Started ATP 2 Days Ago

[Av80r13]

I'm using Sallie Mae as well and have a crazy 10% rate. Do you mind sharing how you went about consolidating?

sure.

once you are done with the program and you have secured a cfi job at ATP or else where, shop around(i didnt) and get the best rate possible. I got mine through Wells Fargo at 8%. I will be shopping around again come this summer. If you have income coming in it helps. Having a cosigner might reduce it another % or so. Direct dep another .5%. Wells customer service is a pain in the A$$. I wanted to pay extra every month and they wanted to call in the additional payment.

Hope that helps. There are some amazing companies out there(apparently) who will make the process much easier and offer better rates, but i will do more research here in few weeks and let ya know what i find.

 

[Av80r13]

Well that makes me feel a bit better about the 9.7% rate I have....

lol. as crazy as it seems i applied at ATP 8 months prior when they had the bridge prog with Gulfstream Academy(pay to fly right seat in their 1900. Yes. Yes. i know better now)for 90k total with.. get this 3.1% interest through PNC. CRAZY!!

 

[Av80r13]

If you folks don't mind sharing, how did you qualify for the Sallie Mae loan and did you get the full amount? I would need above the amount of the advertised program price to ensure payment of the exams, materials, etc. I haven't been able to qualify for loans on my income alone, even when my job provided what would be considered a solid income, and my credit score is above 800. The next best thing I can think of to qualify is to have a co-signer who makes considerably more money than I do.

Call Atp and they will do whatever possible to get your loan approved. Having a cosigner will help. I had zero income at the time and my credit was around mid 700s. My rents helped out with the cosigning

You will get the full amt and you can tack on the ipad, foreflight cost, written fees, examiner fees and that can be your GRAND total loan amount. Mine was 45k with the prog costing 39,999

 

[NoSoup4U]

Thank you. I sure hope so. One mistake I've made was waiting too long to get my flight training done, as prices have sky rocketed over the years. When it was $45,000 for the program or so, it was manageable, and now it makes me slightly nauseous and anxious thinking about the loan payment and burden of $80,000+ for the program these days. I can only assume prices will rise for flight training as time continues with the trend seen over the years, and that will continue to price things further out of my reach unfortunately.

 

[Av80r13]

Thank you. I sure hope so. One mistake I've made was waiting too long to get my flight training done, as prices have sky rocketed over the years. When it was $45,000 for the program or so, it was manageable, and now it makes me slightly nauseous and anxious thinking about the loan payment and burden of $80,000+ for the program these days. I can only assume prices will rise for flight training as time continues with the trend seen over the years, and that will continue to price things further out of my reach unfortunately.

I dont want to take off off topic, so if you have any further questions feel free to pm me. I have no idea how to pm, so i am just responding to you here. Apologies in advance gents.

If you are self motivated and driven, join a flying club and make sure you study every day for at least 4hrs and fly 2hrs per flight session. This includes weekends and holidays. There were days i would be reading/studying for 6hrs a day and fly twice (4hrs) to make up for lost time due to weather or Mx issues. This in essence will be what the ATP accelerated prog will look like. If i could do it all over again, thats what i would do and save me a bundle of money. 80k a lot of money. I paid half and my monthly payment for that is a killer, so i cant imagine how its going to be with 80k.

All the best!

 

[BCTAv8r]

sure.

once you are done with the program and you have secured a cfi job at ATP or else where, shop around(i didnt) and get the best rate possible. I got mine through Wells Fargo at 8%. I will be shopping around again come this summer. If you have income coming in it helps. Having a cosigner might reduce it another % or so. Direct dep another .5%. Wells customer service is a pain in the A$$. I wanted to pay extra every month and they wanted to call in the additional payment.

Hope that helps. There are some amazing companies out there(apparently) who will make the process much easier and offer better rates, but i will do more research here in few weeks and let ya know what i find.

Thanks. Will definitely shop around as well after the program and share anything I find.

My loan term is for 10 years, but Im planning on throwing as much money at it to pay it early. The lower interest will help a bit.

 

[killbilly]

I'm suddenly struck with memories of this website, circa 2006 or so....

 

[TaxiBack]

I live with 2 FOs. They are both in their third yr.at a 121 regional. Both went to big 4 yr flight school (not riddle) Now they are both in miserable debt and complain about it all day and night everyday...both wished they hadnt done it the way they did.
Their message to me is DO NOT GO INTO MASSIVE DEBT. It is dangerous since starting wages are sooooo low. And they will continue to be for a long time.
And as for the recent spate of sign on bonuses and "tuition" reimbursment...do the math very carefully. While it will help, after taxation it will be lot smaller than it looks.
Im just sayin..think about where u will be in 2-4. years and how will you manage that 800$ month payment.???

 

[SKU34]

The instruction has been awesome, my first instructor was awesome! He left for Piedmont now and I got assigned a new instructor which is also great, teaches my style, does a lot of ground, and I can literally text him whenever with a question and he gets back to me. In regards to FXE, I literally have no complaints. The place is run very good, if you ever have a problem with your plane they squawk it and get it fixed ASAP, they even flew another Seminole in for another guy was taking a check ride cause he was having a problem with the manifold pressure gauge on the one he was taking. There are two sims that you can just fire up whenever they're not being used and practice, its accessible 24/7 so you can pop in there whenever you want to use the sim, or just to study.

Any Updates on how things are coming? Tips for people considering ATP? What you see as the next step/ what ATP has been telling you about instructing/ etc......

 

[BCTAv8r]

Any Updates on how things are coming? Tips for people considering ATP? What you see as the next step/ what ATP has been telling you about instructing/ etc......

I know this was targeted towards Miguel, but I started ATP about a month ago and have yet to find a negative. The planes are in great shape, the instructors are great, and they are extremely organized. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. The only tip I'd give so far is to knock out all of you writtens before starting the program. That's the advice I've followed and it makes a huge difference.

 

[aviatorx43]

I live with 2 FOs. They are both in their third yr.at a 121 regional. Both went to big 4 yr flight school (not riddle) Now they are both in miserable debt and complain about it all day and night everyday...both wished they hadnt done it the way they did.
Their message to me is DO NOT GO INTO MASSIVE DEBT. It is dangerous since starting wages are sooooo low. And they will continue to be for a long time.
And as for the recent spate of sign on bonuses and "tuition" reimbursment...do the math very carefully. While it will help, after taxation it will be lot smaller than it looks.
Im just sayin..think about where u will be in 2-4. years and how will you manage that 800$ month payment.???

I'm surprised it took 5 pages for someone to finally say this... Yet it still goes ignored/unacknowledged...

Edit: must be due to a certain popular red, sugary drink

 

[future pilot]

Another question i have, and this can be answered by anyone.. ATP offers two separate programs for zero time pilots. The first includes 40 hours of multi at $63,995, and the second includes 100 hours of multi at $73,995. On their website it states the 100 hours of multi program is "recommended". Is this just a way for them to get students to pay an extra $10,000? or would paying the additional money and having 60 more hours of multi actually benefit you?

 

[BCTAv8r]

Another question i have, and this can be answered by anyone.. ATP offers two separate programs for zero time pilots. The first includes 40 hours of multi at $63,995, and the second includes 100 hours of multi at $73,995. On their website it states the 100 hours of multi program is "recommended". Is this just a way for them to get students to pay an extra $10,000? or would paying the additional money and having 60 more hours of multi actually benefit you?

No point in doing the 100-hour program nowadays. The 40 hours of multi are enough.

 

[BCTAv8r]

I'm surprised it took 5 pages for someone to finally say this... Yet it still goes ignored/unacknowledged...

Edit: must be due to a certain popular red, sugary drink

He has an excellent point. But everyone should go into this knowing their own circumstances. Plan out your finances, be realistic, and be prepared to make sacrifices.

 

[Brandon K.]

No point in doing the 100-hour program nowadays. The 40 hours of multi are enough.

This isn't needed if you plan to instruct for them afterwards to build hours as you will get plenty more ME while instructing.

 

[TaxiBack]

As for financing...I will add...I do not know a single person that can predict their income 3yrs from now. And final after tax wage for 1st yr FO is about 12.5o/hr. of duty time.
(so that is spread across flying and dragging a bag thru the airport 5 times a day) Its not just about 'knowing" what you are getting into....Its about doing. Dozens of folks leave the fltdeck everyday never to return. Its a hard • life at first and you have to constantly remind yourself (and your wife and kids) why daddy leveraged our home to full fill his mid life crisis.

Also...as for MULTI TIME... forget it about it! We got 2 dozen guys who started with 25 hrs multi at a 121 regional flying CRJs. DONT GET LOCKED into all kinds of bull crap "deals".....Companies like ATP, of which there are none...are jacking up prices everyday even tho fuel has been lower. They know they got the industry by the balls and they intend to get theirs...(ie YOURs). A year ago the same program was advertised for 40K$ now its over 75K$ ....total ripoff.

lastly ....be very careful about "working" for ATP...they will send you where they need instructors!!! So you may live in JAX or DFW and think that you are just gonna end up teaching right there in home town, usa... but hey guess what "ahh we need a guy to go out to Hayward"....you might get 35 hrs/month and pay 2000/month for an apartment... Or you end up in ORD and fly 6 months/ yr.

Just sayin...If its shiney, its pricey and needs work.

 

[AKpilotDream]

How are things going Miguel???

 

[Miguel Villazon]

Hey sorry guys. Been super busy lately. Everything is going awesome! Working on instrument now checkride is on 7/13. Program still going great and I have zero complaints.

 

[Miguel Villazon]

Have like 2 more months or less to go

 

[Troy McClure]

Hey Miguel, thanks for keeping us posted...Which ATP base r u flying? And are you planning to do the CFI/I training with ATP?

Did you pass the IFR checkride??