As a graduate of SIU - Carbondale, IL, It's a very good program there. What I did was I went to Indian Hills Community College (a 2 yr school) and got all flight ratings (except CFI/I-MEI) then transfered to SIU after that. I found it to be a little cheaper to do it that way than to do the full 4 years of the university program. A 2 year school might be a better and cheaper way to start off your education then transfer to a larger university to finish up your 4 year degree. My .02 cents and recommendation to SIU.