College? (CLE area) Help!

ERJFly2013

ERJFly2013

Well-Known Member
Well i thought i had everything figured out. Then i realized how poor i am.

My plan for the past year or more has been to attend Kent State University in Kent, Ohio to earn my Bachelor's degree and major in Flight tech, heading towards an airline career. However a couple of keys factors like money (or lack thereof) have got me second guessing my plans.
The said degree from Kent will probably cost around $130K. That's a very large amount of money. I still need about $124k actually. Considering that some regional pilots make less than most school crossing guards (no offense to anyone), i'm thinking this amount of debt could be rather problematic.

Here are some other options i'm considering:
1. Stay at home for two years, do some flight training out of a local airport, which is very cheap, and attend community college to get some basic credits out of the way.

1a. Transfer to ERAU to finish out. Believe it or not i could still save money by doing this. I spoke to a counselor in person at Prescott and he informed me that they offer about a $16,000 transfer scholarship each year you attend.
1b. Transfer to Kent State to earn a bachelor's degree in something non aviation related (I case i were to be furloughed, etc.). This way i'd have something to fall back on. If i did this i would probably finish the rest of my flight training at this "local airport" which is about 45 minutes from kent. This local airport, Skypark 15g if anyone is from the area, is a part 61 school. Kent would be 141.

2. I've recently learned of a community college in dayton, ohio (Sinclair) that has a flight program. I might be able to save by pursuing this option as well, however I'm not sure that one is able to earn a bachelor's degree from a community college, just associates?

Basically what i'm questioning is, is it more important to go to a really great flight school (Kent or ERAU) and have a fairly significant amount of debt, or should i try to minimize the debt by pursuing some of the options listed?

Any insights would be greatly, greatly appreciated. College is about two months away! Thank you!

Cody
 
Whenever you ask a question like this, you'll get many answers from people with many perspectives. In the end, it all comes down to you deciding what you think will be best for you. Never let others choose what's important for you, but you can definitely learn something, here, to take into consideration in your final decision. :)

Was in your shoes a few weeks ago. Decided to get the hell out of the Cleveland area and, even if it'll amount to much debt in the future, I'll learn to deal with it, then.
 
I graduated from Kent in '06 with a BS in flight tech, a couple of other board members are from Kent as well. If you have any specific questions about their program feel free to ask in this thread or in PMs. If you choose a collegiate aviation program I would highly recommend them. The faculty within the aeronautics department improved greatly while I was there, and there are some great professors there to learn from.

I do have a hard time believing the Kent program costs $130k however. I made it out the door for something in the $70k range (I think, maybe less). My monthly payments on my $50k in debt are a little over $500. When I worked at expressjet my take home pay was about $1300/month. So debt certainly is something to be concerned about (luckily you do qualify for interest-free deferment of your federal loans as a flight instructor, and again as a regional FO, since you will make less than 150% of the poverty level). My federal loans actually kick in this month for the first time, I graduated 2.5 years ago and can comfortably afford the payments (but I'm also single and no kids, so I have few financial obligations). I did not find it hard to work 30 hours a week while attending college, so I was able to easily pay for my living expenses (and I should have paid more cash towards school...).

To answer the question you raised, no your specific major does not matter.

Ask yourself though, if you get furloughed (like I did 11 months after starting at expressjet), what job would you want to pursue? And would they care what your degree was in? Or would they only care that you have a 4 year degree? If there is something else you particularly enjoy (marketing, accounting, computer programing) then get a degree in that, it may help.
 
I just recently moved from the CLE area and this is what I would do. Stay at home and get a full time job to help you pay for school. Go to Cuyahoga Community College and finish up an AS for 80 dollars a credit hour. Then enroll at CSU for a Bachelors degree in anything other than aviation. While you are doing all this pay as you go for your PPL at Medina Airport.


PM me for info on 15G (Stay far away) go to Medina & on any other questions you might have.
 
jhugz said:
I just recently moved from the CLE area and this is what I would do. Stay at home and get a full time job to help you pay for school. Go to Cuyahoga Community College and finish up an AS for 80 dollars a credit hour. Then enroll at CSU for a Bachelors degree in anything other than aviation. While you are doing all this pay as you go for your PPL at Medina Airport.


PM me for info on 15G (Stay far away) go to Medina & on any other questions you might have.
Click to expand...

Listen to this.

-minih
 
coa787 said:
Whenever you ask a question like this, you'll get many answers from people with many perspectives. In the end, it all comes down to you deciding what you think will be best for you. Never let others choose what's important for you, but you can definitely learn something, here, to take into consideration in your final decision. :)
Click to expand...

Exactly! 90% of the people on here will tell you to major in something other than aviation. I took that advice and I was very unhappy at college for a year.

Now I'm taking online classes and doing my fling stuff on the side, and I am enjoying it much more.

So basically, if you have another interest in something other than aviation, major in that. But if you don't have anything else (like me) don't waste the time and money to pursue a degree that you have absolutely no interest in.
 
There are many aviation colleges around Ohio. It would be best to just do what you can to limit dept. If not doing a flight degree is what you have to do, then do it.
 
Dont listen to JHugz about 15g.. you will save yourself a ton of money doing at skypark.. you cant beat the prices.. jhugz is just made bc he got himself blackballed out of here and now he feels it is his mission in life to try and kill business here yet we are busier than all heck
 
Why does everyone forget there are scholarships out there? Each college gives free University money away for instate and out of state students granted you have good high school scores (gpa, SAT, extra cirricular activities). Kent State was very gracious and I would find that 130K to be cut down to 90-95k max!

PM me for more details
 
ERJFly2013 said:
Well i thought i had everything figured out. Then i realized how poor i am.

My plan for the past year or more has been to attend Kent State University in Kent, Ohio to earn my Bachelor's degree and major in Flight tech, heading towards an airline career. However a couple of keys factors like money (or lack thereof) have got me second guessing my plans.
The said degree from Kent will probably cost around $130K. That's a very large amount of money. I still need about $124k actually. Considering that some regional pilots make less than most school crossing guards (no offense to anyone), i'm thinking this amount of debt could be rather problematic.

Here are some other options i'm considering:
1. Stay at home for two years, do some flight training out of a local airport, which is very cheap, and attend community college to get some basic credits out of the way.

1a. Transfer to ERAU to finish out. Believe it or not i could still save money by doing this. I spoke to a counselor in person at Prescott and he informed me that they offer about a $16,000 transfer scholarship each year you attend.
1b. Transfer to Kent State to earn a bachelor's degree in something non aviation related (I case i were to be furloughed, etc.). This way i'd have something to fall back on. If i did this i would probably finish the rest of my flight training at this "local airport" which is about 45 minutes from kent. This local airport, Skypark 15g if anyone is from the area, is a part 61 school. Kent would be 141.

2. I've recently learned of a community college in dayton, ohio (Sinclair) that has a flight program. I might be able to save by pursuing this option as well, however I'm not sure that one is able to earn a bachelor's degree from a community college, just associates?

Basically what i'm questioning is, is it more important to go to a really great flight school (Kent or ERAU) and have a fairly significant amount of debt, or should i try to minimize the debt by pursuing some of the options listed?

Any insights would be greatly, greatly appreciated. College is about two months away! Thank you!

Cody
Click to expand...

$130k...:confused:

Cody..take option #1 or #2!!!
 
Jbroz04 said:
Dont listen to JHugz about 15g.. you will save yourself a ton of money doing at skypark.. you cant beat the prices.. jhugz is just made bc he got himself blackballed out of here and now he feels it is his mission in life to try and kill business here yet we are busier than all heck
Click to expand...

You are right go to 15G if:

You want a suicidal chief pilot that thinks the regulations don't apply to him. He flew for like 6 months without a medical and said it was because he forgot and someone the FSDO ok'ed him on it.

Airplanes that are maintained so poorly you wonder how they even stay together on steep turns.

A owner that is so senile he doesn't know an airplane from his...

--------------------

As you can see I have publicly spoken against this airport on the internet and that is why they are black balling me. They have a couple annoying kids many with more money then brains. I am pretty sure that 2 of the 3 will die by career end due to their stupidity in not only the air but also generally in life.

I am not going to name any names on a public forum but there are others on this forum that agree with me on 15G and I can get you in contact with them.

Rid yourself the headache of 15G by paying a little more if any and go to Medina where I have heard nothing but good things.
 
Good call on getting a degree in something other than aviation! It will save you a lot of money and you will be thankful for that in the long run. I did two years at Tri-C and then finished up at Kent State while doing my flying on the side at 15G. Saved me a lot of money and I was able to knock out my ratings faster. I flew out of Medina when I first started and I have nothing negative to say about Medina except the only downside is that their fleet is only 2 Cessna 172s, so when you go for your commercial, CFI, and multi you would have to look elsewhere. Definatley investigate 15G some more. It's not a bad place to get your ratings and you can't beat the prices! I know people talk bad about the maintenance on the airplanes and what not, but to be honest, I've never had any sort of major problem with a Skypark airplane (knock on wood). Plus, you get that nice homey feeling at Skypark.:beer: PM if you have anymore questions about anything. Good luck!
 
Jbroz04 said:
Dont listen to JHugz about 15g.. you will save yourself a ton of money doing at skypark.. you cant beat the prices.. jhugz is just made bc he got himself blackballed out of here and now he feels it is his mission in life to try and kill business here yet we are busier than all heck
Click to expand...

I personally wouldn't touch a skypark aircraft, let alone fly one. Didn't you guys have two engine related emergency landings within about a month earlier this year?
 
Maurus said:
I personally wouldn't touch a skypark aircraft, let alone fly one. Didn't you guys have two engine related emergency landings within about a month earlier this year?
Click to expand...

:yup::rotfl:

The chief mechanic also pulled out in front of a airplane with his truck while that airplane was in the flare. Luckily everyone survived:

http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20081004X12049&key=1

The quality of pilot's you get to fly with, happens about 1 a year:
http://www.ntsb.gov/NTSB/brief.asp?ev_id=20081004X12052&key=1
 
Not that I know of. I mostly fly my families airplanes I only use skyparks for my commerical because I need the High Performance and Complex. I know on the trip they took one of the 182s that has a wet wing leaked fuel and the pilot didnt notice it and he had to make a emergency landing at his desination airport because he ran out of fuel just as he got there. At least thats what I was told. Last year the planes at Skypark flew over 8000 hours as a group which isnt bad. But in 8000 hours stuff happens. There has never been any major events. JHugz posted a accident where the pilot made a bad choice and he wants to say skypark pilots as a whoel are bad pilots. Well James how about the time you almost killed me by flying a cessna 152 into ice because you were a newly rated instrument pilot and you thought you knew everything. James Hughes is gone from skypark so you no longer have to worry about someone killing you in a plane. Skypark fleets is older but by no means is unsafe. If you want to listen to James and pay twice as much to get your ratings go ahead that is your choice. We have had at least 6 instructors go to fly for airlines since I have been here the past two years. We had one instructor fly over 1000 hours last year. If are planes break down like james wants you to beleive that wouldnt be possible. Ive flown over 400 hours in skyparks planes and the only time I came close to being in danger was the one night I made the mistake of flying with James Hughes.
 
Awesome...and the 15G smear-fest continues. LOLLLLLLLLLLLL:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Yep I am just that scary. I totally picked up an inch of ice on a 152, then did a snap roll to a landing after asking you to hold my beer. Who hasn't misjudged the height of clouds in hazy days and accidentally pop into IMC only to exit it a second later and make a perfectly legal flight. Or the time I decided to stop a flight because I didn't know enough about icing so I landed just to be safe due to the drizzle close to freezing level. Wait I forgot John didn't we get someone to pick us up? Stop trying to act like sky-god and your poo doesn't stink because to be honest I could really liven up this thread.
 
All I have to say is call the FSDO and ask for a confidential opinion of the flight school and see what they say.
 
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