SIU, UND, ERAU, WMU, or Baylor

[r_heim21]

I want to be an airline pilot! I know I should narrow it down more but there are pros and cons to all of them. UND has a great program but its freezing and ive heard negative things about the school. Baylor is close to where i live which is a pro but its about the same cost as erau but with no where near as good training as them. ERAU is great but just very expensive. SIU seems amazing and so far i havent heard anything bad about that school and the same goes for WMU but i dont know much about those schools. I would love to hear your opinions and experiences at any of these schools if it can help me narrow it down

 

[flyTotheSky]

Where do you live? Take advantage of in-state tuition if you can. I graduated from SIU's program a few years ago and I don't have one bad thing to say about the program, though I was biased as I was in-state.

 

[jskibo]

I went to SIU a long time ago. Great then, with the TEC Center I hear its better. Schedule time between classes, Main campus is huge and spread out, airport is a few miles down the road.

I'd list my favorite bars but they changed names or burned down a few times since then. Halloween used to be interesting.

 

[z987k]

I want to be an airline pilot! I know I should narrow it down more but there are pros and cons to all of them. UND has a great program but its freezing and ive heard negative things about the school. Baylor is close to where i live which is a pro but its about the same cost as erau but with no where near as good training as them. ERAU is great but just very expensive. SIU seems amazing and so far i havent heard anything bad about that school and the same goes for WMU but i dont know much about those schools. I would love to hear your opinions and experiences at any of these schools if it can help me narrow it down

Who told you those places had great programs? Themselves?

Bank for buck anything really expensive sucks, and they all get you the same place no matter what their recruiting dept tells you.

 

[r_heim21]

Where do you live? Take advantage of in-state tuition if you can. I graduated from SIU's program a few years ago and I don't have one bad thing to say about the program, though I was biased as I was in-state.

i live in Texas but Baylor is a private school and it costs the same whether you are in state or out of state

 

[Jed1087]

Everyone on here (including me) is going to tell you to get a degree in something other than aviation. That said, I went to WMU. Get a degree in something outside aviation and do your flying on the side. You never know when you might need that other degree. I fly with people all the time in the airlines that have degrees in Finance, Marketing, etc. On the subject of WMU, I really enjoyed my time there. Great professors and a great program.

 

[jskibo]

Everyone on here (including me) is going to tell you to get a degree in something other than aviation.

Count me out of the everyone claim you make.

It can work. It's more about you than that piece of paper and what it says.

 

[r_heim21]

Count me out of the everyone claim you make.

It can work. It's more about you than that piece of paper and what it says.

thank you I really want to get my degree in it because i want to learn all i can about every aspect of aviation. I just feel like it would be benificial in the long run. Also, If i go to SIU i would have the degree in aviation managment as well as aviation flight so i suppose that could be my backup.

 

[z987k]

thank you I really want to get my degree in it because i want to learn all i can about every aspect of aviation. I just feel like it would be benificial in the long run. Also, If i go to SIU i would have the degree in aviation managment as well as aviation flight so i suppose that could be my backup.

Then get a degree in aerospace engineering.

 

[mikecweb]

Where the womenz be at

 

[Jed1087]

Count me out of the everyone claim you make.

It can work. It's more about you than that piece of paper and what it says.

Not saying it can't work..it worked for me just fine. Just saying it's always good to have a backup plan.

 

[fly my life away]

thank you I really want to get my degree in it because i want to learn all i can about every aspect of aviation. I just feel like it Iwould be benificial in the long run. Also, If i go to SIU i would have the degree in aviation managment as well as aviation flight so i suppose that could be my backup.

I think that's a good idea. Do you know how much flight hours you get after finishing the siu flight program. I thinking of stealing your plan

 

[StrykerINF]

Do you really need to pay all of that money for a degree? In the same cost of getting an education and flight ratings at places like ERAU, UND, etc.. I received my undergraduate, nearly completed my masters (working on my thesis), and have all my flight ratings in far less costs. Currently I'm flying 135 and helping lay the ground work for searching for MIAs from WW II and I have no student loan debts... All this was accomplished in the same time span and even more flight hours than students at Riddle. You'll probably thank yourself down the road if you considered other options... especially if there's ever a slim chance of losing your medical

 

[staledog]

I went to SIU and thought it was great. I hear UND is good too but you would never catch me living up there because I'm not a polar bear, I'm a person who hates cold weather. So my advice is go somewhere warm.

 

[thevideographer]

I received my undergraduate, nearly completed my masters (working on my thesis), and have all my flight ratings in far less costs.

I'm curious how you did that. UND out of state tuition is less than in state tuition at a lot of schools, and the flight training costs about the same as Part 61 because you get done in fewer hours. That's not BS from a UND pamphlet, I got my PPL at a "cheap" part 61 school and spent at least as much as the 102 students here.

From a logical standpoint I would say don't get a degree in aviation, but I understand why the OP wants one. I started off in aerospace engineering, switched to poli-sci, and eventually thought "eh, screw it" and decided to get a degree in something I actually like.

 

[fly my life away]

I went to SIU and thought it was great. I hear UND is good too but you would never catch me living up there because I'm not a polar bear, I'm a person who hates cold weather. So my advice is go somewhere warm.

How many flight hours did you finish with and what was the overall cost

 

[staledog]

How many flight hours did you finish with and what was the overall cost

I started with 0 hours and graduated with my B.S. in Aviation Management and about 250 hours with my CFI. I got my CFI right when I graduated, so I didn't instruct there...some people get their CFI a while before they graduate and instruct there too. They leave with more hours of course.

As far as the overall cost, I was in the Army a for a few years right after high school, so after I got out of the service Uncle Sam paid for most of my college. So I'm not really sure what the cost would be for anyone else.

Also I did manage to get through the 4 year program in 3 years by going to class during the summer and taking as many classes as I could. Not trying to toot my own horn, it's just that I wanted to get out into the world and start making some money. So if you want to get it done as quickly as possible, it is possible to go that route. Most people don't, though.

I graduated 11 years ago so I don't really know too much about the current program, I'm sure things have changed some.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

 

[jskibo]

I started with 0 hours and graduated with my B.S. in Aviation Management and about 250 hours with my CFI. I got my CFI right when I graduated, so I didn't instruct there...some people get their CFI a while before they graduate and instruct there too. They leave with more hours of course.

As far as the overall cost, I was in the Army a for a few years right after high school, so after I got out of the service Uncle Sam paid for most of my college. So I'm not really sure what the cost would be for anyone else.

Also I did manage to get through the 4 year program in 3 years by going to class during the summer and taking as many classes as I could. Not trying to toot my own horn, it's just that I wanted to get out into the world and start making some money. So if you want to get it done as quickly as possible, it is possible to go that route. Most people don't, though.

I graduated 11 years ago so I don't really know too much about the current program, I'm sure things have changed some.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Illinois Veterans Grant? I loved that program.....zero debt education

 

[fly my life away]

I started with 0 hours and graduated with my B.S. in Aviation Management and about 250 hours with my CFI. I got my CFI right when I graduated, so I didn't instruct there...some people get their CFI a while before they graduate and instruct there too. They leave with more hours of course.

As far as the overall cost, I was in the Army a for a few years right after high school, so after I got out of the service Uncle Sam paid for most of my college. So I'm not really sure what the cost would be for anyone else.

Also I did manage to get through the 4 year program in 3 years by going to class during the summer and taking as many classes as I could. Not trying to toot my own horn, it's just that I wanted to get out into the world and start making some money. So if you want to get it done as quickly as possible, it is possible to go that route. Most people don't, though.

I graduated 11 years ago so I don't really know too much about the current program, I'm sure things have changed some.

Good luck with whatever you choose.

I was thinking of doing my flight training at aviator college and then going to the college you went to to get my bachelor's in aviation management

 

[staledog]

Illinois Veterans Grant? I loved that program.....zero debt education

Yep, combined with the GI Bill. If I would have chosen any other profession, my college would have been totally free. But they only covered about 20% of the flight training, so I ended up with a little debt. But I would have been in a whole lot more debt without it.