Aviation Colleges/Universities?

Disreard online colleges right now. An online University for aviation?
You must be joking. If you're goal is to come out of this with an
airline job then a big school like UND is the only way to go. What they
have is contacts with the industry. What the industry knows is exactly
what they get from a UND graduate. They know what they get because they
told UND that's what they want and UND gives it to them. You show up at
the door with the sheepskin you printed off your printer from Burnt
Scrotum State Online Academy what do you think will happen? Right, a
busted nose from the door hitting you in the face. Your top choices of
schools will be those that aren't aviation only such as UND, Purdue,
etc. ERAU is good but gives no options other than aviation.




brynn wrote:

Thanks guys, I've looked at all of the school you guys mentioned and
even found a lot more through using different phrases on google. Now I
just need to figure out which one is best for me.

UND looks like it's one of the better schools - it seems to be pretty
popular and well respected. That's really far up north, though, and I
don't know if I'd really like to live up there for four years. I'm
definitely keeping it in mind, though.

Embry-Riddle looks like it's the top of the line when it comes to
aviation schools. It is, however, extremely expensive. $1020 an hour?
Not to mention probably about $40k on top of that for flight costs, I'm
looking at over $120,000 to graduate. Ouch, my family's first house
cost about half that, and our second was barely over it!

Utah Valley State College online looks like it could be a good program,
but I really don't want to do distance learning for college. I did that
for half of my highschool career and I'm ready to get back into a
traditional school setting.

Texas State Technical College is pretty good and close. I'd definitely
do it through Baylor, though. Baylor seems to be pretty pricey and I
wonder if I'd be able to get in with only slightly above average GPA
and SAT scores.

I also looked at a few school in Oklahoma since they'd also be pretty
close. OU seems like it'd be a good choice, but as with all the others,
I'm not entirely sure.

More suggestions would be welcome. Also, if anyone has opinions on any
of these schools then I'd love to hear them since the resources online
seem to be pretty slim.

You can attend ANY college or university and go for just about any
major you are interested in. Then, get your aviation ratings in the
summers at a nearby airport with an FBO and instructors. Then instruct
after college and timebuild. Then, apply for a job with an airline.
They don't care what you majored in, but if it were me, I'd major in
meteorology which would give me a great backup to my piloting and is
the best thing to know about anyway if you are a pilot. But that's just
me. Really, ANY major will do.

("brynn" wrote)
UND looks like it's one of the better schools - it seems to be pretty
popular and well respected. That's really far up north, though, and I
don't know if I'd really like to live up there for four years. I'm
definitely keeping it in mind, though.


UND is VERY well respected - as a school and as an aviation program.

You might really like getting away to your own corner of the world, to make
a fresh start in your young adult life. You can return home to Texas for
visits in the summer.

Amtrak will take you into Fargo, then Grand Forks, ND - from Chicago.
Dallas to Chicago - Texas Eagle Route.
Arrive CHI: (2:14pm)
Chicago to Grand Forks - Empire Builder Route.
Depart CHI: (2:15 pm)
[Very safe! Affordable. On time??? Not always!!!]

Problem is, making connections in Chicago - times don't work out. They
planned it that way over 130 years ago. They wanted EVERYONE to spend a
night, or two, or three in their "booming" town.

Most colleges have share-a-ride boards and services. Many kids from the Twin
Cities area attend UND in Grand Forks, ND (325 miles/5 hours by car - all
freeway). If you can get into (MSP) Minneapolis/St Paul by plane, you could
catch a pre-arranged ride with a fellow student. Might cost you $30 gas
money.

Who knows, by your Junior year you might own half of a Cessna 152 and be
flying yourself home for summer vacations. :-)


Montblack

"brynn" wrote in message

I'm just about to finish up highschool and I've just started my flight
training for my PPL. I haven't really looked at colleges much, but I've
heard that there's some out there where you can get a 4 year degree
while getting flight hours/commercial license/ratings.

Get a real degree from a real school-- a degree that will be respected by
the business community. Learn to fly at a flight school- preferably one
small enough where they will know your name.

These two functions are separate, and in my view should not be mixed.

"John Gaquin" wrote in message

These two functions are separate, and in my view should not be mixed.

Clarification: I do not mean to disparage real schools that offer an
aviation program, such as Purdue, UND, et al. These are fine institutions
whose degrees are respected. What I think should be avoided are the
"specific" institutions who call themselves a college or university, but
whose only curriculum area is aviation.

try http://parks.slu.edu/Academics/index.php


"John Gaquin" wrote in message
. ..
|
| "John Gaquin" wrote in message
|
| These two functions are separate, and in my view should
not be mixed.
|
| Clarification: I do not mean to disparage real schools
that offer an
| aviation program, such as Purdue, UND, et al. These are
fine institutions
| whose degrees are respected. What I think should be
avoided are the
| "specific" institutions who call themselves a college or
university, but
| whose only curriculum area is aviation.
|
|

I had actually just come to the conclusion that a few of you guys said
here right before I read this thread. I talked to another student who
talked to an ex-A320 captain that was on a hiring comittee and he said
that they didn't care what degree you had, so long as it was a good 4
year degree. So I guess that leaves my options a lot more open now
since the idea of getting flight instruction through a college degree
is actually kind of a bad idea.

No wonder it was hard to find information on these schools! Haha.
Thanks a ton for all the help guys.

What about Aviation Management degrees? How do these degrees help
within the aviation field?

"brynn" wrote in message

What about Aviation Management degrees? How do these degrees help
within the aviation field?

I wouldn't think such a degree would get you hired over someone else
similarly qualified with a management degree. My experience has been that
an Aviation Management curriculum is essentially no different than a
business management curriculum, but there are a few courses included that
are specific to the field, such as Aviation Law, or case studies that
include an airline as their model of study. That sort of thing.

The large university like UND and Purdue will prepare you to get the
airline job. It's true any degree is fine but if you get it from a
nonaviation college and get your ratings from the local FBO you will be
constantly disappointed as you go looking for jobs at the airlines. The
people from the UND's and Purdue's have a huge advantage there.



brynn wrote:
I had actually just come to the conclusion that a few of you guys said
here right before I read this thread. I talked to another student who
talked to an ex-A320 captain that was on a hiring comittee and he said
that they didn't care what degree you had, so long as it was a good 4
year degree. So I guess that leaves my options a lot more open now
since the idea of getting flight instruction through a college degree
is actually kind of a bad idea.

No wonder it was hard to find information on these schools! Haha.
Thanks a ton for all the help guys.

What about Aviation Management degrees? How do these degrees help
within the aviation field?

You might also look at Kansas State University - Salina. They offer a
special program for their piloting program where you can reduce the
out-of-state tuition to only 1.5x their in-state rate. Good aircraft, good
staff. They're transitioning to the G1000 172's now. Neighbor's daughter
goes there and loves it (of course - she's one of about 20 females out of
200 students at this campus!).

We checked out TSTC. I believe you can also complete your 4 year degree @
Tarleton as well as Baylor. Was a bit disappointed in the facilities and
aircraft. Yes, the Diamonds are new, but the 152s and 172s looked pretty
tired. Also, the school is housed at an abandoned military base, and they
really haven't done too much to buff things up much. Also, this is the
field Bush flies into when he visits Crawford, so be prepared to have that
to deal with.

My son decided upon Embry-Riddle @ Prescott AZ. I've heard all the arguments
pro and con about get a good degree and get your flying hours anywhere else,
and for the most part, I agree with them. My son's goal is to join the USAF,
and while nothing is guaranteed, with one of the largest, if not *the*
largest AF ROTC contingent in the country, it couldn't hurt. Who knows?
Maybe he'll flunk out, but at least we gave it a try!

Carl
Ft Worth


"brynn" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm just about to finish up highschool and I've just started my flight
training for my PPL. I haven't really looked at colleges much, but I've
heard that there's some out there where you can get a 4 year degree
while getting flight hours/commercial license/ratings.

Does anyone know of any of these colleges or recommend any of them? I
live in Texas and I'd like to stay close to home, but anything is worth
looking into.

Thanks.