BlueStreak

No prob, don't worry about it.

Uncle Bose

It'd be hard to choose a worse path than ERAU. With that kind of debt you can pretty much kiss goodbye any dreams of a comfortable standard of living for the majority of your working life. Read the "Key Alternative Loan & Bankruptcy" thread on the Money Talk board, and the "Embry Riddle: to go or not to go" thread on the Flight Training board.
The consensus of those with actual experience and hindsight is that an aviation school, and ESPECIALLY an aviation degree, is a bad idea. Graduating ERAU with a degree completely useless in the real world, while starting your pilot career not making enough money to pay your $1000-a-month student loan payments, is the worst possible way to get started.
ERAU is not well-ranked, and has low admittance standards. You'll find its real-world reputation is a far cry from what you'd hear from its recruiting establishment. The fact is they promote nonexistent advantages to their stratospherically priced, utterly useless aero sci degree, to their target audience of young kids reading AOPA Flight Training, who wouldn't know any better.
Get your ratings at a local FBO, and earn an in-demand business or engineering degree at a state school.

PDXflyer

Very well said Uncle Boss. He is absoultely right. Get a degree in something else but avaition.

FlyerJosh

If you really must attend a university that has an aviation program, choose a REAL 4 year university that has an aviation department. Many small schools have programs, and there are some large universities that have aviation programs as well- a few that come to mind: Arizona State Univerisity, University of North Dakota, and Purdue.

Spongebob

Tried to hook a former sim partner who graduated from ERAU up with a non-flying job (giving up after 10 years of being marooned in the regionals) via a Navy flight school bud, and the company (sikorsky) doesn't recognize that as an accredited institution...ergo, he essentially doesn't have a degree. Not good.....

Blue Streak -
Go to a college and study something you'll find fun. Then you'll switch majors in your sophomore year (happens to about 85% of folks) when you realize your first choice was wrong. Then as you graduate, compare the $22,000 a year you'll make at a regional to what your friends are making in the "real" world (engineers in aerospace typically start around $55-60,000 w/better benefits) and make a choice.
Better yet, if you want to fly, get Uncle Sam to pay for it all either with ROTC (what I did), Marine PLC (they'll guarantee a pilot slot your when you start your freshman year if you qualify) or join an Air National Guard unit while you're in school and pick up a UPT slot. Not only will the good Uncle pay you in training, but you'll leave with 2000 hrs...and if you get helo's just work your next tour into a fixed wing.

My $.07, feel free to PM me....
Spongebob

Illini

University of Illinois: Big Ten, Amazing Business School and Engineering School is close to number one if not number one for some majors, great campus, hot chicks, good flight school, and finally, if you live in the state tuition is very cheap. (I go there)

scramjet

yawwwwwwwwn!

scramjet

Wow I looked at ERAU when I was considering an aviation degree-too expensive I thought. I never realized the quality of academics was that bad. Goes to show what USNews knows about ranking colleges (they ranked the engioneering program there number one and the college overall 21st best in the Southeast or something like that.

Velocipede

Makes you wonder if the media can be that wrong about a topic you're familiar with, how right are they about things like nuclear power, the War in Iraq or the U.S. economy?