So you can go to Riddle for one year and pay the same price I did for four years of college and all of my ratings. Why anyone whould go there and pay that kind of money is beyond me when you can do it for a 1/4 of the price and still end up with the same job and same degree at other places.

 

Sure, but you can say that about anything if cheaper is always better in your mind.

1. Why go to a private university when I can get the same degree at a state university for 1/3 the price?

2. Why go 4 years to a state university when I can get half of it done at a community college and then finish up at a cheap state college for less?

3. Why pay out of state tuition when you can go to the in-state college for 1/2 as much?

4. Why send my kids to a private high school when I could send them to a public school for much less?

5. Why buy furniture at a quality furniture store when I can get furniture at Ikea for cheaper?

6. Why shop at a department store when I can shop at Walmart and save $5?

8. Why buy a BMW when I can get a Kia for 1/2 as much?

You can low-ball anything in the world if you want to. The difference isn't necessarily what it will get for you after graduation, the difference is the quality you experience while you're there.

I spent my first 3 years of college at a large state university, then I transferred and spent my last 2 years at ERAU. The professors and quality of education at ERAU were so much better.

 

The quality of experience and education that i got is the same that all Riddle guys are getting, but at a 1/4 of the price. The only thing you are paying for at Riddle is the name, nothing more, nothing less. Do not tell me that I did not get quality experience or education.

 

I am a Embry-Riddle grad (B.S. Professional Aeronautics) but went to Orlando's extended campus. I am currently in grad school working on my M.S. in Aeronautical Science. I pay $1100 for one class in grad school. Undergrad was about $450 a class. These are extended campus fees. I didn't see a point to go to main campus in Daytona or Prescott and pay 5 times as much when my degree at the end has 'Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida' on it. My flight training was NOT done at Embry-Riddle.

 

I don't know where you went to school nor the quality of education you received. It may have been better or worse than what you could have received at ERAU, however, you will never know for sure.
1. Did your education come from a fully accredited 4 year university?
2. Were you taught by professors who were professionals in their field and who held at least a Master's degree or did your school substitute student/associate teachers to save money?
3. Did they assign regular homework that was required to be completed daily with a passing grade?
4. Did they have regular testing under the personal supervision of a qualified proctor?
5. Did they require daily attendance of all classes in order to ensure adequate learning?
6. Did your school require you to take classes in physics, aerodynamics, aviation safety, flight physiology, aircraft systems, aviation history, etc?
7. Did your school immerse you in an educational setting with hundreds of other aviation students from countries all over the world who helped you learn every aspect of aviation from many different points of view?

If your school had all of these things, then you may have received the level of aviation education that ERAU provides. The fact still remains that you never attended ERAU, therefore, you cannot possibly know the difference in the quality of education you received. In fact, the only thing you really do know is that your school was cheaper.

I first went to a large state university and later transferred to ERAU and I know from personal experience that the education I received was far superior at ERAU...even if it was more expensive.

 

i did erau campus for a year, and then i am doing extended right now. campus was cool, some good and bad prof.
But the biggest thing that was screwed up was the flight, and what they charged, therefore I left.
I couldn't see paying $149 hr hobbs, + $36 hr fuel + $49 hr for instructor, all for a 172.

 

1)yes
2)yes
3)yes
4)yes
5)yes
6)yes
7)yes

No I never did attend Riddle but know plenty of people that have. And like I have said many times before, I got the same education and experience for a 1/4 of the price.

 

That's great. Which university aviation program did you attend?

After first going to a large state university and a local community college's aviation program, I was able to compare them to my experience at ERAU; I know for certain that ERAU provided a much better education.
Most of my classmates at the state university were too busy partying and smoking weed to learn anything. It definitely made for a fun experience, but it didn't really help me in class.
Also, their classes often contained around 200 students which made it easier to fall asleep in class than to learn.
I also remember how those schools often proclaimed they provided as good an education as you would receive at ERAU. I wasn't sure why at the time, but it seemed they were always comparing themselves to ERAU.

In addition, when I later flight instructed at an even larger state university, they often paid their flight instructors to teach large groundschool classes to save money, even though the instructors had never taught in a large group setting before.
I agree with you, ERAU is too expensive now. But sometimes you get what you pay for. That's why every year, millions of prospective college students around the world choose to go to a college that may not have been their least expensive option. And every year, their parents agree to pay for it.

 

Here at the Prescott Campus ground-school was taught in a regular class room setting with about 20 students. Having never flown anywhere else I cannot compare the flight courses and whether or not Riddle's program is any better (as far as I am concerned, the Aeronautical Science program is a huge waste of money and time, but since its not possible to fly with ERAU and not take classes I am stuck, not interested in the Aeronautical Studies Program either.

So we have all heard that getting a job with a regional airline is relatively easy now compared to what it used to be where the schools and their names played a huge role. But how are things down the road. Do the airlines look back to where you got your schooling? Say when I get ready to move from the Regionals to the Majors, would a pilot who graduated from ERAU have a better chance to land a job (no pun intended =p) than say someone from UND or someone who did everything seperate and on their own?

Honestly the costs here at ERAU are starting to seem very ridiculous, especially if you end up in the exact same spot after graduation as a student from any other flight school. So again I ask if anyone knows if these schools will make it easier to move up the ranks later down in life?

 

This is not an easy question to answer. You can speculate that an ERAU degree may help you get that coveted airline job, but the fact remains that there are so many variables that affect why a company hires you (and they change for each company) that you can't guarantee that any one thing will guarantee your hire.

My gut tells me that just having a degree from ERAU probably doesn't get you a job over somebody who graduated from another school. Having a bachelor's degree from a 4 year accredited college is important though, and you'll be glad you had it in the long run.

That being said, I was the least experienced person hired into MD-80 class at my current airline. I had the lowest TT and also was the only one who didn't have turbine PIC time. I don't know if having an ERAU degree contributed to my hiring, but I do know that my internal recommendations helped me tremendously. Most of those internal recommendations were the direct result of people I had met while attending ERAU. In fact, three out of my last four flying jobs have come as the direct result of internal recommendations from the friends I made while attending ERAU.

So, while graduating from ERAU may not guarantee you a job over other qualified candidates, it does put you in a direct setting to network with thousands of other aviation-minded people who could make the difference whether you get that next job.

On the other hand, if you're struggling to afford the tuition at ERAU, you shouldn't overextend your budget just to go there. Don't take out $100K+ in student loans just to attend Riddle. There are plenty of other schools where you can receive good aviation training for less.

If you can arrange it, I recommend attending classes on campus, but flying off campus. ERAU's flight training program is ridiculously slow paced and full of bureaucratic nonsense. They teach you to fly a C172 like it were an airliner and that's just stupid. I did most of my flight training off campus saved a lot of money.