Need Help With Choosing Schools!!
 

So its time to start sending off my college apps and i need help choosing the right school. I live in Florida so i was thinking ERAU because they have been blowing up my mailbox but the tuition is crazy. I was considering Kent even though they are out of state it seems like a good idea becuase i think they have this out of state in state tuition program, where i pay in state tution and i can minor in aviation so i can have a real major;which can back me up in the future if push comes to shove. Or should i just stay in state for college and experince real college life and just take some classes from an area flight school since FL is like a flight school haven.

Don't go to ERAU.... you'll thank me later...

State college is a good choice...

niiiiiice. i guess i'll delete my Aviation Science degree off my resume.

looks like you have already done some research, but i think if you do a search on this forum you'll find many many answers to this question. you're about to make one of the first major decisions that will effect the rest of your life. the answer is what you want.

Fwiw
 

I second the state school. Repayment of student loans (if you are not independently wealthy) would be much less expensive.

Also, ANY degree would work, but try something outside of Aviation Management....say Accounting or Engineering or Basket Weaving

If you think you might go out of state try:

SIU or NMC or or WMU or (some school outside of Chicago, near Joliet) or MTSU or you get the hint!! There are many great schools in the mid-west that might be cheaper than Kent.

Good Luck!!

Are you talking about Kent State University in Ohio? I knew some people that went there. People in northeast Ohio call it "Kent read, Kent write, Kent State..."

I would second the state school idea. I am in my senior year at University of Illinois. While I pay instate tuition, flight fees alone are heavy enough - I'd hate to see out of state or even what a private school would be like. Remember, when you graduate from where ever, you will be luck to make $20k. Think of your loan payments plus cost of living and that's going to be a very tough end to meet.

As for the degree here, you can either get it in aviation (as I did... not sure if that was a good idea but Im sticking with it) or anything else the school offers.

Auburn University........best decision i've ever made

If you plan on ERAU, then my best advice is to start with a comm. college that offers flight courses or even flight training on the side. You'll end up spending a lot less and you'll have the same general ed. classes as everyone else.

Hey there 250 or point 65, why would a person even get an Aviation Science Degree. I think any major airline pilot will tell you to absolutely not get an Aviation Degree. I have actually seen job ads that state "non-aviation degree preferred."

Southeastern Oklahoma State University. Wicked cheap when I went.

Tru dat, tru dat.

So i decided to apply at Kent and Auburn for my Aviation school choices and FIU and UCF as my state school choices i guess when i see where i get accepted i will make the final decision.

It doesnt hurt to apply to erau anyways....but I wouldnt go there.

Be glad your parents are paying for your school. I cant even afford to fly anymore.

No my parents are not paying for my tuition i'm going on scholarships and loans.Thats why it may be better for me to stay in state since i have 75% birght futures which covers 75% of my tuition to any florida school but they only cover the cost compared to the average public insitution so if i got to ERAU its only going to cover like $3000 at most.

Daytona State College (the old community college across ISB from ERAU) ...has a program to share credits (or something like that) with ERAU so basically it is the same class for 1/10 the price (blue to gold program(?) Also if you get the AA at DSC, you can finish your BS at the UCF-Daytona Campus depending on what you want to major in.

UCF is a great choice in general however you go about getting there.

If you are interested in a private university look at Stetson (non-flying type) in DeLand... I think I remember hearing of a program that if you have a good GPA you can get a significant scholarship (maybe up to 75%?), also with the Bright Futures and the FRAG/FSAG you should have the rest covered there. There is a lot of good flying around the DED/SFB/DAB/OMN/EVB/XFL area for 61/141 programs.

choose your aviation school very carefully. find one that will let you fly and get a degree (associates or bachelors) for the cheapest amount of money. do not go to embry riddle, the cost is ridiculous. also, don't choose a school just because you want to party, get wasted and ball up multiple girls at the same time. you might want to think about a local school close to home, and save money by living with your parents. you'll still be able to holla at b*tches there but it will be much much cheaper.

ERAU has the same in and out of state tuition costs. I'd look into Florida tech. Or if you want a hole list of schools with aviation degrees pm me and I'll send it to you.

Check out UND..!

The astronaut candidate program brochure used to say, “we do not consider aeronautical science a degree.” Now it identifies all aviation degrees as not qualifying…not that you want to be an astronaut...
http://www.nasajobs.nasa.gov/astrona...Candbro_sm.pdf

I was just cruising around and saw this thread. To be honest, I don't have a dog in this fight, and the opinions of someone on a chat board probably won't sway you much anyway...but I'll give you my thoughts on your question and situation.

I fly for a 121 carrier now, but I didn't start out with (civilian) flying as my goal when I started college years ago. My advice (and that's all it is...) is to just go to a good university, have a real college experience and get a real degree in something non-aviation, but something that still is of interest to you. Don't go too far in debt, but get an education that will allow you to be a REAL professional someday in the outside world. In otherwords, choose an undergraduate degree that will allow you to go on later, if you should choose, and become a CPA, or an attorney, or a physician, or any number of other things that, quite frankly, many guys I fly with now are wishing they would have done.

And....while you are getting your degree, go to a FBO or a local school and get your commercial, multi, and CFI (I). Then, when you get out of school you are in a position where you can easily and quickly move into a flying gig. I would strongly advise you to not choose an aviation program at a university that puts you $50K-$80K-or more in debt just so you can get a job that will pay you $20-$30K for the first 5 years or more. Trust me, flying is fun and great and all, but its not worth 30 years of school debt hanging over your head.

oh, and btw, in the airlines, no-one cares if your degree was aviation-related...unless it was aerospace engineering.

Sorry for the preachy opinion....Best of luck in your decision

Oh yeah, one more thing....the reason I was cruising this thread in the first place.

I like checking out the flight school chat once in a while. I actually miss flight instructing, not for my livelihood, but because I enjoyed teaching and the fun that goes along with small aircraft, small airports, etc. If I could actually make a living at it, I would leave the airline world tomorrow and go back as a full-time CFI. Why? I would be home every night with my family rather than sitting in a hotel 4 nights a week. And Thanksgiving. And Christmas. And my wife's and son's birthdays. Etc, etc.

So I go back to the point in my above post. You may very well get to the airlines shortly after school and love it. But, like some, you may also get there only to find out that "hey, this isn't nearly what I expected..." and it would be a tragedy for you reach that point and still owe $70K in debt. I say this because I see a LOT of guys at our company who go through this, and they're usually the ones that were all charged up and chose the whole aviation route from the beginning of college. Some of our ERU guys are over $100K in debt! Yikes!

Whatever you choose, best of luck.

Well i know i want to be a pilot i still get a rush when i see a plane fly pass by .Being a pilot has been a dream of mine since i was 6, can you find a lot of people who kept such a passion since they were 6. I actually have came to a decision to get a degree in something else i may like and go to a local FBO because i don't want to be furloughed one day and have nothing to back me up but i know for a fact this is what i want to do rain or shine Christmas birthdays new years its worth it for me.