ERAU vs. Western Michigan (WMU)

S

syncmaster

New Member
Hey all!

I have some questions about ERAU and their competition. What it mainly comes down to is, who is better?

I am currently accepted into Embry-Riddle DAB and, as of now, will be starting in January of next year, earning a degree in Aviation Buiness Administration. Lately I've been talking to a lot of people and have been stunned by the number of people, forums, blogs, etc that I have read that say do not go to ERAU that they are not all they make themselves sound. Although I have heard from several people who currently attend ERAU and one friend that left ERAU but next semester will be going back after transferring to ASU for a while, they all like ERAU, but the people who don't like ERAU far out weigh them. At this point I'm not really sure what to do anymore, here are some of my concerns about ERAU:

1.) ERAU is not worth the price.
2.) ERAU's name will not put me in a more competitive advantage over another school (such as WMU).
3.) ERAU is away from my friends and family (I'm in Michigan), WMU is a mere 30 minute drive from my home.

Concerns about WMU:

1.) WMU does not have the ERAU name (I'm not sure how widely they are known in the industry)
2.) I'm not sure I will be able to start ASAP with WMU, I'm under a lot of pressure from my parents to get the ball rolling now.

What I'm looking for is some input from the various members of this forum to see what they have to say about it. In the future I hope to have a job with Delta Air Lines or one of its many partners in business.

Thanks for your help!

-Charlie
 
ERAU does have its name working for it. If you just getting an ABA degree then I'd suggest not going to Riddle. A business degree is a business degree. Just do an inership sometime during school to get your foot in the door.

I always tell people that want to fly here this; if you have an endless pocket, and Is absolutly CRAZY about flying, and isnt in a rush then flying at Riddle is for you. If you said ehhh to any of them then dont even try.
 
i will disagree with champcar on a few things, but for the most part he's right on. i dont think if you are crazy about flying then erau is for you, for some people erau is awesome, for quite a few people like me i am extremely discouraged about flying right now, and am fighting that giving up urge.

that's all pretty much on my side.
 
The only people who think the riddle name will do anything for you are people currently at riddle. Hell, sometimes the ERAU name on a resume can be a not-so-good thing, since there is sometimes a negative stereotype associated with the graduates.

What is your goal career-wise? If it's some area of aviation management, I can tell you from personal experience that the riddle degree doesn't mean diddly-sqwat. SIU, Purdue, many state schools, and probably WMU (I'm not familiar with them) have much better reputations for degree programs in that field.
 
re: college choice

Hi,
This is my very first post on Jet Careers. I very rarely post b/c I mostly just enjoy reading whats on the forums. I am from Holland, Michigan on the lakeshore. If you are looking into colleges have you heard of Baker College in Muskegon. They will get you a degree in Aviation Management (4 years) and an Associate in Aviation Technology with Private, Instument, Commercial, Multi. Also, instructor single, multi and instrument (2 years). Their flight fees are considerably lower than Western. Plus western does not even let you fly the first two years of your BA. Whereas with Baker you are up flying the first week. I am starting the program starting January. I am 22 and I have been doing entertainment production lighting for the past 4-5 years but I want to do something that will offer me more and be alot more challenging. The flying bug bit me three years ago. And I have finally decided to pursue it full time, plus I have been saving $ by still living at home. From what I have seen and heard they have a very good program. Baker is also more business based versus Western is more engineering based. For example, you won't need to take Calc II at baker whereas you might at Western. The only math you are req'rd to take at baker is intermediate algebra. For someone like me who struggles in advanced math it is much better, plus more financially feasable. Plus there is a good chance they will hire you as an instructor after you graduate with your AA. While you can complete your BA with two more years of online training. Feel free to contact me by email.

Anyways, best of luck in choosing a school. They do their training in Piper Warrior II's equipped with moving map GPS. You also have the option of a C152 as well. They also have Multi EngineTrainers. Your flight instruction is done thru Executive Air Transport. The airport is MKG

go to this site and type in "Aviation" without the qoutes.

https://carina.baker.edu/pgmsrch
tyler
 
I'm graduating from Western with a degree in philosophy in December and was in the flight program for a year (I decided to finish flying on my own), and I've gotta say Tyler you don't know a thing about Western's program with the way you're talking.

You have to take physics and calculas, but I would say that the aviation program isn't engineering based at all. In fact you are required to take more business related courses than anything that would resemble engineering courses. The information you have about the program is patently false, and I'd recommend you look into the program a little further before you start talking about it.

That being said, Western didn't work out for me. When I started you didn't fly until you're junior year, now they're flying people after their freshman year (second semester of freshman year if you come in with your PPL).

Will Western get you a job? Nope, but no school will. Come to Western because you want to go to a real college with people besides just flight majors. If you think that coming here will get you a job, waste your money at ERAU because if you're coming from out of state then Western will be just as expensive as ERAU.

Heck, if you're coming from out of state just go to Michigan and get your business degree there. I would not recommend Western to anybody that is out of state with how much they charge for tuition here.
 
Sorry Man

Hey John, sorry to come across as bashing WMU's program. That was not the intention. I was just trying to be informative that there was another program in Michigan as an alternative to Western if that did not work out. If I had the money and all I would probably go to WMU but at this point it does not work out for me and the Baker program works better. I will make sure I have my facts straight next time.

Seeing as you are in Michigan maybe we could meet sometime......


best,

tyler
 
WMU = Worst Michigan University

Don't do it. Go down to Carbondale Illinois and take a look at southern illinois university. They are currently in the process of expanding their aviation/transportation programs w/a few billion dollar grant. It is a good school, they give lots of credit for x-ferring in certs and ratings and the classes are taught by grey hair professors with experience in the field. It is also a real fun school, basketball is the only team worth anything but playboy rated it in their top 20 a few times for overall college experience. If you get in-state tuition it is a real good value.. I think you need to live there for 6 months not including dorm time to get in-state status. At least give it a glance. http://www.aviation.siu.edu

There's my 2 cents...
 
Why did it take you this long to ask the questions and decide on what aviation school to attend? That being said, I can tell you that I'm a product of ERAU and can say nothing bad about the school or the training I received, however, I attended before you were born and the school has changed in size, cost and attitude. It is way to expensive, and overrated. Part of the marketing hype that is evident in most of the aviation school ads that you see in the mags. Read between the lines and do a little more research, it is not to late. Advantage of ERAU....weather and the beach.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top