College
 

Hey Guys. I know that people do not recommend majoring in aviation. While I am majoring in it, I am also doing another non-aviation major as a back up plan. Right now here are my choices for college (got scholarships to all 3):

1.) Daniel Webster (15,250x4)
2.) Florida Institute of Tech (13,000x4)
3.) ERAU (5,000x4). I have contacted ERAU to appeal this and they are working on it. Admissions agreed that the amount of money is not what my grades and hard work should have received.

So my question- Which school do you guys think is the best and what are your general opinions of the other school?

Thanks!

SFZpilot

Save your money and go to a non-aviation school. Get a degree in something else than flying.

check your numbers for riddle :cool:

btw if you want to do riddle (or at least save yourself money), i advise getting your ge credits done at a cc or something to that nature while you fly on the side.

that way you can show up there and have your cost cuts virtually in half.

Here is the breakdown for Riddle.

Cost of attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Estimate of First Year Expenses
Semester
Academic Year
Tuition
$13,210
$26,420
Housing
$2,350
$4,700
Meal Plan
$1,675
$3,350
Books
$500
$1,100
Fees
$385
$1,178
Total Expenses
$18,120
$36,648
Aeronautical Science Students add:
Approximate Annual Flight Cost
$12,000-15,000
Total With Flight
$48,648-51,648

If you can swing it, go to ERAU for aerospace engineering. You'll be set for life as far as money and jobs are concerned. Fly on your own but not for credit. You'll get the same tickets everyone else gets, and have a degree you can use on its own if things go south for you as a pilot. I hear the Prescott campus is nice.

Double major - figure on more than four years and make sure the school will cover that. That said, it looks like DW (not Disney World :D) is your lowest cost option, unless there's a big disparity in tuition. It seems like Webster has a reasonably good selection of courses and non-aviation degrees as well, which in my mind is most important. You haven't said what else you wanted to major in.

I'll tell you what many others will. Expand your choices of schools (looks like you've got no trouble getting financial support), get a non-aviation degree (technical might be best) and - like you planned - do your flying on the side.

Whatever you do, visit the campuses of all choices before you decide.

Good luck and have fun! :)

I would recommend FIT as I was in a similar situation a few years ago. ERAU gave considerably less in scholarships and I felt I would probably shoot myself being surrounded by that many aviation nerds. I love flying as much as anybody else, but talking about it and watching top gun 24/7 was gonna be a bit much.

With FIT I felt the campus was diverse enough to get a more rounded college experience. I also felt comfortable that if my interests changed while in school or lost a medical I could change to a different major without transferring. I was very happy with their aviation program and if you do well while there, they may give you additional scholarships, they did for me.

As for DW I ruled it out because the school was too small and a New England winter vs a Florida winter was a easy decision.