CloudPilot57

ERAU is no better or worse than any other university. It is all what you make of your time there. I am up in MN going to scsu doing a managment degree with flight minor. I have had all the same internship opportunities as riddle; I actually did an internship with a riddle guy this summer. I am not saying everyone at riddle is like this guy, but his attitude was ridiculous, I could not stand it, nor anyone else that was around him. I am recieving all my ratings on my own, and saving a ton of money and will have the same opportunities as anyone else. A degree is a degree is a degree, I am not one for paying that extra cash for just a name.

groggy

Answer is up in NODAK(UND). Great aviation school. Get some diversity in a standard state school...i.e. 50% Co-eds with parties and fraternities. Get some dirt cheap tuition. Cheap room and board. Expensive flight training but everything else offsets the blow to the wallet.

Watch some great hockey, and come out a semi-well-rounded prophead.

Spartan07

Honestly you should look in to all of the 141 schools that you can get information on. You never know, you might find a place that is a perfect fit for your individual situation like I did. Just make sure that you get information on as many schools as possible and make an educated decision on which one is the best for you.

Oh, and don't forget to look in to the big universities that offer flight programs (Obviously UND, but also places like OU, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, etc.)

Slice

OU, OSU, KSU would be good...at least there are not aviation chicks there! You'll be working the rest of your life. Have fun while young and unattached!

NightIP

I'm currently a CFI at ERAU-PRC (not for long though, XJT on 9/10!), and the prices have just gotten unbelievable. I just have to cringe when a longer multi XC costs almost $2000 for them, and that they're spending nearly $20,000 on an instrument rating. Granted, that number should go down this fall when the new course layout goes into effect, but it still won't be cheap. Add in extra training, and the costs are astronomical.

If you ask me, the flight training is good (I am biased, of course), but I can't recommend the school to anyone starting fresh anymore. It's just not financially smart. I won't actually tell that to my current students for professionalism sake, but I do tend to pull my commercial students aside and advise them to do their CFI ratings at one of the other local schools for lower costs and faster completion times.

TXTECHKA

Its not necessary to go to an aviation school in order to get a flying job. In fact, if you did your training at a local fbo while attending any state school (in state tuition is cheaper) than you could be instructing about halfway through college and come out maybe straight to an airline job rather than having to instruct/banners/skydivers/whatever after you graduate. Flight instructing sucks if that's the job you have after graduation, but it's a freaking sweet college job. Another plus to going to a college that DOES NOT have an aviation program is girls are going to be alot more impressed by you being a pilot than at an aviation school where they are a dime a dozen. In my opinion, if I had gone to an aviation college, I think it would have taken me longer to get to the right seat of a jet than it did since I was able to accomplish the time building/instructing/flying charter while I was still in college. Took me five years to graduate but thats not because of aviation, if I had graduated in four I still would have had like 1200TT and 300MEL. I just took it for all it was worth and lived the frat life and partied like a rock star! Airplanes aren't going anywhere, try to have some fun in college before you have to get a real job.

Squawk_5543

Rock on dude!! How's RAH treatin' ya??

TXTECHKA

Awesome man, where did you wind up going to teach?

Squawk_5543

I actually stayed right here in Arlington teaching for a bit and I was just recently hired by Mesaba. Start Saab class on 09/10.

Kodiak

Some words of advice from a current ERAU PRC student:

If you are going to go to riddle I would suggest going to a state school or community college and taking your general ed credits there (english/physics/math). The courses offered at riddle are pretty horrible and cost a lot.

It may also be a good idea to take a couple of flights at your local FBO before settling on this as a career path, throwing down 12+k for your first semester at Riddle only to find out you don't like flying would stink.

If I had the choice of weather to re-enroll in Riddle I probably would. But your going to have to do your homework make your own decision.