good aviation colleges?

[Guest pilotwannab]

There is a reason I don't go to Rolla anymore. And UMR is a GREAT engineering school. Probably the best in the midwest, but you're right its not very well-rounded. Mizzou probably is more of one, but still, after knowing gobs of "graduates" from Mizzou, I don't think I could ever attend that school. SLU looks better and better everyday.

[Guest HueyPilot]

Sounds like a few Missouri kids on this board. I went to high school in St. Louis and it seemed that everyone went to either Mizzou or SEMO. Many of them only did a year or two in college, which reflects Mizzou's party-school atmosphere. I received some shocked faces when I told everyone I was going to Louisiana Tech. I wanted to go into AFROTC and do the professional pilot thing, but wound up dropping out of ROTC when I became a candidate for the ARNG's aviation program and majored in geology. Go figure.

Now I'm back with the AF and all my former AFROTC classmates are major's now, and I'm still not even close to my Major's board. Oh well...being a warrant officer was a blast though!

Anyways, I still stick to my advice to consider a non-aviation degree, but if you want an aviation degree, LA Tech has a pretty good program and it's not pricey like ERAU or SLU. That, and you can learn in an ATC environment that isn't extremely busy, they have a good AFROTC detachment, and the airport is pretty decent (small, but decent).

Anyways, here's the link if you want to investigate further:

http://www.latech.edu/tech/aviation/

[ 13. January 2005, 13:33: Message edited by: HueyPilot ]

[Guest TheBobGoat]

Originally posted by pilotwannab:

There is a reason I don't go to Rolla anymore. And UMR is a GREAT engineering school. Probably the best in the midwest, but you're right its not very well-rounded. Mizzou probably is more of one, but still, after knowing gobs of "graduates" from Mizzou, I don't think I could ever attend that school. SLU looks better and better everyday.

also, if you are in the midwest. UofI champoo banana is a great school for engineering and aviation.

they are right up the street from slu so you can visit both of them in the same weekend

[MT near]

I forgot.... Indiana State university is a good choice as well. Close to INDY, IU, PURDUE, U of I.....not a bad school.

[Guest pilotwannab]

SLU might be pricey, but the tuition INCLUDES any flight costs other schools make you pay out of pocket. Also, and this is just the case for me, I am getting an aviation degree because after my senior year I should have accumulated over 250 hours just at school. I am trying to go guard pilot and the unit I'm looking at likes tons of hours, so I figure I can get a degree AND tons of hours for one price and at one place.

[Guest FrozenPilot]

Wow, not much here for UND. Ok, heres my take. I'm from New York. If you can handle cold weather and not much scenery in Grand Forks, North Dakota in exchange for an excellent program for not to much money, check out University of North Dakota. I had a great experience there, you learn to fly in any weather, and my education was under $100,000 (flight costs included). Flight wise, they are one of the top three aviation schools around because the equipment is great along with the maintenance, you learn to fly in all four seasons, and theres lots of little extras like getting training in an altitude chamber. Its a good campus, the people are nice, plenty of alcohol and parties for those interested, and plenty of good looking midwestern women, especially during summertime!! Also, if you're interested in ROTC, they have a very good detachment, and for rotorheads, an ARMY ROTC scholarship where they pay for helo flight time.

[Guest flychick]

I think it really has to do with your personal preference. For instance, there are a few people here that like Purdue. I knew someone that flew at Purdue and absolutely hated it. Purdue isn't hard to get into that I've heard of.

I am finishing up my last semester at Riddle. The only bad thing I have to say is that it is a long, expensive process to get oyur ratings here, but you also get a lot of good experience and opportunities to fly with ex-military pilots. Almost all of my classroom intstructors are ex-military pilots, also.

As for ROTC, it's the same everywhere, don't go off of that. I did hear that ERAU gives out the most flight slots next to the academy, though.

My fiancee graduated from Riddle two years ago, and now has a flight slot in the AF without doing ROTC....so really, it has more to do with who you are and how hard you're willing to work than what school you go to. You will pretty much get the same technical education no matter where you go.

[Guest CBStud]

As far as Purdue goes it depends on what program you're trying to get into. The flight grogram is actually very hard to get into while the mx and aviation administration are not. I've heard the same regarding pilot slots at riddle but I've also heard that they have the most people out of any ROTC unit and the most percentage of people applying for UPT as just about everyone is there to fly.

[Guest KoolKat]

I went to ERAU in DB...I did AFROTC...I didn't fly there, instead got an engineering degree.

I found it very difficult to understand flying there. The ROTC program does not pay for your flight blocks (hours) and it is expensive as hell. I would refer you to some of the discussion on how much your flight hours affect your PCSM score (the only factor ROTC uses regarding your flight expeience.) Besides, I can't see the logic in paying to learn to fly and then having the AF teach you all over again for free, while paying you to do it...maybe its just me.

As far as girls, there isn't anything on this thread untrue about ERAU...15:1 guy:girl sounds pretty accurate when I was there 00-04.

The ROTC program is probably the best in the country. When I was there there were on the order of 250 people in it, providing leadership opportunities that you simply can't get at a school with a 25 person detachment.

Even with all of those people, there were pilot slots abound, it was a wavier factory too! If you had a technical major, a 3.0+ GPA, a 300+ PFT score, and a PCSM > 0, you pretty much got your slot...if you were close, but not quite there, you got a Nav slot...

I would think long and hard about the pros and cons of all these various things before committing to a particular school...like they say, "the AF Academy has far to few women and far too little beer to provide a well rounded education." (Poke, Poke, let's hear the Academy guys giggle)

Good luck, hope this input shines some new light on the decision.

[Guest flychick]

IF you're going into the AF anyways, don't spend $100,000 on flying. I did ROTC for a semester at Riddle...I'm not pilot-qualified for the AF, but all I really want to do is fly, so I got out.

BUT I do know that while I was in my chances of getting a scholarship, and getting it fast, were greatly increased if I wanted to switch my major to Computer Science, or any sort of engineering degree. So if you really have to go to school...do engineering, it pays better anyways. That way, in case the pilot thing doesn't work out, you'll have something good to fall back on.

Riddle is good for engineering, too...just depends if you want to pay that much or not. I will say that it is a good school for people wanting to go civilian, but if you're going AF anyways, maybe not.

BTW guys- the girl/guy ratio (at the Prescott Campus anyways) is now 1:4 Lots of new freshman girls...it's getting better!

[Guest Piperpilot2004]

I asked this earlier but about their Naval Aviation Club that they claim will "Guarentee You a pilot slot" if you maintain a 3.0 and pass the FC-1 physical... I dont hear too many people going that route to become an aviator in the Navy. It sounds too good to be true to me.. and if ends up to be a waste and not get me close to any slots and I cant do an ROTC course, I am pretty screwed right? catch me? Not sure what to make out of this program..

[Guest ramp_rat]

I suppose I'll chime in here too. I graduate UND about a year ago. They have a great program as long as you take it seriously and study. I'm not a huge fan of part 141 training, but UND definately has the resources like great sims and new airplanes every few years. It's also pretty easy to double major in commercial aviation and air traffic control, only a few extra classes. We have great ATC sims. They have AF ROTC and Army ROTC and a recruiter came and talked to us about the BUPERS program for naval aviation you were referring to. Sounded good enough to check out at least. I thought about signing on the dotted line but i was already a senior. UND doesnt have much in the way of scenery (if you squint you can see the north pole) but if you like hockey its definately the place to be. Hope this helps.

[Guest Sundowner]

Piperpilot, I'll say it again, what you are looking at is the Navy's BDCP, Bachelor Degree Completion Program. Go to Airwarriors.com and do a search. They will have everything you need to know about the Navy.

[Guest Piperpilot2004]

alright, thanks. Still not real sure witch service I would like to join..I have to find something other than the academies, I dont really have a chance with that because I dont have a high gpa (4.0 or anything like that..) and would rather go to a regular college..Ill try airwarriors.com as you said Sundowner, THANK YOU EVERYONE for the help! Never though there would be over 70 posts for this lol.. if I find out anything on that Navy program Ill be sure to post it incase there is anyone in the same position.

[Guest mlc4u21]

is it true that if i become a civ pilot and i get an undergrad degree ill make out about 30k yearly?

[ 01. September 2006, 08:06: Message edited by: Toro ]

[Guest Bullmastiff]

Western Michigan University if you like winter sports!! Also consider just getting a non- Aviatin degree, and knocking out your ratings at a local FBO. It will definetely be cheaper

[Shakermaker]

Interesting conversation.. here's my bit.

I'm an ERAU Alum (01 PRC), so I will give my take on the whole experiance. Embry Riddle is a great school period when it comes to all aspects of aviation. Granted their pilot program is primarily to ready an individual for the airlines, but I would say at least half, if not more, of the AS proffesors at the Prescott campus are retired military (mostly AF, and a couple Navy). They imparted their experiances and knowledge in the classroom that was directly related to their careers in the military. The flying was great; good wx, good aircraft, etc. The only thing I regret about Riddle was the cost because I'm gonna be paying off some loans for quite a long time. But, the actual cost for flight time per hour was only like $60/hr for the 172S, and only $80 dual... which is a heck of alot better than the going rate at the local FBO here in Eugene. So overall the flight costs were actually pretty decent, just the out of state tuition was a bit much :mad:

I graduated at the end of August in 01... and a couple weeks later.. well we all know what happened. Talk about bad timing. With hardly any flight hours and not many jobs, that Aero. Science degree was pretty much useless. I have been struggling ever since, but thanks to the wonders of corrective eye surgery I now have the opportunity to achieve the dream that got me interested in flying in the first place! So, my advice, stay away from an Aero. Science degree. Luckily I managed to get the minor in Safety, so that will help if I decide to go with the NTSB someday down the road.. but in the mean time it's just a pretty framed piece of paper on my wall. Hopefully it will get put to good use soon...

Oh, and when I was at ERAU PRC(97-01) the ratio was 35:1.... lots of slummin at the old Prescott High :D

[LJ Driver]

You guys are killing me with this girl/guy ratio deal at ERAU. I went there and graduated in 1999 from a ROTC full ride in Aero Engineering (The program is ranked #1 in the country by the way). What you people are failing to mention when you announce that ERAU has a 15:1 ratio (which is true) is that you are going to school IN DAYTONA BEACH!! Who the hell cares how many girls are in my physics class? I'm going to the beach after class to study and pick up more trim then I know what to do with!

[EvilEagle]

I'm also a ERAU Dayton grad. Class of 99. I did ROTC and got a degree in Computer Science. I couldn't afford ERAU, but the AF paid for it through a ROTC scholarship. Yes, ROTC there was asspain, but it got me where I wanted to be. I agree with the advice of not needing to have an aviation degree to fly for the AF.

[GSXR6Racer]

I graduated from Riddle in 03 and I did the date a Riddle girl thing... They suck... Find girls from elsewhere, Florida is a big state

[Guest flychick]

So overall the flight costs were actually pretty decent, just the out of state tuition was a bit much

Just to clarify....ERAU is a private school. There is no differentiation between out-of-state and in-state tuition. And the flight costs, well they are pretty high now.

[Guest BLEEDS ON]

Alright, I gotta represent my alma mater UND. But first I have to repeat what's been said already. It's probably smarter, matter of fact it would probably be to your advantage to get a degree in something OTHER than aviation if you want a pilot slot. With that said, hockey is the only REAL sport and UND has the best around. Hell,the arena alone is worth going for.

[Guest Piperpilot2004]

yeah I am not sure I am going for the av-degree anymore. Its been awhile since I have posted on this topic, and in the meantime I have talked to some people and said exactly what you said Bleeds On. Slots wont come as easy. Not 100% sure about my decision so I still may persue that degree but who knows. Thanks a lot everyone-it gave me some good insight.

[duece123]

if you like SEC football and smoking hot chicks every 25feet look into AUBURN. Just updated their fleet,(no more carb heat) Out of state tutition is is B!TCH though. I dont know if you want to be that far away from home, but check out the main page www.auburn.edu and click on aviation management, prof. flight. check it out.

[Guest POL_Pilot]

Ok since we are on the subject of aviation colleges, I will represent the Flying Okra (yes flying okra) of Delta State University. They have a Masters degree program that is 100% online. Most of the students in the program are airline pilots with busy schedules.

http://www.deltastate.edu/pages/457.asp