I also did my training for my private at KUMP. I started before it was Tom Woods, but it became Tom Woods by the time I finished up. The maintenance department is very well respected, and we take our Cardinal there for work, even though we hangar it at KEYE. No complaints with Tom Wood. Obviously, your personal experience is going to mostly depend on if you connect with your instructor. But no reason not to start there if the location is convenient, and the prices seem acceptable. I never felt that that they tried to rip me off by running up hours, and setting up endless pointless stage checks. I got my private right around 50 hours, so they obviously weren't trying to milk me for money by running up the hours needlessly. I went back there earlier this year for a flight review, and did have some difficulty getting on the calendar because they seem busy. Last I checked, virtually all of the instructors had their CFII, and I think some have their MEII.
I also did a little bit of training for my instrument rating with an independent CFII that also trained out of the FBO a KTYQ. I ended up not clicking totally with the CFII (mostly due to scheduling and location issues), and went to another independent that was closer to where I hangar my plane to finish up. Nothing against that instructor. I know he would be a great instructor for most students.
If you want a referral for an independent CFII, I can give you a couple. Just PM me.
I know of a high school age student at Tom Wood now that had a bit of an issue with his medical certificate. I was able to give his mom some guidance to help him through that minefield. It seemed that he was going to be blindsided when he got to that phase, but we managed to avert that disaster. I am not sure the instructors there really give good proactive advice about that issue. So, don't count on them to do so. Be sure to read up on the medical issues section of this board. You are likely to get much better information and advice here.
