Amethyst Driving School Zoom 5-Hour Course Review

Two sessions a week, and how to sit through one

The Amethyst class is a live, instructor-led virtual session. It meets twice a week: Thursday at 5:00 PM and Sunday at 11:00 AM. Capacity is 25 students per class, which means seats can run out, so reserve a date ahead of time instead of on the same day.

Thursday at 5:00 PM is an after-work or after-school start; Sunday at 11:00 AM is a morning class that takes the middle of your weekend. Choose the one you can protect for the full five hours. A class cut short is a class you have to take again, and our checklist shows how to clear the evening or the morning ahead of time.

A five-hour live class is a long sit, and the details that make it comfortable are the boring ones. Eat before you log in and keep water within reach. Put your laptop or tablet on a table, not on your lap, and plug it in. If other people share your Wi-Fi, ask them to hold off on big downloads and streaming while you are in class. Sit with a window or lamp in front of you, not behind you, so your face is easy to see.

The DMV requires the instructor’s location to be free of distraction, and it is fair to hold yours to the same standard: a closed door, a silent phone and no television in the next room. Treat the session the way you would treat a shift at work.

Booking: pay online, upload your permit

Online payment is required to book. Uploading your permit at booking is optional, but the DMV requires a school to identify you and record your permit information for a live online course, so have the permit ready regardless. Ask the school what it needs from you before the class if you do not upload it at booking.

If this is your first live class, read how a Zoom class works first. It explains what happens once you join, from the first identity check to the end of the session.

With only two sessions a week and a cap of 25, ask how many seats remain for the date you want before you plan the rest of your week around it.

Which language is the class taught in?

Amethyst’s website and chat assistant work in English, Spanish and Russian, which is helpful when you are comparing schools. The page does not state which language the class itself is taught in, and the DMV requires a course taught in a language other than English to say so in its advertising. If you want a class in Spanish or Russian, ask directly before you pay.

For schools that state Spanish classes, see our Spanish-language guide.

Price and certificate

The class costs $65. The MV-278 is prepared after you successfully complete the course, and the page does not say how it is delivered, so ask how it reaches you. The school’s office is at 434 Kings Highway in Brooklyn, and its phone number is (718) 758-4740. When you receive the certificate, keep the paper original: the DMV wants the original, not a copy, at the road test, and it is valid for one year. Read the DMV course page for the details.

Where it ranks

Amethyst is twelfth in our ranking. A live class, a stated cap on class size and a website in three languages are in its favor. A price at the upper end of our list, only two weekly sessions, and details the page does not give (the class language and the certificate delivery) keep it lower. If you want more start times to choose from, see Drive Rite; for a Brooklyn school that states its Spanish classes and its certificate options, see Coreway.