Northgate Driving School

Aug 2026

We had a great experience with Northgate Driving School. Before signing up, I noticed the reviews were pretty mixed, but I’m glad we gave them a chance because our experience was nothing but positive. My son had Betsy Donovan as his instructor, and he had only great things to say about her. She was patient, knowledgeable, encouraging, and made him feel comfortable. He learned a lot throughout the course and passed his written test.

I also noticed that many of the negative reviews were about not being able to get someone on the phone. From what I observed while dropping off and picking up my son, this appears to be a small business, and Betsy seemed to be...read full review

Jul 2026

I have not been a customer here, but had a very negative experience with the drivers ed teacher exiting his car and yelling at me in the middle of traffic.

I was in downtown Rochester near the hospital and the drivers ed car was in front of me. It put its blinker on, pulled up to a driveway, and stopped in the middle of the road. Initially it appeared they were going to pull into the driveway, but then they began backing up and it became clear they were going to try to parallel park. The instructor leaned out the window and began signaling to me to back up. I attempted but was sandwiched tight with numerous cars behind me that were now backed up through the intersection.

The...read full review

Mar 2026

Betsy Donovan was a great teacher. I just had her class recently and all of my friends passed their permit test on their first try she teaches you the trick questions and three hours may be hard but it’s worth it if you pay attention and take the notes. I would 100% take that class again if I had to take the permit test again, looking forward to my driving hours-OT