difficult than I thought due to their limited availability!) Read Less

I totally recommend this driving school! I couldn't pass on my own 2 times at RMV, and my friends advices me to take 2 lessons here and then I passed it easy. Especially there is a good driving instructor his name is Boris. Very patient. Read Less

I took two lessons and had the Saturday Road Test with BDS. My first lesson was with Yuri; he was very to the point. He maneuvered the wheel a few times too many I thought but he was helpful otherwise. The lesson with Eric was the best! He gives you feedback on everything that matters and is very thorough. I just passed my road test (Iliya was there and had a great personality) and would 100% take more lessons from Eric. Read Less

BDS is the best school out there. Very patient and get you more than ready for the road test. The instructors really know what they are doing and really take the time to teach you what you'll need to know to get out on the road. Read Less

BDS was a great experience. I'd had my permit for almost 10 years, but had never gotten around to getting my license since I don't drive much. I took a 5-hour refresher course and then signed up for the road test with them. It was all done over the phone without any hassle and took less than 10 minutes.As for the 5-hour driving course itself, I had Eric as my instructor for all 3 sessions. That dude is AWESOME. He was very polite, straightforward, extremely knowledgeable, and patient. His feedback and suggestions were always welcome, and even though I've felt like a relatively good driver for the past few years, I still learned a ton. I highly recommend having him as an instructor if possible.Overall the experience was pretty painless and helped me get my license (passed the road test with them!) Read Less

Awesome experience! I only bought 5 hours of driving, and scheduled my road test with them. I had 3 different instructors and all taught me a different lesson that helped me on the road test. My last instructor was there for my road test and went over everything that I needed to know before the test. I had mounds of moral support prior to actually taking the test, and afterwards. And of course, I passed! Great driving school, and super helpful with road test scheduling. Read Less

I highly recommend this place if you are trying to get your license fast! They have great instructors who actually care about your passing. They will teach you every tricks you need to know in order to pass your road test. Read Less

This a great school with polite, friendly and helpful instructors and staff. I didn't take the full training as I had a drivers license from another country. They give you a 1.5 hours driving training that show you all the loops and hoops of the MA driving test. They schedule the exam for you and they also provide the car. They offer Saturday tests that are very helpful as they don't interfere with your weekly schedule. Also for the driving training they pick you up from your location and take you to the location of the test to practice. The day of the exam they are refreshing everything all over again and they provide some useful tip. A lot of people there were stressed and they tried to relax and calm them down. I think their prices are very reasonable for the quality and amount of service they provide. As long as I was there pretty much everyone passes accept 2 people (2 out of 30 I counted). Highly recommended. Read Less

As a preface, I never write reviews on Yelp, but I do want to share my frustration so that others don't have to go through a traumatic experience with this school. Here is the simple rundown of this business:The instructors especially Inna are nice and good at what they do. The management, on the other hand, is incompetent, unaccommodating, and rude. The instructors being nice, however, does not offset the fact that you will have to deal with several administrative mess-ups and as a result you will waste a lot of time, money, and mental energy. Amongst many mess-ups, the one that affected my plans the most:When I tried to schedule a road test exam with them, I was advised against the slot I wanted and was told to schedule at an earlier time. I was also told that WE WILL SEE HOW WE ARE FEELING BEFORE THE ROAD TEST EXAM. I called around two weeks before my road test exam and told them that I don't think I am ready yet. At that time, for the first time, I was informed there is a deadline that has passed two days ago to opt out of the road test exam. Also, last time I talked to them they threatened to charge me for a driving lesson they first said they will offer to me in good will to help me with the driving test. Also, I did not take the driving lesson. Rude telephone exchanges, where they threaten you with different kind of charges and abruptly hang up your phone calls are the norm, btw. Just find a different driving school. I have wasted too much time due to their incompetency. Read Less

Generally speaking, I enjoyed learning driving with this school. I passed the road test thanks to the coaching of James, a nice instructor who cares about his students' life and spares no efforts to make them good drivers. A five star goes to James and may be a four star goes to the school. Read Less

The old Boris is the best instructor! He speaks a heavy Russian accent, but is still understandable. He's very thorough. He goes through details so you can understand why you need to do what you do to drive/park correctly and to pass the exam.The front desk lady may appear rude at times, don't be scared away. What I don't like about this school is that they make students drive to pick up the next student, or to drop off the previous student, and some of them may live half an hour away. It's a good real world driving practice, but you could have used that time to practice parallel parking and 3-point turns instead, which are the most important and most difficult. Read Less

My wife and I came from another country and we needed a to pass driving test to get U.S. driver licenses. Brookline Driving School was recommended to us by a friend and they didn't disappoint. We took a 1-hour lesson each where the instructor walked us through the exercises that we'd need to do during the test. As we had quite a few years of driving experience, we didn't need more lessons, but that one lesson was very helpful in understanding local rules and how the exam is carried out. At the exam day, when we were waiting in the line, the instructor once again went over the important things to remember to make sure we make it. Having this guidance, we passed the test easily. I can highly recommend Brookline Driving School to anyone in the same situation. Read Less

I had a great and positive experience with the Brookline Driving School! I signed up for the 10 hour private lessons and I was happy with all of the instructors that I got... James, Viktor, Eric, Juan, and Ina . The beginning of each lesson was practicing for the road test and the rest of the time was spent navigating the local roads. Each instructor had their own tricks and ways of teaching, which I loved! I also passed the road test on the FIRST try! I would recommend this driving school to everyone! Read Less

So I like this school. I have done my first session of lessons and my first instructor was patient but kind of freaked out a little. On my last day though I got an instructor that was calm, cool, and informative. This helped me a lot on focusing and know where my problem areas were. Read Less

I can't say enough good things about Brookline Driving School!As a mid-20s, lifelong Bostonian, driving was never necessary. That coupled with anxiety at the thought of driving left me unlicensed and dependent upon public transit and Uber to get around.I had taken lessons through a different school a couple of years ago but the experience left me feeling unprepared and lacking confidence in my ability to drive. So, with my new permit in hand, I found Brookline Driving School online and scheduled two lessons and a Saturday road test.My first lesson was 90 minutes and I got Eric as my instructor. If you're looking for an instructor who's detail oriented, very clear in his manner of instruction, and really helpful in providing extensive feedback then definitely ask for Eric as your instructor. He was awesome! My the end of my first lesson, I had become a solidly proficient parallel parker, mastered the 3 point turn, and overall had a solid grasp on the major items I would be tested on during the road test. The following week, and the day before my Saturday road test, I booked an hour lesson. This time I had Inna (?) and her feedback was very helpful. She has a great sense of humor and that really helped me to feel more relaxed while driving. Saturday, I took the road test and passed with flying colors! I plan on booking a final lesson with Brookline Driving School to practice highway driving. I strongly recommend Brookline Driving School to anyone who wants to get their license. Read Less

The first two instructors I had were pretty nice and did a good job of explaining how to drive to me. The other two were pretty rude. I've never had someone make me feel like an idiot before. It seemed like everything I was doing was wrong and that more than impacted my confidence. I'm never taking lessons from these people again. Not only do they force you to take 2 hour lessons even when you ask for less, but their instructors instead of helping build up confidence, tear you down. Read Less

I just took and passed my driving test this morning. Prior to Brookline Driving School, I had very little experience with driving (beyond cruising in an empty parking lot). The school was very accommodating in finding me time slots for lessons in very short notice, as well as helping me squeeze in a road test 3 weeks from my first lesson.Before I signed up for the 10-hour private lesson package, I went for a 1.5 hour introductory lesson to become comfortable with driving on real roads. Afterwards, I had lessons from 1 to 2 hours long with different instructors. I've been taught by Juan, Igor, Boris, Eric, Mary, and Ilya. Although I found some instructors to be more easygoing than others, all of them are very, very serious about teaching you what you should know to be a good driver. My advice is to be patient with each of them, as they all are trying to help you out in their own way.On the morning of the test, Juan and Ilya were both there to cheer for their students. Ilya gave many last review tips to ensure everyone does their best effort on the test. I was the 6th in line, and everyone before me passed!I'm really thankful for the school! I would recommend everyone to give them a try. Read Less

Thanks to school it was a great experience . I have 14 years Driver License in Italy but I need to take American license.I passed my driving test today morning. I did a couple of driving lessons. Instructor  teaches me tips and tricks which helped me driving with confidence and passing the Road test . They was always good in schedule and professional. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Read Less

I'm an adult driver who did 13 hours of driving lessons with this school. I had a bad overall experience and won't go in for more or recommend this school.I'm only not giving one star because one instructor out of three I had was calm, professional, and gave me advice that was specific and helpful, and consistent with the MA rules of the road.The other two were both rude and contradicted each other in important ways. Examples:- how long to stop at a stop sign (four seconds versus "look around and just go if it's safe")- whether it's ok to adjust your side view mirror on a parallel park to look at the curb (it's totally ok vs. it's forbidden)- whether or not to signal every turn in a 3 point turn (not necessary vs. always must be done)Additionally, both two instructors I had bad experiences with kept telling me things I was doing wrong without being concrete about how I could improve.For example, I had trouble turning properly at intersections, and it took several repeated and increasingly insistent requests from me before my instructor would say anything more helpful than things like "you need to turn into the next lane".They then pulled me over and asked if I knew how to hand-over-hand turn. When I showed that I did, he rudely and sarcastically asked "oh, so you do, then?"I then asked if they meant that I should be doing that on 90 or more degree intersections, and the response was something along the lines of "I don't know, it depends on the situation" - which is fine, but I was asking specifically about the turns we had just done.I'm really disappointed in Brookline, as a friend recommended this school as a place that had friendly instructors who helped her overcome her anxiety and pass the test. Read Less

I had a road test scheduled on September 10th. When I arrived to the location where the road test takes place that day, Ilya told me that I was not on the list for that day for some reason.I was really surprised to hear that cause I've paid full price for the test when I  first got to BDS office, it was about a month ago. Anyway, Ilya said I can't take the test because of the mistake that one of the employees made not including me on the list. And honestly Ilya and BDS did absolutely nothing to resolve the issue that they caused.This way I wasted a month and wasn't able to take the test at the end. Needless to say that it wasn't the result I was looking for. Read Less

I'm a glass is 1/2 full kind of person, so it is hard for me to give a bad review.  With this review, I am trying to save someone from going through the same aggravation I have been through.  A little knowledge is power... right?I never found the woman on the phone to be rude.  I did find the accent difficult to understand at times, but I'm sure people would have said that about my grandparents at one time too, so I am pretty patient about these types of things.When booking the lessons and the road test for my recent college graduate, they told me they would pick up at our house.  Well, that never happened.  On the day of the first lesson, they called and said it was too far.  It wasn't when they were trying to make the sale. We had to drive to WRox and meet in a parking lot.  That should have been the first clue that this wasn't going to be a great experience. At the same time as booking the private lessons, I also booked the road test for my son.  Mind you I never received any paperwork or email detailing what the policies were.  Pay for the classes now, the road test payment would come later.  In hindsight, I would have paid it all up front.Now it is the week of the test  and I call to confirm the details, I was told they canceled his road test appointment. Apparently, I was supposed to pay 3 weeks ahead of time.  Why not a courtesy call before canceling?Then I rebook the test (meanwhile steam is still coming out of my ears because the next available test is in 3 weeks) and this time send a check to them the same day as the booking.  I emailed them to double check we are all set and  they canceled us again!  They said they "didn't receive the check" smh, seriously?!!!!  Again after the first cancellation (and my asking why don't they call before canceling) they still didn't call.  Now they tell me I could have booked by credit card... UGH.  I WOULD HAVE BOOKED BY CREDIT CARD THE SECOND TIME IF NOT THE FIRST HAD I KNOWN IT WAS AN OPTION!!!!!  And where the heck is my check?  Seems sketchy that they didn't receive it.I finally gave up, called a different driving school and got an earlier date than BDS was offering me. And when I called the new school to inquire they said, if you want to secure the spot today you can pay by credit card... what a novel idea!!! I find this whole driving school and road test with RMV to be a total sham!  It's as if you are forced to go through a driving school because booking on your own can take months.  To give some advice to BDS:  a little customer service can go a long way.  Okay, so canceling the first time - maybe - just maybe - I can say it was miscommunication.  But canceling again without a phone call and not offering  to pay by credit card until after the second cancellation... well in my mind that is just bad business practice. Read Less

This is a great driving school!!!! Victor is the best driving teacher I've ever met!!!! Also, the driving test here is REALLY EASY for most of people! Price is pretty fair as well! Believe me! P.S Vistor is the best!!! Choose him!!! His parallel parking skill is amazing and easy to understand! Read Less

I was practicing with them before taking my driving test this week, and I'm so glad that I chose them! The instructor from Dominican Republic was a very nice and experienced driver and he gave me great advice about how to do well in parallel parking, which I'm least good at. Highly recommended! Read Less

I was a little skeptical of using Brookline Driving after reading some of the other reviews here, but I've had nothing but a positive experience with them. They've clearly either gotten rid of the rude receptionist or she doesn't answer phones anymore, because I've only ever spoken to a friendly Russian man who persists in calling me honey in a charming manner. They return voicemails left for them pretty promptly, have been good about getting in touch about cancellations, and are easy to work with in terms of getting myself scheduled. They also offer lessons 7 x a week, which is really helpful. And insider tip: new drivers, ASK FOR LESTER. Lester is a darling man. He works Sunday-Thursday, and he's lovely. I'm an adult learner, and I had a terrible experience with Newton Driving School over the summer that left me with driving PTSD. Lester also works as a counselor, and his demeanor is calm, soothing, and helpful - he never yells, but guides you as you drive. By the end of my first lesson with him, he had me driving from Oak Square to Park Street and back again, no problem. He's even gotten me to parallel park, something my previous instructor screwed up with me big time. Read Less

Overall my experience with Brookline Driving School (BDS) was positive. It is quite on the pricy side but I would recommend it for anyone who is looking to get their license quickly and doesn't have a car or sponsor to take the driving exam. Below are more detailed comments on my experience with BDS:1) Scheduling: One of the main reasons I chose BDS was because they were the only driving school that I called that could schedule me lessons by the following week (or even within the next month). In one phone call I was able to schedule 4 lessons (for a total of 5 hours) within the following two weeks and also my driving exam at the end of the two weeks. One tip is to schedule your lessons in the driving exam area near Brookline High School and the Brookline Hills station on the Green Line. Whether you are taking the driving exam with the school or not, this area is very quiet with minimal traffic and perfect for practicing driving through curves, up/down hills, and parallel parking. On a completely different note, I don't understand these comments on staff rudeness. They were quick and to the point. Also, some of the staff/instructors are foreign so different accents and manners of speech are often mistaken for rudeness. 2) Driving Lessons: I payed for 5 hours lessons (two 1.5 hour lessons and two 1 hour lessons) considering I would practice fairly frequently with friends and family using zip cars. I would highly recommend the instructor Darnell for young adults and teens. I liked that he would talk to me/crack jokes to calm my nerves while driving and played hip-hop music on the radio (which I love!). Don't get me wrong, he is also a professional and will tell you exactly what you are doing right and wrong. He also taught me the parallel parking strategy that works on virtually any car and helped me pass my exam. My other two instructors in BDS where not as great. Their cars reeked of cigarette smoke and they constantly felt the need to grab the wheel and push on the breaks as if it was a first time driving (which I told them it wasn't) and I was going to crash the car. However, they did get the job done. One other tip is to schedule only 1 hour long lessons. I found that my 1.5 hour lessons were too exhausting and I ended up wasting 30 minutes driving around aimlessly rather than practicing techniques. Also, in the 1.5 hour lessons the instructor may stop you for a break, which can cut into your paid time. 3) Driving Exam: The school's exam are on Saturday mornings on a first-come-first-serve basis. You will get an approximate time slot (i.e. 9:00,9:30, 10:00am, etc.) so you don't have to wait that long but be prepare to wait for at least an hour outside. The upside is that while you wait many of the BDS instructors are there with you giving last minute tips and answering questions throughout the day. Some say the driving exam with BDS is super easy. Yes, on the one hand, the instructors will tell you EXACTLY what will be on the exam, you can schedule lessons in the exact location where the exam will be (near Brookline High School), and during the lessons you will use the same cars used on the exam. However, it is not a walk in the park. The exams are conducted by RMV personnel, and there were plenty of people on the day of my exam that failed because they hit the curve while parallel parking, were breaking too suddenly, etc. And for $120 a pop (due at the time of the exam), be sure you are completely ready to take the exam. Oh, and by the way, I passed my exam on the first try :-D. Read Less

I come from one of the Queen's colonies, so I needed a driving school that would help me get used to driving on the wrong side of the road. I didn't do much driving back home either, so I needed to learn parallel parking. And I had never driven an auto shift - I know it's easier but I needed some practice for the road test.I called on Tuesday to schedule for Friday. I had to call a few times before someone called me back and we negotiated a date and time. Scheduling took about 3 minutes.Brenda, my instructor came sharp on time to pick me up from home. We got acquainted, and she took me to the road test site and we did the activities needed for the test. I parallel parked for the first time, which went great. We did the three point turn and the fifty feet backing up. I seemed to have passed the test. Then we drove around for an hour.Brenda was really nice, helpful and chatty. She gave me useful measurement tips on when to know I'm too close or far away from the curb, and whether the car is backing straight. Every time we pulled up, she'd open her door to show me how far off the curb I was. She quizzed me on generic questions the examiner might ask, like the hand signals and how to park when uphill/downhill.I'd definitely recommend Brenda, or from what I hear, any non-Russians will do. Read Less