if you instruct at an FBO for a while you will make contacts with other instructors who have contacts with others, so yeah anytime you overnight in a town where one of your former coworkers lives, you can go have a beer with them. And anyways, most overnights, you have to go to the hotel and beers there are at least 4-5 dollars, and thats a lot when your loans dictate 66% of your income on FO pay.

One of the things that they mentioned when I interviewed at RAH was how impressed they were that I did NOT go to an aviation college. They see it as much more well rounded to go to a real school and get a real degree. Not that your degree isnt real but what more do you know about aviation since you have an aviation science degree from a pilot school?

Doesn't take much to impress RAH...

I guarantee you anyone with an aviation degree has a much better understanding of human factors, high-speed aerodynamics and physiology than yourself.

And I recently flew with a UND grad that absolutely loved it. I guess that's just proof that what's best for one guy ain't necessarily best for every guy.

Do what's best for you, based on your own personal preferences and resources. There's nothing magic about having an Aviation-related degree, nor is it a curse. Most importantly, do something that will make your college experience enjoyable and worthwhile.




I'm glad you mentioned reciprocity, because it's a great deal. If your state does not offer a particular program or major, you should be able to attend a school in another state with that program at the Resident tuition rate. In other words, if you live in Wisconsin, and Wisconsin doesn't have an Aviation program, you should be able to attend UND at the Resident tuition rate (if you take the Avaition program, of course).

Does anybody happen to have a list of states without aviation programs, and a list of schools that honor the reciprocity agreement?

(Hmmm . . . quick look at UND's website reveals this may only apply to Minnesota. <scratchin' head> Could that be right?

Never mind -- further investigation reveals:

If you are an undergraduate student and claim residency in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, a WUE/Contiguous/MHEC Reciprocity form must be submitted and approved to receive the reduced WUE/Contiguous/MHEC tuition rate.

So, what's WUE/Contiguous/MHEC, you ask? Me, too. So I looked some more:

WUE - (Western Undergraduate Exchange)
The following states qualify for the WUE tuition rate: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
(Undergraduate Only)


Contiguous States The following states qualify for the Contiguous tuition rates: Montana, South Dakota, Manitoba, Saskatchewan.

Midwestern Higher Education Consortium
The following states qualify for the MHEC tuition rates: Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin.
(Undergraduate Only)

These terms are apparently unique to this region, and (in the case of Contiguous) the state. I'll bet there are similar arrangements in other states, as well.


Yikes -- learned more than I really intended to, there. :))




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You are absolutely correct. I have never been to North Dakota, nor do I ever plan on going there.

I love to travel. I have been to 42 states, and spent a decent amount of time in most of them. The only ones I haven't been to are North Dakota, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Maine, Delaware, and Alabama. The difference is I would like the rest of these states. No desire to spend time there. I think the school would be alright if they picked it up and moved it to any of the other 49 states. There is just something about North Dakota being the most undesirable place to live.

YES!!!

I am proud to say I attend UND and am loving my time here. However, I have some friends who are in the aviation program who don't enjoy it as much and are pursuing other options to achieve their flight training goals because they feel it will suit them better. Jsut because you start out going to one school doesn't mean you're locked into their program until completion. A handful of friends back home are transfering schools (nonaviation) because they don't like the atmospheres, curriculum, etc. and will be just as well off as my friends here at UND.

Grand Forks is in the middle of nowhere compared to where I come from, but it sure beats having to listen to old hippies mourn a tree that was blown over in a park in my town (true story). And the cold sure does suck, but it makes earning in the region of $20 per hour in warmer temps a lot more attractive. just kidding. In all reality though, once i graduate here, I'm getting the hell out of this place.

ryane946, there is a worse place for a flight school or anything for that matter, and it's called West Virginia. It may be warmer, but have you seen the movie Wrong Turn or the Hills Have Eyes? Stuff like that probably happens there every day

speaking as someone who has an aviation degree, except for all the crap in the jeppesen books and the asa written and oral preps, most aviation majors dont know sh**!

It's unfortunate that you have such a narrow mind. North Dakota is a very beautiful state, and quite unique when compared to the other states in the union. Even when it's cold outside, the weather can bring an uncanny stillness and beauty. During the summer, the plains come alive with color, and the western part of the state is quite incredible (It is after all the badlands).

As far as places to live, if the weather wasn't so cold, it would rank up there as one of my higher choices to relocate to. I've never met people who are more welcoming or friendly. I've seen a North Dakotan SACRIFICE HIS OWN HOUSE TO SAVE HIS NEIGHBORS (during the flood of 1997), and I've served proudly on active duty with ND guard members on several occassions.

If you don't want to go there, fine. It's your loss (and North Dakota's gain). But to say that you know the state, and know it's a most undesirable place to live without ever experiencing it firsthand is pretty short sighted.

you ever been to Texas?

So where do you work with all the valuable experience you gained since you attended airplane college. I highly doubt you understand those things better than myself either. Do you hold an atp yet or better yet a cfi? In my opinion you can't truely learn until you teach it anyway. The point is the things you had "learn" for your degree that you say would set you apart is the same things everyone else has to learn anyway, its in the pts.