A Unique Situation
 

First, let me begin by pointing out that I am new...but, I did read the stickies. Im not just the annoying new guy that doesn't read them. Rather, most would say I am annoying for a plethora of reasons outside of that. *silence* Moving on, I have a pretty unique situation. First, a little background, i'm a sophomore at the University of Maryland, College Park, majoring in cell bio and genetics. You could say I was the typical kid, who was always fascinated by airplanes. From air shows, to playing with die cast models, I was enthralled as long as I can remember. Even still, I absolutely love airports and envy the pilots I see. Anyways, I never really took the idea of becoming a pilot seriously. Instead, I mostly shifted between a lawyer and a doctor. Im sure you can guess my tentative plans from the major I chose. A couple years back though, I picked up a flight magazine that was lying around at a restaurant where I worked as a waiter. I saw an ad for Delta Connection Academy, and toyed with the idea. I was given a gift lesson for some holiday, and I loved every single second of the time I was in the cockpit. So, I dropped DCA a line...push led to shove, and I ended up flying there to visit the school. I was ecstatic with thoughts of attending and becoming a professional pilot. But, after realizing that it was around $90K, and that I wouldn't be able to get the loans, nor would my mom, my spirits plummeted and I decided, it wasn't a viable option. I figured, I would go get my bachelors, and if after completion, I was financially able to take it on I would do it, and end up becoming a pilot with a degree in CB&G. THis is where it gets a bit sticky. Randomly wasting time online, I found out that U Maryland, Eastern Shore offers a degree in Aviation Science. In hopes of keeping you in suspense, I've yet to mention that I recieve free tutition to any public university within Maryland. *Light Bulb* UMES is a public institution. Soooooo I can attend school, essentially free, and pursue what I have always wanted to do. What to do, what to do??? If I did decide to go, I would most certainly pick a second major, and continue with my minor in Spanish; and while I know this would likely extend my college time a year, I would be going for free. So everyone, Whats your opinion? Is it a good option. If you were in my situation would you jump at it? Is the program even worth it? Have you heard anything about the program or graduates of the program? Please! I need your opinions, and any information you can give me. Thanks a ton in advance.

-Jon

Oh how youth is wasted on the young. FOLLOW YOUR DREAM! The Spanish minor is icing on the cake. The Latin America sector of aviation is going to explode in the next few years. Follow your dream. Make it happen my son. You can do ANYTHING you want in this world- but not EVERYTHING. Remember that, keep focused and above all keep a good sense of humor -You have a goal to strive for - DO IT! In today's market, I would recemmond that you network and aim towards the corporate side. I have friends with ADM, Weyerhauser and even YUM (Taco Bell) and they LOVE it. Not the same grind as being a busdriver with wings. Keep all your options open. ANY higher education, especially free is a worthwhile venture.

An aviation degree is completely separate from flight training iand s not required or particularly helpful to someone who wants to actually fly airplanes (as opposed to manage an airport or airline).

Normally I would recomend that you get a non aviation degree, or an aviation engineering degree, but if it's free, sure why not?

However in order to fly, you need flight training, the sooner the better. You should attempt to finish as much of your training as possible while still in college. Does this school offer that?

Also, the "big-name" "glossy-brochure" flight academies will usually try to sell you WAY more training than you actually need. You can usually get your training at a small local school or FBO (Fixed Base Operator at the local airport).

These are reasonable costs for what you really need (rough estimates, give or take a few grand):
PVT: $8K
IR: $6K
COMM: $12K
ME: $3K
CFI: $3K
CFII: $2K
MEI: $3K

A few big-name schools will do it for a reasonable price, but obviously $90K is ridiculous. Also beware of buying any of this kind of training. It's very expensive and usually won't get you a job or make you more competetive: Jet systems training, jet simulator training, airline procedures or operations training.

Wow, I can't believe that there are already 2 replies after only 20 mins.

Krazo, thanks for not only the inspiring words, but also bringing me back down to earth with the comment on anything vs. everything. Theres a ton of stuff I want to do, but thinking along the lines of what you said...being that I can't do it all, I might as well pick the things I am going to be most happy doing. With regard to the networking, as I get older, the old adage "its not what you know, its who you know" proves more and more true. Thanks again

Rickair, you remind me of my initial reaction to DCA. They almost immediately struck me as too interested, which pretty much gave them away. The thing that caught me was the intensity of the environment, and also that they touted a 98% hire rate. Overall, I didn't trust them too much, and decided that after school I would research schools similar to them.

Also, you pointed out the flight education vs flight training thing. They offer the training, and it seems to constitute a good part of the program. Below, is a list of the classes that are part of the curriculum. Regarding the list, is anything missing? What will I need afterwards?

Thanks again, and I hope the responses to come will be as good as those already.


Gen Ed. = 41 Credits

Program Total = 61 Credits

AVSC 131 Air Transportation 3
AVSC 141 Private Pilot Ground 4
AVSC 142 Private Pilot Flight 3
AVSC 152 Meteorology 3
AVSC 161 Instrument Rating Ground 3
AVSC 162 Instrument Rating Flight 3
AVSC 201 National Airspace System 3
AVSC 202 Air Traffic Control 3
AVSC 241 Aviation Safety 3
AVSC 251 Commercial Pilot Ground 3
AVSC 252 Commercial Pilot Flight I 2
AVSC 253 Commercial Pilot Flight II 2
AVSC 254 Commercial Pilot Flight III 2
AVSC 302 Advanced Aircraft Systems 3
AVSC 311 Aerodynamics and Aircraft Performance 3
AVSC 331 Aviation Law 3
AVSC 342 Flight Physiology 3
AVSC 351 Flight Instructor – Airplane Ground 3
AVSC 352 Flight Instructor – Airplane Flight 2
AVSC 441 Human Factors in Aviation 3
AVSC 461 Flight Instructor – Instrument Ground 2
AVSC 462 Flight Instructor – Instrument Flight 1
AVSC 472 Multiengine Pilot Flight 1

Support Requirements Total = 10 Credits
Computer Course (BUED 212, ENES 100, ENEE 114, CSDP 220) 3
MATH 112 Calculus I 4
Advanced Behavior Course 3

Curriculum Electives Total = 3 Credits
AVSC xxx Upper Level Elective 3

Support Electives Total = 6 Credits
ACCT 201 Introductory Financial Accounting 3
ACCT 202 Introductory Corporate and Managerial Accounting 3
ECON 201 Principles of Economics I (Macro) 3
ECON 202 Principles of Economics I (Micro) 3
BUAD xxx Upper Level Course 3
ECON xxx Upper Level Course 3
FINA xxx Upper Level Course 3
MKTG xxx Upper Level Course 3

TOTAL PROGRAM REQUIRED CREDITS – 121

One thing to double check before jumping in, fees. Many state and private schools that have aviation programs often have flight fees to offset the high costs associated with running a flight school (Maintenance, fuel, insurance, etc). Think of these in a fashion similiar to lab fees for a bio class. However, in many cases these fees can exceed $10k per year. My alma mater recently instituted such fees and when I was looking at schools way back when this is one of the reasons I factored out many other programs. In some cases, these fees are considered above and beyond tuition and may not be covered by scholarships and school or government financial aid.

There's no one decision that is right, and you'll probably get 11 opinions in 10 replies. Which is why I'm not giving you my take :)

If you have any questions about flight training, feel free to ask.

Those courses appear to be college level ACADEMIC courses for an aviation degree, NOT actual flight training. They are all more extensive than the minumum academic training required to get your flight ratings. Since they are free for you, that might be OK.

However, it appears that the first flight instructor course is 300-level, which usually means junior year. If you do the course BEFORE you actually do your CFI flight training then you would not be able to earn money and build flight time as a CFI until late in your junior year at the earliest.

You need to find out:
1) Does the school offer actual flight training in addition to academics?
2) How much $$ ?
3) What is the schedule for the flight training ? If your ratings are spread out over 4 years, then you miss some opportunity to work as a CFI while in college. If you need to bus tables in college, you might as well work as a CFI instead.

The most agressive approach would be to get ALL of your rating including at least one instructor rating as early as possible in college. Then you might be able to build enough flight time during college to get a cargo or regional airline job after graduation. A slower-paced approach would be to get your CFI ratings near the end of college, then work as an instructor for a couple of years after college.

So, I've talked to the admissions officer for the program and found out a couple of things. First, the course requirements I have listed above are for the professional pilot program. They have other programs, such as a specializations like airport management etc. Obviously, I would be interested in Pro Pilot specialization. Also, in the course listings there are 2 different course for each topic, i.e. AVSC161/162 Instrument Rating Ground/Flight. The courses specified as flight are intended to be the actual flight training for the rating, and the ones labeled ground are the appropriate ground schools for each rating. The flight training is contracted out by the Univ of MD to a local airport, and the Univ basically buys blocks of time for their students at a discounted rate and instead of the student paying the airport, the charges appear on the bill from the univ. That is a good thing for me, because it does appear as a lab fee of sorts, and would be covered under my tuition waiver. Apparently, that saves me like $36K in flight training costs. The officer said that because I already have a number of credits that satisfy the Gen Ed Requirements, I would be able to get the rest of the stuff done in about 5 semesters, which would only put me behind 1 semester and doesnt bother me. I would also be able to continue my minor in spanish.

Hey, The flight school I instruct at in MA is affiliated with a community college that has an aviation program. This year we got a new program director and he came from UMES. He was the director there. He said it is a good school and you should have fun. He also mentioned they wanted to start an ATC program which by schedule looks like they have been successful doing that. I would definity pursue that ATC option too.

Good Luck

Chris

i looked into flight schools and stuff as well, but foudn that i would enjoy learning to fly at my own pace... hard to say, but there are some days you just dont feel like flying.. if you're paying 90K for an av sci program at a college, your overpaying.. get each rating over the summer and build time during the semester.. here was my way:
private in 41 hours over the summer..
spent one semester taking friends for rides (pro rata, and make sure this is all cross country because you will need it for requirements later)
this semester, i did my instrument and will time build some more
this summer, multi and then getting ready for commercial and CFI together..

That could be a pretty good deal, but break down all of the actual costs of flight training so you make sure you understand how much your actual flight training will cost.