Anyone from St. Cloud State (MN)

[Lawn Dart]

Just would like to know if anyone here has gone through the aviation program at St. Cloud State in Minnesota. If so could you tell me about your training and the school. Good Bad ....etc..

Thanks much

 

[mnalpha]

I have heard good stuff about the place, besides that I know nothing.

 

[flyguy75000]

cold as $hit past octber 3rd, great program otherwise........Mattson and Anderson are good professors

oh......10,000 girls (most of scandinavian roots-blond hair, blue eyes---HOT) and 6,000 guys

the odds are already in your favor Dart......parties start on Tuesday.

Have fun

 

[goaliemn]

My ex went there for meterology and met alot of the flying guys. Its a party school, but you do have to work as well.

I live between St Cloud and Minneapolis. It gets cold, but it makes for great flying weather

 

[schafjet]

Went there from 83-87 when the aviation program was just getting started, it was great for me and a lot of fun. I went to school with Anderson(nice quiet guy). Mattson was just starting to teach there when I graduated with an aviation degree. Good program at half the cost of UND. If someone tells you that UND or any other program is better they're yankin your chain. Everyone has to get the same ratings thru the FAA. I happen to fly with UND guys at my airline and they are not any better or any worse. In fact some of them wish they hadn't spent so much money on their degrees. Not bashing UND, just letting you know that you don't have to pay an arm and a leg to get a good aviation degree. However, that being said, get a degree in something else and go get your ratings thru a highly recommeded instructor.

 

[sqwkvfr]

My instructor pilot went there...he has nothing but good things to say about it.


It is a party school...I had a friend that went there for law enforcement and I took every opportunity to drive up there for weekends.

 

[pilotman2105]

I'm a recent grad. I can answer whatever questions, but ditto pretty much everything that is said. The partying is just like any other school though. It's there if you want to, but fairly easily avoided if you don't.

Hopefully I'll be moving back to that area here in the next few months. I love it up there...

 

[CubanSmoker]

Eight or so years ago, I went to the competing school on the south side of the state and I can say that I have a LOT of respect for STC grads. I've flown with a bunch of them and we all have a job flying at the same airline whether we went to Mankato, St. Cloud, UND or Riddle. STC has a great program, it costs a lot less, and it's program is thriving while my old program is all but dead (so I'm told). It's funny to compare student debt with the UND boys and girls and us "public school" garden variety grads.

I agree 100% with Schafjet, the "Ivy League" schools aren't worth the extra money IMHO. Once you are hired by an airline, none of it matters anyway; you're just a seniority number. I guess you might get hired faster by a "bridge" agreement with the big schools, is it worth the extra money? I don't know. In my class, the guys that struggled or washed out in training were low time guys hired through a bridge program at a famous school.

When you think about the amount of money you DON'T make at the regionals, I say save your money and go to STC or some other smaller program. You know, you might actually want to buy a house or a car in less than 30 years after you graduate instead of paying off your student loans - at least I did.

That's my $.02

 

[Lawn Dart]

Thanks for all the great info guys!!!

 

[Jedi_Cheese]

Anderson is currently on Sabbatical (still is around quite a bit) and in the meantime Jeffrey Johnson is the department chair. His website is http://web.stcloudstate.edu/jajohnson/.

I hear Mankato has essentially gone down the tubes.

I am currently a SCSU Senior Majoring in Professional Flight and the SCSU Aero Club Webmaster (we own 9 aircraft used primarly for training).

 

[Archer38416]

SCSU aviation program is very good.There are some opinionated professors but the instructors are all great.

Just make sure you know the funds required to get all of your ratings cause it's not part of your tuition. Lots of good pilots don't get their time because hey run out of money. Unlike UND, the pilots in the program at their own will with friends and family.