Parent of 2011 Graduate

Colleges and Universities A-Z Embry-Riddle
1

<p>...and willing to answer any questions, here or by PM. My son graduated (in 4 years) with an aerospace engineering degree (astronautical concentration) and a math minor. Only visited the campus three times, including graduation but can give a parent's insight to the ERAU experience.</p>

<p>It was a great experience for our son. He had an internship after junior year and was hired fulltime by the company after graduating. His friends also had/have terrific internships, jobs and research opportunities. If you have a passion for planes and rockets and want a smaller, more personal college experience, check out ERAU Prescott.</p>

2

<p>A very nosey question. My daughter’s first choice is ERAU (Prescott) and she plans to major in aerospace engineering so your son getting a job in this economy is encouraging. (You must be very proud, and relieved.) At 40K tuition, we need financial aid of about 10K-15K per year, do you have any idea of what their financial aid is like?</p>

3

<p>Unfortunately I have very little information on need-based aid, as we had some college savings planned and my son was the only one in college for the first three years. We did submit FAFSA each year, but our EFC exceeded the COA until his senior year. At that point he had significant merit aid and was only awarded a subsidized Stafford loan.</p>

<p>Their merit aid is not spectacular either. My son had above average (tho not genius) stats and as a freshman, was awarded a $5200 Embry-Riddle Scholarship, a $1000 Alumni Endorsement Grant (just needs an alumnus to sign-off), and $1000 Early-Filer grant for submitting the FAFSA by the March 1st deadline each year. All of these were renewed each year. His freshman year he also received a one-time $250 grant for visiting the campus his junior year.</p>

<p>I actually contacted the financial aid office prior to his freshman year to see if there was any possibility of being awarded more merit money, and had his file reviewed a second time. The only additional aid offered was the Alumni Grant and they just had someone in the financial aid office fill out the form. I was told that the most anyone one awarded (at that time) in Embry-Riddle Scholarships was $8000.</p>

<p>For his junior and senior year, our son was also awarded a Leadership Grant. For his junior year he was elected a Representative to the Student Government Association and for his senior year, he was elected Vice-President. Both of these positions came with a monthly stipend in the form of merit money; I think junior year it totaled $8000 and senior year about $11,000. Both these positions required about 20+ hours per week of office-time and other obligations.</p>

<p>My impression is that the student body is not a wealthy one, but I do not know how other families are affording the costs. Many of my son’s friends had part-time work while in school. I think there are plenty of jobs available on- and off-campus. As I recall, there are additional scholarships available to upperclassmen and also a number of athletic scholarships.</p>

4

<p>As an '06 ER-Prescott graduate myself (Astro Engineering), I have nothing but positive things to say about the school, and my experience there. I would be more than happy to answer questions any aspiring engineers might have regarding the school itself, student life, or even Prescott. As for myself though, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience there, and landed a great job after graduation as a civilian aero engineer for the DoD.</p>

<p>For anyone deciding between the Daytona Beach and Prescott campuses, I would recommend visiting both if you have the opportunity to. Having been to both campuses, each offers something the other does not, and both are great for engineering majors. All bias aside, however, I prefer the Prescott campus due to the smaller student population, new engineering facilities, and a fantastic geographical location (Prescott is a beautiful place that you will miss greatly when you have to leave!). Furthermore, a great deal of money was invested into the Prescott campus between 2001 and 2006, much of it going to the engineering department for upgrades and new facilities. The campus now boasts a state of the art wind tunnel building with CFD annex, brand new instrumentation, and fabrication lab, as well as new classrooms and library. Prescott itself also transformed quite dramatically over those years as well, and now offers a good number of shopping and food options compared to when I started, in 2001. So, think twice before you cross Prescott off your list. It’s no longer the podunk campus it once was!</p>

<p>Regarding job placement, I had no problem after graduation. As with any school though, your mileage may vary as engineering is pretty competitive. I received offers from Northrup Grumman, Lockheed, ATK, and the DoD. Also, many of my friends who graduated at the same time found jobs right away or shortly after graduation. I also don’t know of anyone from my class who has gotten laid off either, and that is a great thing! :D</p>

<p>Anyhow, I hope this information will help some of you with your decision making. If anyone has questions regarding Embry Riddle, or the Prescott campus, please PM me and I will gladly answer them.</p>

5

<p>Coming from the pilot side of ERAU it is kind of a waste – I mean, the content and quality is fantastic…but nobody hires based on that. Companies hire off of flight ratings, which are identical weather they come from ERAU or Mr. Bob’s airport school of flying.</p>

<p>With the FAA’s more restrictive ATP rules…its so overpriced your pretty much screwing yourself due to aggregate interest.</p>