Its true. Even the cheapest 4 year aviation degrees are around $150K. The gold plated programs at Riddle and UND can run you as high as $250K. That's why all these numbers are down. You can't get student loans to cover it, plus if you look at an education as a pure investment, the return on other degrees is much higher than aviation. Not very many people are going to borrow this kind of money just to make $20 or $25K right out of school....