dima

I'm deciding to go for my BA in aviation science after completing my community college, and choosing University of ND. Now, is it a good state for young adult like me to move to? patries? attractive females???? I know nothing about that state, and dont want to spend 2-3 additional years in complete misery of boredrom.

PS i hate fishing

Jonesthepilot

I'm sure they know how to have a good time. Huge D1 school+middle of nowhere=heavy boozing

Pilotpip

It's really cold this time of year.

I'd imagine it's like every other rural college campus. There is nothing to do on the weekend but get drunk. If that's your thing you may be right at home.

FlyerJosh

Veeeery cold. But good program (I graduated in 2000). If you like hockey it's a fun place. (Although I hear things have toned down a lot since I started in 96... I guess the students aren't as wild as we used to be).

A good number of good looking girls, but you won't see much of them between October and April since everybody is buried under layers. Of course the plus is there's the positive of using body heat to keep each other warm...

ND is a good place to learn to fly. You'll be able to handle any sort of crosswind after 4 years of flying there, and the summer gets hot and you learn to deal with thunderstorms too...

I can say that there were certainly days when I rolled out of bed at 5am for a 6am flight in the winter when it was minus 20F and the sun doesnt rise till around 8, and I wondered why the hell I didn't go to Daytona (Especially when the kind people at the weather channel would inform me it was 60F there). But, if I had to do it over again, I'd still go to UND...

aspiring_pilot

if you guys are worried about hot women, texas is the place for you.

dima

FlyerJosh,
where you able to find job right away after you graduated, or were you going typical way through CFI? My friend told me that with good GPA (>3.6) some airline representatives hire you right away, with minimum hours.. just wondering

FlyerJosh

First off, realize that "minimum hours" is a relative term. Even though I personally was hired with relatively low time, I do think that a graduate of any program should have more time than 300 hrs and a CRJ type rating to get hired by an airline...

In my case, I taught in GFK (outside of UND) during my senior year. I was interviewed by ACA (which became the now defunct Independence Air) in the spring of 2000 and offered a position as an intern.

After graduation, I moved back to VA, and spent the summer teaching and flying as a contract/corporate first officer. In the fall I started the internship and was hired by ACA as a CRJ first officer in December 2000.

I think it is realistic to expect lower minimums if you are a UND grad with a high GPA. However I don't think it's realistic to believe that you will be hired right after graduation with an airline that is flying regional jets. Plan on teaching/flying until you have roughly 600-800TT and 100ME.

I ended up just renting a seminole over the summer of 2000 and flying about 45 hours with a friend to get the required ME time to be hired.

JMT21

Flyer Josh hit the nail on the head, as Junior at UND not a lot has changed in the last several years.
UND is 13k I would hardly consider that huge. We are D1 in hockey only. Grand Forks is 45k, not sure how you come up with that being in the middle on where.

It can get cold for sure I remember -35 my freshman year, but usually on those days theres lots on blue sky and sunshine. There are plenty of women and partys for you if you so desire. Don't expect to get hired upon graduating, you'll have to build time, how much depends where you want to go. Skyways just hired 11 outta here last week with fairly low time. Horizon is here this week doing interviews they are firm at 750TT 50MT. Internships are really helpful and from the way it sounds, being a student at UND really puts you in the drivers seat for them. Your making a wise choice coming here-the school is great, tuition and cost of living is low, the aviaiton program is second to none.

avbug

UND is a great school, even with the addition of the BS CRJ sim program. All kinds of weather to experience and get used to. Very good equipement and all and all not too spendy if you do the work and do everything at or near the course mins.

Piece of advice, minor in professional flight (you get all your ratings, through CFII, I think) and major in something else. Have something you can do outside of aviation in case of furlough or any other unforseen thing. No one (ie airlines) will care that you don't have the Aeronautical Degree from UND, just that you have a degree.

AirWillie

You don't have to go through freezing hell in the middle of no where and spend thousands and thousands dollars, can't remember how much UND school and flight programs costs but I remember it was expensive, just so you have lowered times to go into American Eagle or Horizon Air. It's not worth it. Go through your college and get your ratings at your local FBO cheap and become a CFI. As a Skywest pilot recruiting rep told me in an e-mail, they don't care where you got your ratings or flying experience, they care about your personality and the interview. There are many flying jobs out there available to anybody not just to UND students.