im a high school senior, and i have dreamed to fly the day i first saw the chicago air and water show when i was 10. Ive been accepted to Florida Tech, University of Dubuque, and Lewis University. As of today, Ive recieved a 10,000 grant from FIT (florida tech), a 7,000 per year university of dubuque scholarship, and a currently unknown scholarship amount from Lewis University. Due to my familys poor income and financial standing, i will be paying my way through college. My dilemna is, well i really really want to go to FIT. I visited the ERAU, Arizona State, Lewis, Dubuque, Purdue, Southern Illinois, and none of them impressed me more than FIT did. That place is something else, and i would recommend it to anyone as the top aviation program out there (at least from my perspective). However, due to my familys finances, it will be difficult to attend FIT, and a lot of schools for that matter. my questions are . . .

1) Would you recommend taking out loans up the wazoo (talking above 90,000) and paying it off? any life stories or tips people want to share on that?

2) Does anyone know of any scholarships out there besides the well known ones (any under-the-radar scholarships)?

3) Does anyone have any other ideas on how to afford school?

thanks guys!! (please dont turn this into a college bashing argument thanks!)

1. NO!

2. sorry, no

3. I don't know how much the other schools cost but DO NOT PAY $420 + a credit hour to go to Lewis! I would also tend to advise you to get a degree in something OTHER than aviation because once you get out of school you will be worrying about how to eat when you are a CFI....regional pilot....first year at a major....PLUS how to repay all the school loans you took out. Get the ratings on the side.

Good Luck!

Go to a local accredited state university, major in something aside from aviation, fly at your local FBO, save $20k+

If you like it there and you think it is the place for you. Then go.

Take out the loans. Now I would however strongly consider majoring in something other than aviation or minor in bussiness or IT or something just to have a solid plan B.

my minor would be in bussiness you bet, im takin aviation management with minors in education and bussiness, figure i have a few roads to go with those.

Id say go for it. There are a lot of penny pinchers on these board (no offence) But that just comes from being a poor pilot. I should know I am one.

I got an aviation degree and do I regret it? No. When I was in your same position senior year of high school a lot of the instructors told me to major in something other than aviation as a backup plan; something useful, like finace. Then I talked to someone who hires and fires people for a large corporation. He told me that after a couple years of being out of college that if a person has no real world experience in that field, that he consideres the degree obsolete. One of my dad's clients who holds a similar position told him the same thing. So this meant to me that if I majored in finance and CFIed for a while then went on to a regional, then lost my medical, that I would be in the exact same place as I would be if I majored in aviation or history or dance.

The thing I do regret is spending so much money to get my degree. Most guys on here will tell you to go to a state school. I couldn't agree more. Don't get too far in debt because once you're a CFI, it starts to really hurt.


And one more thing, I was close friends with two guys who went more than 100K into debt at Embry-Riddle. Both of them took jobs outside of aviation after they graduated in order to pay off their loans, although one of them also CFIed part time.

Have you considered the military? Great training, good pay, lots of resposibility, awesome aircraft. I went into the Navy with about 700 hours with a career in mind but changed my mind after 8 years and got out. I then went into the Navy Reserve an flew there while persueing the airline career.
2 Mil.+ flight training and no debt. It worked for me. No regrets. Good luck.

Uh.......I don't agree.

Get a degree in something specific that you can supplement your income from the get go.

SWA Capt has a good idea too.

Good questions awesomesauce17! Unfortunately, posting them on this or any other BB site will only confuse you when you read the answers posted. You will get opinions from one extreme to the other...and this from complete strangers who think they know all the answers. I understand (I think) what you are sincerely asking for but in my humble opinion (which may be about as valuable as anyone elses...i.e. squat!), I would only trust the opinions of my family, friends, and others that know me very well. These are the people that can truly give you an honest answer that is not biased with all the whinning that goes on on these sites. So that is my opinion, which to you, is coming from a complete stranger...see what I mean? Confusing. Im sure you will find the answers you are looking for and above all, have fun flying! CTL