<p>So, my son has a huge passion for aviation and has been taking flying lessons since he was 14 yo. He is a senior at a high school in Charlotte, NC. He is in the marching band and has a 3.8 unweighted average and a 4.7 weighted. And a 32 on the ACT's.</p>
<p>Now, to my question...Does anyone know of a college that is good in academics as well as offers an aviation program? Not Embry Riddle, it's too focused on just flying. We are looking for a college/university that offers academics and aviation. Does anyone know anything about the Aviation Technology program at Purdue?</p>
<p>Being a pilot is not really an option for now; starting salary is about $23K. And after last nights 777, I'm ok if his job is on the ground!</p>
<p>DS had a high school friend who always wanted to be a pilot. He did go to Purdue; I really don’t know anything about the program but I’m sure he and his family researched it thoroughly. He interned during college flying traffic reporting planes in the burbs, but after graduation was not able to get a job at all. He applied to the FAA and after about a year was finally accepted as an air traffic controller.</p>
<p>I know two students at Purdue and two at Indiana State University. Everyone is happy, but the students at ISU feel that they are less stressed than their friends at Purdue.</p>
<p>Since the Navy and Air Force have gotten their mention, I’ll say that the Army and Coast Guard value aviators as well. And you can’t beat the price of tuition at any of those four schools!</p>
<p>If he is at all interested in the military ROTC would be a good route.
S’s friend just graduated from NC State (AFROTC) with an Aerospace engineering degree and landed a very competitive slot in the Euro/NATO jet pilot program.</p>
<p>A distinct advantage the Air Force Academy has is (what used to be called) their T-41 program. All pilot qualified students get to basic flight training in Cessnas either during a summer program or as part of regular class work. There is also the option of taking Soaring (gliding training). The Aero Club and Soaring Club are rather large there. [94</a> Flying Training Squadron](<a href=“http://www.usafa.edu/tu/306ftg/94fts/programs.cfm]94”>http://www.usafa.edu/tu/306ftg/94fts/programs.cfm)</p>
<p>Is your son interested in aviation science leading to a commercial pilot career? Or is he interested in studying in a related field while continuing flight lessons? My older son actually started at ERAU intending to major in aerospace engineering with a minor in aviation science (he also had his private pilot’s license prior to college). But when he found that he would never qualify for the medical certificate for a commercial pilot license, he stuck with the AE degree, concentrated on CS applications and had a job lined up as a software engineer prior to graduation. He does hope to get back to flying for recreation now that he can afford the plane rental.</p>
<p>One of my son’s housemates is in the PhD program at Purdue and loves it (no real knowledge of the quality tho).</p>
<p>He went to NCS this summer and took Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering to see if he likes engineering and absolutely hated it. Didn’t like the campus or the dry monotone professors. We don’t take the word hate lightly in our house, I don’t hink it is a nice adjective. Do you know if an aero engineering program that you are thinking about?</p>
<p>that is exactly my son’s goal, to get his solo license in the next 3-6 months (40 hours, right?) in Charlotte, NC at Monroe airport. Is ASU (Arizona State) a good academic place with a marching band? I’m trying to get a sense of big/small of a school it is. So, is there a big difference between Arizona and Purdue?</p>
<p>Why didn’t your son think he would pass the medical cert exam?</p>
<p>I don’t know what aviation science is, but I do believe he wants to be a commercial pilot. But since he is going into his senior year, I think he is still a little unsure.
Thanks,
laushein</p>
<p>Laushein: I don’t know much about [url=<a href=“https://technology.asu.edu/aviation]ASU[/url”>Aviation - The Polytechnic School]ASU[/url</a>]. We didn’t end up visiting and my son didn’t apply. While he was searching I called the aviation department to ensure that he could combine an aerospace eng degree with flight training. Their Barrett Honors College is very well respected and I believe they have pretty good merit aid even for OOS students. We’ve known a couple of kids from our area who have gone out there, but not in the aviation program. It’s a huge state school with about 58,000 undergrads and they have a number of marching/pep bands.</p>
<p>My son didn’t “think” he wouldn’t pass the medical – he had the medical exam for a Class 1 certificate and they discovered a congenital, non-correctable eye problem that prevents him from ever qualifying for a commercial license. His medical certificate is only good for a Class 3 license, which means he can fly for recreation, including flying others, but could never be paid to fly. He even went through an appeal process with the FAA, but with no success.</p>
<p>“Aviation Science” is what many colleges call their professional pilot’s degree program. Some use “Flight Science”.</p>
<p>When our son was looking at colleges and choosing a degree, we strongly encouraged him not to pursue just a professional pilot’s degree for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s not the only way to become a commercial pilot and we felt that that degree was fairly limiting (much like your son’s impression of Embry-Riddle). That view was reinforced when he discovered the eye condition. Our son had had his heart set on an aviation career forever and had always dreamed of becoming a commercial space pilot for Virgin Galactic. Once he accepted that it was not going to be as a pilot, he figured he could get to space as an engineer. He had a great experience at ERAU and graduated with the AE degree with minors in CS and math. Ironically he does not work in the aerospace field, but it continues to be a passion of his.</p>
<p>Our son only ever wanted to attend ERAU, so I don’t have a lot of info on other schools. We forced him to visit St. Louis University and to apply to a couple of others, but he was accepted in early October of his senior year to ERAU and so not much effort went into other applications. If I can help with any other questions, just ask.</p>
<p>I went to Purdue and my comments would be that the social / dating life is not as great compared to more, ehem, socially friendly schools. Way too many out of state people droning from building to building. Academic wise Purdue was beyond great, of course, esp. Aerospace engineering just in case the OP is interested. Great band (and the world’s biggest drum or so we were told).</p>
<p>Purdue has some interesting gotcha regulations regarding freshman engineering, i.e. one has to meet certain GPA to continue to their major and so on.</p>