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Junior in High School, Interested in Career as Fighter Pilot.
- Thread starter MattWSU
- Start date
I have a lot of interest in Embry-Riddle. It has the "#1 Aeronautical Engineering school in the nation" which in my eyes would give me an edge and I would still really enjoy a non-pilot job as an Engineer at Boeing, etc. Any alumni of the school or people who are currently enrolled on here?
Not to bad mouth ERAU at all but that #1 ranking is only applicable to schools without a doctoral program. Read the fine print. The best Aeronautical Engineering program, I believe would be found at MIT. However, I am sure ERAU offers a quality education.Matt Martin said:
http://www.cs.jhu.edu/~nguyen/usnews/engsp01.php.htm
Matt Martin said:
WOW. Man you are freaking me out. I am from the Seattle area, I did the running start program like you are, and graduated HS with my AA. I was heavily interested in 'flying jets,' looked at all the military branches like you are, and also decided to come to Embry-Riddle to pursue Aerospace Engineering. Because I already had 2 years of college out of the way, I decided to do the BDCP program. I'm in my senior year here at ERAU at the moment.
The bottom line is that you are way ahead of the game man. You have many options, and the fact that you are exploring them early gives you a huge advantage. If you are at all like I was, I was starting to freak out at your juncture. You have 5 military branches to choose from, each having some 3+ ways to become an officer and a pilot. It can be a very confusing, pressuring time.
You will find through the rest of your high school and beginning of your college years that your priorities will shift and settle. I don't mean this in a deragatory way.... but you will grow a lot between now and halfway through your enrollment at a university. The bottom line throughout all of this, is to do your best. Grades are #1. If you can maintain good ones, get involved in clubs and organizations on campus that develop and demonstrate your ability to lead. This way when the time does come for you to make an educated decision about your future, you'll be set for success. Remember, we've all screwed around at one point or another. It's never too late to turn it around and show em what you are made of.
Anyhow, I PM'd you my contact information. I'd be more than happy to get you in touch with NRD Seattle or give you any insight I picked up in the last few years.
Godspeed said:
Wow, that is indeed crazy. So how do you like ERAU? I'm curious as to what the classes leading up to an AE degree are like. There is only one decent school (that I know of) that offers an AE degree in WA state and that is UW which is extremely competitve. Do you think you made the best choice in choosing ERAU? This question can apply to anyone whom goes/went there as I'm really interested in it. I've got too many questions going through my head and need to talk to someone know who knows their ****. Let me know.
Matt
I say Washington State because my fathers service in the military qualifies dependents (me) for tuition costs covered by the VA. My brother, who is four years older than me and transferring to a four-year this fall, told me that the GI Bill does not cover tuition for out-of-state colleges but I can't find this documented anywhere.
Matt Martin said:
If you think you can get in to the UW AE program, go for it. It will save you an arm and a leg over ERAU. After running start, my high school GPA was about a 3.6. At the time a few years ago when I was looking in to AE at the UW, the competitive GPA for entry in to the program was greater than 3.9.
AE is very challenging, make no mistake about it. You have to like or at least be comfortable with math and physics. Bottom line: Don't go for AE simply because it looks good. Go for AE for your own reasons. There are many other degrees here that the Navy looks highly upon. I have had friends here earn flight slots pursuing Aeronautics, Aerospace Science, and even Aerospace Studies. All of these degrees seem to require 1/5 of the effort that AE does. The bottom line is to keep your college GPA (yes that includes your GPA at the college you attend in the Running Start Program) as high as possible (Definitely above a 3.0, preferably above a 3.5). If you decide to do AE and you end up sitting at a 2.0, you are shooting yourself in the foot.
As far as the 'best choice going to ERAU' goes. There are definitely negative aspects to going to ERAU, many of which are voiced on this forum. Small girl/guy ratio and the cost are just a few. These are definitely legitimate gripes. But even given that, I personally LOVE this school man. If you are nuts for aviation, this place is great.
The calibre of the professors is ridiculous. Examples:
Take even my AE 101 teacher (AE 101 is a basic intro to AE obviously... dummy class)... The guy was the project manager of the Patriot Missle project at Lockheed Martin. My Principles of Management class was taught by the ex President of Operations of AirTran. The mentor to our Naval Aviation Class is Capt John 'Lites' Leenhouts, former Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic CO, and holds the record for the most traps in the history of naval aviation. Our advisor is a LT/COL who graduated from Annapolis and NFWS. These are just a few examples. The bottom line is that if you come here, you will be educated by the best of the best of the aviation world, period.
I love the fact that everyone is 'driven' here. Everyone shares a common love of aviation. The fact that every other person you talk to has a pilot's license is a testiment to that. I also find it motivating to have aircraft of all types and makes taking off over you when you walk to class. Also, in the civillian sector, aviation employers (from boing to United Airlines, etc etc) regard the ERAU name highly.
There are some serious downfalls to ERAU though, definitely don't get me wrong there. Daytona Beach is a fun time if you know where to go, but I would be a liar if I said that you'd have a better time partying here than at your average state school. I found living on campus to be a horrifying estrogenless experience. The ratio has definitely improved then, and continues to improve though. I'd go a week with only seeing a handful of moderately attractive women. Getting a car and living off campus definitely made life normal again.
The cost is staggering, but competitive with any other private university. Take as many credits back home at your community college as you can if you decide to come here, even if it means you have to stay there for an extra year after graduating HS. Going here for 4 years will set you back 80 grand without any scholarship assistance. Going here for 4 years for an Aeronautical Science degree will set you back 120k +. Flight time is a rip off here unless you have a scholarship for it.
My .02 for now.
Assuming you are serious about a career in Naval Aviation .... Why don't you go talk to professionals? You know, instead of asking endless questions on forums? Everyone's situation is different and yours is no exception. Your grades don't sound very competitive to me, but what do I know?? I'm not a professional recruiter.Matt Martin said:
Since you are in Seattle, CALL the NROTC unit @ UofW and make an appointment to talk to the PNS (Professor of Naval Science) or some other officer there. For guidance. Call a recruiter -- maybe more than one --- and go in and TALK to Officer Programs recruiters. Central Washington? Ellensburg?? Are you aware they have an aviation program?
http://www.cwu.edu/~flight/flight_training.html
A4sForever said:
Jeez man... The kid is 16. Talking to recruiters, etc is obviously important, but talking to others that have been there and done that can be of even greater help. We were all there once wondering/asking the same questions. When we were all at that stage, we had people that took the time to answer the questions that we now call stupid (i.e. what % get ....) There's no harm in helping out the next guy in line, especially if he's showing this kind of initiative at such an early age.
Godspeed said:
Jeez man... The kid is 16. Talking to recruiters, etc is obviously important, but talking to others that have been there and done that can be of even greater help. We were all there once wondering/asking the same questions. When we were all at that stage, we had people that took the time to answer the questions that we now call stupid (i.e. what % get ....) There's no harm in helping out the next guy in line, especially if he's showing this kind of initiative at such an early age.
No ... actually ... I did it myself. Me and another guy from school. And we started when "we" were 8.
Who called him ... "stupid"??? I think he's wasting his time hearing how everyone else "did it". The guys at the NROTC unit aren't "recruiters". Go talk to the guys who KNOW what they are talking about --- recruiters included --- to learn how his academic history and desires fit into reality. You know --- the possible.
A4sForever said:
I figured I'd start small (with this forum) so I can get an idea of what the steps to becoming a military pilot are like. I want to go to a recruiter with a broad outline in my mind, not just a bunch of jumbled facts. As for my grades, I am planning to get more than 45 and up to 90 credits at the community college I attend so my High School transcript will be irrelevant to what my current grades are.
A4sForever said:
Thanks for the info on CWU.
Matt
Not suggesting --- high school grades will have a direct effect on what institutions of "higher learning" are available to you and thus --- which commissioning source(s) are available to you --- after you get your (required) college undergrad degree. Assuming that is the way you go ... i.e., "college" and then a commission.Matt Martin said:
And remember --- you ain't gonna have a "career" as a fighter pilot. That's for dreamers and Hollywood --- only. Talk is fine, and information from the rest of these guys is fine --- as far as it goes. You have your own set of qualifications and situations. And you have to do much if not all, of your own "leg work". No one is going to do it for you.
Contact the professionals ..... good luck .... OUT.
A4sForever said:
To expand on this.... When you apply directly for a commission (via OCS, or BDCP for example) you don't submit your high school grades. The navy doesn't care about them.
But A4s is right; your grades in high school determine where you can go to college, and have a direct impact on your future. The navy requires that you submit ALL of your collegiate transcripts from ALL of the colleges and universities you have EVER attended; from the community college level on up. They then average in your credits and gpas from the various universities (not high schools) to arrive at the total cumulative GPA that gets submitted in your package. This is for the OCS route though... not exactly sure how the rotc nazis do it.