Old 09-25-2006, 12:51 PM
  #26  
JesseSW
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Joined APC: Aug 2006
Position: Student Pilot
Posts: 17
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Unless there is some sudden urgency to start your flight training next month, I would recommend waiting for one or two months to research different schools thoughoughly and if possible, visit as many as possible. The time you spend now making a well thought out decision will pay off in devidends down the road. Something this important and expensive should never be rushed into. You should never buy a house or a car rushed for the same reason because it becomes impulsive and prone to error. A good pilot has to take new information in and adjust his/her flying while always thinking ahead of the plane. Right now you have been given a lot of new information and I think you could benifit from thinking over all you options again. Pilots have to make the Go/NoGo decision all the time. Consider this your first of many to come. I looked into Delta in the beginning just like many other pilots have and I'll be the first to tell you they appear quite impressive on paper and on that dvd they ship out to everyone. DCA has one of the most effective marketing teams I've ever seen. Don't get me wrong just now I checked the website and they say that 25 instructors have been hired since June 06. What they don't tell you is how many didn't. If those numbers are accurate then I'll be the first to congratulate them for making it. Every school says they are #1 in airline placement. So who's telling the truth? Delta's slogan is that being owned by "Delta" makes all the difference. I don't think many pilots flying for the airlines would agree with that statement entirely to the extent that would justify taking on a monster loan. Many schools promise an airline interview, this is in no way the same as promising a job. Keep in mind that after getting hired (hopefully) by the regionals you are going to be living pretty tight for a while ($15,000-$30,000) for a couple years. The reason why many pilots stress not going to the most expensive school is because the idea of paying off that loan is a realistic concern weather you land a job or not, you still have to pay it off. There was a guy on this forum who was considering declaring personal bankrupcy because he couldn't afford his student loans. So the question is would you rather pay off $150,000 in debt or $65,000. Both are psychotic amounts to be in debted to by the way but unless you go through the military there are little alternatives to earning your Airline Transport Pilot rating debt free. To put it into perspective, Medical School is about $100,000 for 4 years of school. DCA is $150,000 for a year and a half. And I think that is without health insurance coverage.
Bottom line is this. The F.A.A. has specific qualifications for getting your lisence so each school isn't that far off from one another. Some might have better planes and pay their CFIs better but in the end they all teach from the same book practically and follow Bernoulli's principle.
I would recommend taking one or two months off and not rushing into ANY school without making 100% sure it is the right one for you. Just think of it as your pre-flight check. You are just making sure it is airworthy before you entrust your life with it. I hope you make it kid and see you holding short of the active one day soon.

Remember the the golden rule of flying: Aviate, Navigate, then Communicate...in that order.
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