Originally Posted by
USMCFLYR
Well....we all know about assumptions.
They often don't work out well.
You do realize to that bcrosier mentions in his post going to a STATE school vice your "aviation university program [you seem to be favoring ERAU]" and taking the aviation class (he specifically says the ground courses over the flying courses). So an example of his route would be a UND type of program, majoring in something other than aviation and taking those aviation related classes as a minor, and getting the flight training through a mom-n-pop school (if I understood his post correctly). Not only will the two applicants in your scenario come out with the same ratings, but one will generally be in MUCH less debt (a factor in your QOL), but according to many experience hands on this forum, that recruiter does not care where you got your training from unless the school's name was 'Uncle Sam'.
Do you think that ERAU is the only P141 training program?
Personally - I liked the structured approach much better and it certainly fit my learning style, but big 'aviation universities' are not your only route as bcrosier noted.
USMCFLYR
At least for me, it would be difficult to juggle majoring in a separate topic, AND taking ground school on-campus/flight training off-campus. I just don't learn the best that way. The biggest issue is that ground school and flight training aren't "in sync" if you will. At ERAU (which indeed I'm favoring), ground and flight school are synchronized and work hand-in-hand. That in and of itself is a tremendous benefit, at least for me, to attend ERAU. And I do think that produces a better quality education. You mention tuition debt - for me personally, I have a variety of tuition benefits (from parents) and grants (merit) already that will allow me to attend almost any institution at an extremely low price, and with my parents supporting the rest, I will have no loans in any case. And I can't tell you how thankful I am for that! But there's no two ways about it - ERAU is VERY expensive for most people.
To each his own. As always, I love having these kinds of discussions - of course, people have different opinions, but I appreciate these kinds of conversations.
