av8r88

Hello all

I’ve been wrestling with the idea of biting the bullet and starting on the loan process to pay for Embry Riddle, which I’ve just been accepted to. I realize that total costs can exceed $100K, but everything seems to suggest that it’s ultimately a bargain. The strength of the degree and Embry Riddle training virtually guarantees hiring with a regional airline right after graduation. The Dean of the College of Aviation has said that one particular course in the program, which involves training in a CRJ simulator, makes graduates much more competitive, and they are hired after graduation with much less time than other applicants. This opens up the possibility of getting hired at a regional 1-2 years earlier than people without the Embry Riddle degree, and eventually making over $150K at the majors that much earlier.

Not only that, but according to the admissions department, people completing the air traffic controller program are being immediately absorbed by the FAA, and start out making $120K a year once they’re out of the academy. That minor, combined with the aeronautical science major, virtually guarantees solid, lucrative employment, and I think this is well worth the cost of tuition. I’d love for anyone with experience with this school to offer any input.

Thanks!

jwes

As a Riddle grad myself, If I could do it over..... I would get a degree from a good local college in business and get all the flying from a 141 operations that would probably hire you as a flight instructor later. You can try on your own to get on with the regionals, If you can't, you can use some of the money you saved by not going to Riddle to pay for some right seat complex aircraft time.

I owe Riddle about 90K still !! (95 grad), I thought I would put it off until I got into the majors making 100k+ and chop it down quick, but I'm still at the regionals. Now if you really want to go to Riddle get an engineering degree because that would be useful later in life and fly at a local cheap FBO.

I really enjoyed going to Riddle, got the Aeronautical Science Degree. I would have gotten a lot more out of the aerodynamic, performance, and physics courses if I could take them now that I am flying some sophisticated aircraft. My degree does me no good if I get out of Aviation. Just my two $

de727ups

"but everything seems to suggest that it’s ultimately a bargain"

Ummm. I was going to say "how's that", but then you explained it in the rest of your post. You are being lied to. They are feeding you BS. It's horse hockey. What else can I say....

I graduated from riddle before you were born, 1983. They were pushing the same BS then, and I fell for it. Worked out okay for me, in the end, but one of my greatest regrets is not getting a degree outside of aviation in an area that I was interested in.

By the way, don't feel special because they accepted you. They accept anyone who has the means to pay, one way or another.

You don't need to go to riddle to be successful. Any major is fine, as is any flight school. Going to ridde never did anything for me other than to fill the "I have a degree" box on the application. There are a lot of better ways to do that than going to riddle.

Slice

Dude,

Go online and find the list of the top 20 party schools in the US. Apply and go there! Party your a$$ off, get a B or better(it isn't that difficult) in something outside of flying and do your ratings on the side. You'd have enough $$ left over to buy a cool ride to pursue the hotties with...don't fall for a fancy brochure or the like. You're only young once and will be working the rest of your life!!!

JMT21

Remember that nothing is guaranteed. The ATC thing isn't too bad to fall back on, but keep in mind if you were ever to lose you medical you would be SOL getting a job as a controller (they require a second class medical). Just to set straight the current hiring situation with ATC, currently it is about a 2-3 year wait from the time you submit your papers to the FAA to the time you are actually sitting in training at Oklahoma City. Look into UND-Cost of living is low, tuition is cheap, wide variety of degrees offered, flight expenses are lower than riddles, the ATC thing and CRJ courses are both offered, and its an actual public school with plenty of women and you can party it up as previously suggested if thats your thing.

N6724G

A lot of people have the wrong idea about ERAU> Its just a regular university with an aviation ans aerospace programs. You dont have to go there to become a pilot. They have a good engineering and aerospace program. But many people I know took flying lessons in a local FBO and just took regular classes at ERAU.

atpwannabe

av8r88:

Man, save yourself the money!!! Just like jwes and de727ups, I, too, am a Riddle grad (Fall '87) and believe it or not still owe Riddle a little bit of money. 20/20 vision is hindsight.

My advice, go to local university, get BS in Business Admin & fly at a local FBO. If not that, get your AS degree and go to one of ATP's locations around the nation get your ratings and start CFI'ing, then try for the regional or 135.

Don't fall for the Riddle Runaround. Best wishes & blue skies

atpwannabe

Hey de727ups:

Remember, happy hour on Friday's in the UC and the National Airlines B-747 hanging over the pool table?

SkyHigh

av8r88,

Ditto what they said plus you cant count on getting hired at the majors. You can't even count on there being high paying flying jobs in the future. However you can count on over 100K in school debt that will crush any chances you have of at least enjoying a modest flying career. I have a friend who graduated from ERU over 20 years ago and still is over 80K in debt in school loans.

I would not go !! Find a nice local school get a business degree and fly on the side.

SKyHigh

Uncle Bose

Huge mistake. ERAU is a criminal organization as far as I'm concerned. Hardly anyone I know feels the experience was worthwhile. It doesn't give you any more of an edge in aviation than any other school. Everyone I graduated with that I still keep in touch with is "figuring out what to do next" or working as a CFI for $20-25 thousand a year, paying off a $100 thousand+ debt. My only saving grace was doing some work at a community college, so I only spent three semesters at ERAU.

Every word they release to the public is propaganda, including that "best aerospace program in the nation" BS. Looking more closely, that "best" aerospace program is ranked against schools that don't offer a PhD in the field, which means they didn't have to complete against TRULY good schools such as MIT, CalTech, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Penn State, etc, etc, etc. I've also heard the ERAU-originated stats you've given and they're lies, pure and simple. Not one person is hired right after graduation with fewer hours than other applicants based on the ERAU degree. For the controller pay claim, just search the web for their pay scales.

Personally, I did very well in the aeronautical science program with little effort. Why? Because it's easy. It's a bloated, padded program filled with useless classes. The math (pre-calculus and "calculus for dumb pilots") and science (two non-calculus physics classes) were high school level. Not one thing they teach requires a professor any more than the self-study material one uses for flight ratings. At the end, I graduated feeling completely unchallenged, and slightly embarrassed, thinking "I could've done a lot more." Friends of mine were struggling through REAL majors like chemical engineering and accounting/finance--majors that test you, build character and are actually useful. So, now I'm working on a master's degree in CPA accounting, at a state school.

Some deluded folks have justified the experience with "my professors were all ex-military pilots and had some great stories" or "the degree is well-rounded...you have to take all sorts of things from physics to computers." Is hearing old war stories worth a thousand dollars per credit hour? Will employers find you marketable based on one or two low-level computer classes? No, and no.

Bottom line, you'd do best to follow the advice of everyone who's posted. Get an in-demand degree at a well-ranked state school and fly at a local FBO.