jdebrey

Hello everyone,

I wanted to start this thread because I have not seen any threads on here about this direct comparison. I'm guessing a good amount of people on this forum has heard about these 2 schools, or have even attended one of the 2.

My question is this:

I'm a senior who is about to be finishing high school next month and have yet to decide on where I want to go next fall. I know for sure I'll be attending either UND or ERUA, but I'm wondering if anyone can help me out with some information that "most" students don't get told before attending. I know this is very vague but there are thousands of kids in the same position as me and having some peoples input before making a major investment like this would be very beneficial.

Some context for you

• I live in Minnesota, so I practically get in-state tuition at UND
• I'm looking on getting my B.S in Commercial Aviation (Fixed wing)
• I'm a pretty social guy who played sports at a competitive level in high school
• I'm a male (don't know if it matters, but maybe it does?)

Feel free to answer any of these questions

• Is one school offer better flow through programs with certain regional airlines?
• From an aviation/airline employer standpoint how much does it really matter to have either or name stamped on where you graduated from?
• Is one education better than the other?
• Quality of life? The good the bad, and the ugly.
• Return on investment... for example, going to ERAU is INSANELY EXPENSIVE.... is it actually going to pay for itself in the long run?

Thanks for all the Input/answers - John

CFin

I'd offer a more economical option of going to a community college for pennies on the dollar and knock out all your general ed classes, transfer to a 4 year school and knock out a degree in something other than aviation, and fly on the side at a local FBO or Part 141 school. It'll get you qualified for the same job, all for much, much, cheaper than either of these schools. In this day and age, I honestly do not see the benefit of shelling out well over six figures for an education when you do not need to.

kingsnake2

If you want a 4 year aviation degree, have you considered MSU Mankato?

Bucknut

Get a degree in accounting or finance or something useful. If you ever lose your medical or get laid off you will have something to fall back on. An aviation degree is absolutely worthless in the business world.

CargoPirate

Agreed.

Get a degree that you can fall back on.

The airlines don't care what your degree is in, they care that you have one

JamesNoBrakes

Nope. You can earn a lot of money as a major airline pilot, but it's a long road to get there and this is not a requirement to get there. In fact, many would say it makes it harder to get there, due to having to pay back that insane amount of money, to which you probably aren't even adding the cost of interest on top of the capital.

Flyhayes

Airlines don't care what degree you have. So I would look at the more cost effective solution. That said, going to an approved aviation college will allow you to get an ATP certificate with fewer hours vs going to say a community college and doing all of your flight training part 61. However, it still may be cheaper going the full 1500 hour ATP certificate route through a mom and pop part 61 school.

Other things to consider, Florida has year round flying weather. By flying regularly you will probably progress quicker. Though UND will give you valuable weather experience, and if you're attending a 4 year program, it might not matter as much that training gets drawn out.

Then there is the college experience, do you really want to attend the sausage fest that is ERAU?

rnfnr

Coming from someone who graduated with a bachelor's degree in aviation flight science, I have to reiterate what was said by those earlier in this thread; get a degree in something other than aviation. Engineering, finance, business...anything! The 500 hour reduction that an aviation degree gets you isn't all that significant IMO.

Regardless of what degree you choose to pursue, if I were in your shoes I'd choose UND. Closer to home for you (keep your fridge stocked with meals from parents). There will be more diverse weather for your flight training. It'll be nice being at a school that doesn't revolve solely around aviation, which would give you a true college experience (not sure if ERAU provides that?). And yes, there will be a lot more ladies there .

Do your flight training on the side, and if you play your cards right you can CFI at UND while you're finishing school. *This is key*.

Don't be too worried about a flow right now. The industry is constantly changing, and you don't want to be locked into any type of contract so early on.

The university's stamp (for flight training) is not as big of a deal as you may think.

I wouldn't consider one schools training program superior to the other; both are great schools for aviation.

As far as return on investment - just because an individual pays more to get their education at ERAU, doesn't mean they're going to earn more throughout their career.

And definitely knock out as many transferable credits as you possibly can at a community college.

Good luck!

Duesenflieger

Pretty darned good advice in this thread so far. The only thing else that I think may also be worthwhile to you, is to obtain a degree which you have not only as a backup, but actually employ on the side throughout your pilot career. I wish that I could do a lot a things on the side for additional income, but just cannot because I have an aviation degree and have focused only on aviation and am thus too dumb to possess the technical knowhow in order to go about it.

Clue32

I am an ERAU alumni and it is a terrific university if you are on a full academic, athletic, or ROTC scholarship or if your parents are independently wealthy and will fork over the tuition.

Get a low-cost in-state degree in a business or technological field and get your flight ratings the fastest and cheapest way possible... exactly what a few other wise folks already wrote in their responses.

Don't fall victim to the Education Industries advertising gimmicks. After convincing the nations youth and parents that the only way to be successful is to go to college they have found their next revenue stream in the form of marketing elitism. Employers have fallen victim by way of mandating a college degree for a lot of careers that should only require a technical education and apprenticeship, such as a pilot in virtually every other first world nation, but at least any college degree from any accredited university will still get you hired.