Not sure where your numbers are comming from...

Heres mine:

36 Credits at WPI (Out of state w/ housing & w/ some scholarships) = $30,000
PPL at FBO = $5500
Random Flying (bumming aircraft and just buying fuel) = $2000
Non-Owned Insurance Policy = $550
Online classes @ SNHU for BS (+84 Credits) ($700/ ea * 28) = $19600
ATP (3 years ago) = $32000

Total = $89,650

Lets look at it it with today's prices:

120 Credits via DE Classes (40 classes) = 28000
PPL @ ATP = $9000
ACPP @ ATP = $45000

Total = $82000

So for $82,000, you are well on your way to a carrer as a pilot, and that is even at todays ridiculously high prices.

If I had had my act together I could have done the whole thing for $66000 (3 years ago).....

 

You are just proving the point I made previously on this thread:

THE VAST MAJORITY OF AERONAUTICAL SCIENCE STUDENTS DID GET SCREWED! THEY DID WASTE A LOT OF MONEY! THEY DIDN'T LEARN SH!T IN THEIR 4 YEARS!

Do you know why?

Because they couldn't be bothered to actually STUDY during their time at ERAU. Since the exams/test hold standards to VERY LOW standards, it is completely possible to go to every class, sleep, and still graduate with a 3.0 GPA. THIS IS THE NORM AT ERAU. If you attended ERAU I'm sure you know how little studying is needed to pass most classes. This is a major problem with ERAU's aviation degree. They have excellent professors, a good curriculum, mediocre students (they accept anyone) and they DO NOT HOLD STUDENTS TO THE SAME STANDARD THEY TEACH AT. That is THE MAIN PROBLEM.
Of course you could also blame the students. After all, if you're speding $40k a year, love aviation, but still can't be bothered to study BEYOND what will be tested on the final exam, it can be argued that it's your fault. But considering the maturity level of most college students, it's not surprising that if you are going to be tested on only 10% of the material (and you know which 10% it's going to be, since most professors give away the content of tests anyway) you will only study that 10% of the material.
Having said that, there ARE a few aeronautical science professors who try and raise the standards. The result? Their classes NEVER get filled up and most students write poor evaluations for these professors at the end of the semester. So many professors simply give up, lower their standards, give away the final exam and let all students pass with a B without truly holding them to any reasonable standard. BUT IN THE LECTURES THEY DO COVER MANY ADVANCED TOPICS WHICH MOST STUDENT DON'T BOTHER TO LEARN.

To sum it up, like I said in my first post, ERAU is a very good school. It offers you the opportunity to learn a lot or simply waste $120k without learning anything. The choice is up to the student.


You shouldn't come here and bash ERAU only because you were foolish to take $150k+ in loans to attend a school which you shouldn't have afforded, slacked off during 4 years with minimal study, and now find out that a first year regional pays $20k/year!!! What did you expect? That just because you paid a lot of money you'd get a 777 captain out of college making $200k/year!!! GET REAL!
The industry went downhill in the past 5 years. Nobody could have predicted this. If you ended up taking more loans than you can now afford to pay back it's not ERAU's fault! It's not ERAU's fault if the regional airline pay is sh!t or the interest rates have gone up!

ERAU offers an education. Education is knowledge. You paid tuition to attend advanced classes with experienced instructors. What you got out of it is directly proportionate to how much you put into it.



"You can swim all day in the Sea of Knowledge and still come out completely dry. Most people do." -
-- Norman Juster

 

and you kow that ERAU is going to stick it to you for more than the "estimated cost"

Probably way more

 

Wrong. Everyone still has to CFI and then be a regional FO. Even the top 2%. What you can potentially get out of it is about the same across the board, except for a few instances of reduced minimums at regionals, translating to a whole 6-8 months less time spent instructing. Whooptie-doo.
You have quite the inflated opinion of the material. Most of it is useless fluff, padding a useless program to 120 hours to meet accreditation requirements.
All the aviation knowledge (and then some) that is actually useful in practice can be gained through self-study. The remaining balance that ERAU may provide a classroom opportunity to learn is overpriced and extraneous.
What do you think becomes of this theoretical academic elite (let me guess...the members of AOA) you ramble on about? They go along just as all the other ERAU grads, and most importantly, any state school grads with FBO licenses, who are actually pursuing pilot careers. Why? Because even they are subject to the same career progression as everyone else. With that in mind, it's not just the "vast majority" that got screwed; it's the entirety.
For the record, I only spent three semesters there. I did most of my work at a community college paying $11 a unit. Between that and the MGIB, I got out of ERAU relatively unscathed, but there are many who don't. Even if they take full advantage of all these wonderful learning opportunities you blabber on about, what they take away is worth nowhere near the $160K price tag. What IS ERAU's fault is their recruiting and propaganda machine that declares otherwise--that their degree the absolute best way into the career, their reputation within the industry is matchless, and the cost is justified.

 

Advanced classes????? What???? Maybe you are really stupid and thought the workload was challenging. I found all the classes to be a walk in the park. Unless you studied something other then Aero Sci then never mind. Aero Sci is cake. Like i said, nothing you can't learn through self study. If you want challenging study something like engineering.

 

The only thing an aero science got my last CFI was debt he couldn't pay off in three lifetimes, 6 years working to stay alive as a CFI, and finally he broke and got a job at CHP. He holds on to the dream of one day flying helicopters for them...

-LAFF

 

My numbers are based on a four year degree (usually 120 credits) while living on campus. Online courses will obviously reduce the cost.

It looks like you took two semesters at WPI, so you figure it cost about $30,000 for two semesters, which is one year. Multipy that by four and you have $120,000 for all four years, ontop of that you add in the $32,000 and you have $152,000, which coincides with the numbers I had.

My numbers do not include Online Courses (or Distant Education), which obviously reduces the cost of any education, but is not considered conventional college.

 

Dude, seriously, did you read my post above? You are agreeing with me. I wrote like 5 times that Aero Sci was too easy because the students are not held to the standards they should be. THAT IS THE PROBLEM. THE MATERIAL SHOULD NOT BE EASY.


As for LAFF and Uncle Bose, you guys are commenting on the COST of ERAU. Present day cost, I should add. I agree with you guys that today's tuition cost is ABSURD. I already said that many times on ths thread.

In my last thread all I said was the quality of ERAU education CAN be very good.

One thing is the COST of a product. One thing is the QUALITY. And one thing is the VALUE.

Today's ERAU cost = ABSURD
Today's ERAU quality = depends on student effort. From zero to 9/10.
Today's ERAU value = depends on how much you get out of it. Either way, probably not the best value around.


UNCLE BOSE,

you talk like the ONLY reason to pursue an education is to get a "shortcut" in your career. What happened to going to school to LEARN knowledge? What happened to wanting to learn? To being the best at what you do? If anyone went to ERAU with the idea that their degree would allow them to avoid "paying their dues" they are SERIOUSLY MISTAKEN and very foolish.
Of course every aero sci grad needs to instruct and go to a regional like anyone else. What else did you expect?



PS. Just for the record, I do not support those AOA fools. They make me laugh. THEY are the ones who have an attitude problem and give ERAU a bad rep.

 

If the material taught is of too low a standard, then self-study, which is possible anywhere, is the best option.
Now, I'm a fan of wanting to learn. I just don't think it's worth spending a sizeable portion of one's lifetime in debt to do it. I also don't agree that ERAU is a necessary path to being "the best at what you do." Given that, as well as the fact that it gives no actual career advantage, the cost is hugely unjustified.
Agreed about the AOA clowns. All that time spending pulling planes around is reaalllly setting them up for a great career, yes?

 

I know its not conventional, but nothing says you can't live in your parent's basement and take online classes to save yourself $100,000. I only have $4000 left to pay off on my student loans and I am free and clear. And that was a 4 year program, BS in Business Admin.