I plan on going to college to get my commercial pilots license, but I need a little advice on where to go to college at. I had planned on going to Spartan College of Aeronautics & Technology in Tulsa, OK but I read on the internet a bunch of negative reviews about it. I was wondering if anyone here trained at Spartan and can give me some inside on it, or would recommend me a great aviation college to go to.

 

Go to a good state school , get an engineering degree or business degree or some other degree. Go get your ratings at a local FBO.aviation degrees are worthless when your on furlough like half of the comerical pilots today.

Not trying to be mean , just trying to be real.

 

Concur. I got an engineering degree and learned to fly on the side. Cheaper and had a more useful and utilitarian degree.
Good luck!

 

Any 4 year degree from a state school, highly suggest a professional degree in the medical field (pharmacy!!! 6 years). Since I have been furloughed, this degree has been a great backup. I am fortunate. While in college during the summer breaks, obtain your certs and ratings, gain your hours and by the time you graduate, and take state boards you should be very marketable in the aviation field.

 

You could go to Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, get a minor in Flight Tech and then get your four year degree at University of Oregon, same town, in something else. Many of my class mates did this with great success. Lane is great. I had a very good experience there. Plus you get a lot of good IFR time.

 

I couldn't agree more. I'm 75K in the hole with a BS aviation management and an aas aviation flight (that i can pretty much use as toilet paper). got out of school, got a flying job, got furloughed. the truth is, i don't know how to do anything else but fly an airplane. i should have trained at an FBO and gotten a degree that is useful in numerous fields. it would have saved me a ton of money as well. interest on my student loans is racking itself up as i type this.

*maybe if flying would have stayed a hobby, i wouldn't resent the industry so ******* much.

 

I went to Spartan. Its a wast of money. The facilities suck and its way over priced. You would save a ton of money by going to an FBO and majoring in something else other than aviation.

 

sorry for the digression. to answer your question: if you are keen on going to a college for aviation, i would look at what the institution does for its students after they have left. if they are actively involved in career advancement/betterment both during your time there, and after; I'd say its worth looking into. a flight school is a flight school. the training is always going to be what you as a student make of it. you can go the the best flight school and do horribly, or the worst flight school and do wonderfully. a plane is going to stall just the same at a 61 or 141 school. also, look at the time they tell you it will take to get though everything. if it's a pilot mill that promises you will be in uniform and flying a jet 10 months from now, I'd look other places. a school such as that may be useful for an add on rating (multi, what have you), but from start to finish is a bad idea.

* where ever you do decide to go though, try like hell to do an internship somewhere. that will pad your resume with some experience as well as give you college credit. it also shows a professional attitude. GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

I agree wholeheartedly. Went to college for Aviation Management and got my certs on the side at a FBO. I also got a minor in marketing- this has proved to be the most valuable thing I did. Right out of school I had offers from three companies who wanted me to do marketing for them (all of them aviation companies). I decided to go a different path and am now flight instructing and working on my helicopter certs. However, the fact that I had a distinct skill beyond just aviation management gave me the opportunity to do whatever my little heart pleased.
Get a professional degree at a state school or community college and do your certs on the side. It will be the best thing you could ever do to always ensure you have a way to feed and clothe yourself.
-ArchAngel

 

I graduated from Spartan and I loved it. The school is good but the education is excellent! There are schools with nicer buildings but as far as the flying education it would be hard to beat. Also being located in Tulsa the cost of living is fairly inexpensive along with some of the nicest people in the world.

If you have any questions send me a pm and I would be happy to talk with you personally if you would like. Good luck and enjoy your career.