I have been looking around at aviation colleges for awhile now, and I know that I want to major in business management or accounting, but still minor (or double major) in aviation and get all of my hours.

I just wanted to know how hard it is to get into Purdue. I have around a 3.45 GPA now in high school. I am taking Honors Algebra 2 (I am a sophomore) and I will most likely be taking honors accounting, honors physics, and honors precalculus next year. If I do well (B+/A-) in those classes (along with my normal level classes), and do well on my SAT/ACT, would I have a good chance of getting into Purdue?

I am on my school's rocket team (I don't know if that would be of any help) and I am on the golf team.

I took the ACT this past Saturday, and if I had to guess at my score, I would say it was around a 25-28ish.

Thanks,
Jimmy

 

Jimmy,

I got into Purdue (started 2001 graduated 2005) with a 3.7 high school GPA and a 29 on the ACT as an out-of-state student. Given the fact you are a sophomore in high school, you've got PLENTY of time to build your resume. I think extracurricular activities & sports will help your admissions chances; I played football, was in National Honor Society and was the resident school A/V geek (an odd combination I know) and it certainly didn't hurt me any!

I think the best thing you can do, honestly, is keep getting A's in your classes and keep making yourself a "well-rounded" student. Those standardized tests SUCK, but obviously the higher you score on either the ACT or SAT the better off you will be on that (IMO) exceedingly useless means of comparison.

You can easily double-major in both aviation and the Krannert School of Management (many have done this), but I think Aviation will be the hardest of the two to get into. Another option is simply attend Krannert and do your primary flight training at Lafayette Aviation your first two years of school, then transfer into the Flight program after your Sophomore year as a double-major.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the info! I have one question, though. Were you in normal level classes in high school or did you take any honors/AP classes?

 

Hi Jimmy,
I was actually pretty close to your current stats when I got in back in 2005.

3.6 GPA, 27 ACT, AP Spanish but no other honors classes or anything. From what I've seen, BoilerUP is right. Just keep getting A's and make sure you have a life outside of school. I played on the golf team too (went to HS in SoCal), but I honestly didn't do much else besides that. If you can get that GPA >3.5 I think you're golden. As it stands, you probably would still have no problem getting in.

On a side note: If you want to go to Purdue, get ALL of your ratings now (even the CFII and MEI), finish strong in HS, apply to Krannert, and get a degree that will make you competitive when you graduate in what, 2015? Believe me, this is the way to go. You can instruct for Purdue or Lafayette Aviation and have more hours and experience than any flight student when you graduate.

Feel free to PM me if you're interested in any more info.

Brendan

 

"Advanced" classes (math/science/english) but no AP. My senior year I was coasting toward the Air Force Academy and/or an AFROTC scholarship: I had basically 3 study halls out of 8 classes, and the 4th class was a PE-type class called Court Sports

I did take Physics my senior year which wasn't required per the school curriculum and it was far and away my favorite "real" class...VERY helpful going through the two semesters of collegiate physics that were required (dunno if its still that way or not).

 

Jimmy,

I went to Purdue 2002-2006. I was pretty close to your credentials. But I'll say that getting into the flight program has just as much to do with the other applicants as it does your own credentials. The reason the flight program at Purdue is so competitive is b/c they only have facilities to accommodate around 76 students per class (mostly b/c of the 727 sim).

I had a 3.8, NHS, AP Physics, AP Calculus, 28 ACT, 1120 SAT and many extra curricular activities. I was not accepted into the flight program. After my first semester of college, I had a 4.0 and tried to get into flight, but yet again, there was no room. I was, however, accepted into the aviation management program. AvMgmt focuses on the business side of aviation and ATC. I stuck with that major, and took the flight courses as electives when they had space. By the time I graduated, I was instructing like all the other flight students and majoring in the business side of things. The only thing I didn't get to do was fly the B200 and the 727 Sim.

All that to say that even if you don't get into the flight program, there are many, many ways to get a great education, get your ratings and graduate well rounded with a credible degree. I think the double major is a great idea. One of my students was a Health major and still took some flight courses. He went all the way through commercial/instrument without ever being in the major.

Keep working hard, it pays off.

 

I'm an 04' grad of the program, and everyone above has great points above. If you have the time and will to get the ratings ahead of time, you can bypass the flight program as a whole(although there are many great things you can't get anywhere else), and just do the biz school. Keep yourself informed, talk to your guidence counselors, etc..

Judging by your avatar you're already well on your way, so good luck, and hope we can help out. Just keep doing what your doing in school and extra curricular activities. Make sure you get some volunteer work in and some other clubs to compliment your application wherever you go.

Oh yeah, don't forget to apply to the flight program, the applications are due by the end of Oct or Nov your senior year, so you have to get that done early!!!

 

Alright well I just got my ACT score back and I got a 27. Sadly, I didn't take the writing part so I can't submit the score to Purdue (they require it, lol). It doesn't matter, though, I am only a sophomore and I am going to take the ACT again next year and then the dreaded SAT.

Thanks for all the help, too!

 

If it helps, I don't think you need both tests to get into Purdue. At least you didn't when I got accepted in 2000. I only took the ACT, but I decided to go to Parks instead.

 

You only need either the ACT or SAT.
I was accepted into Purdue with just a 3.4 high school GPA and no advanced or AP courses because my school did not provide them (kind of a small school).
I decided not to attend because the school is just way to big in my opinion and if you wan't to study aviation there are cheaper schools out there that teach you the same thing and don't have any sort of space issues like in Purdue or Embry-Riddle. Not naming any in particular but its not worth it in my opinion if you just want to be a pilot. However if you wan't to be an engineer, Purdue is a great school for that. Engineering is the only program I know about that Purdue does well, but I don't know about the other programs.

But just so you know, Purdue accepts 72% of its applicants and 9% has a GPA between 2.5 and 2.99 so you should not worry.