Embry Riddle

[SeaLord]

I went to Riddle, instructed there for a couple of years post-graduation, and left there about 6 years ago. I've worked with alot of pilots who went to other schools and can honestly say the Riddle grads aren't better pilots. That being said: I feel the part 141 guys were a bit more professional and prepared for airline life than the FBO guys. I know I'm gonna get crap about that, but the college pilots (Purdue, Auburn, UND, etc) just seemed a touch better and handled the demands of ground school better.
If you're super interested in professional aviation, and truly need to have the best and most up to date instruction, Riddle is probably for you. If you're an average student with other interests away from aviation it may not be necessary. Also, if you'll spend half your last two years drunk and looking to score with chicks, better go elsewhere. I had good sucess with chicks at ERAU and never went too long without a steady chick, but I know other guys who didn't hook up once in a year. Keep that in mind too.
Riddle is also crazy expensive and that's a tough pill to swallow. But the friends and connections I made there have helped me land a regional job, and get me on at AirTran. Tough to put a dollar sign on that.

 

[Bjammin]

I went to Riddle and I can honostly say it truly did help. Why? The flying and classes got me through the Military flight program with ease which allowed to me select any airplane I wanted to fly. Because I flew jets I was able to accumulate many good PIC turbuine hours and get an interview with a major international carrier. The classes I took at Riddle helped me tremendously in the technical part of the interview.

Would things have worked out so well if I didn't go to Riddle? Probably not.

 

[CaptainMark]

The Riddle Frats are gay and the Sorority girls are nasty!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

amen to that...agreed..screw the air science degree...get a bs in business or something else...fly outside of the school..i graduated with 1500 hrs and 500 multi vs 200tt... but those guys had cool leather jackets and could dead reckon with the best of them..

 

[744]

There is more to life than aviation.

My opinion, and it is of course just an opinion, is that one is better served by going to a “normal” college and flying at the local FBO. Major in something other than Aviation, and make a point of flexing your mind. It is an overused and much abused phrase, but life really is a journey. And I have to say that most of the really, really good pilots that I have met in my 33 years of flying have thinking minds and the broad range of interests/knowledge that go with curiosity. Conversely, a narrowly focused mind does not make a superior pilot. IMO

Offered by an old (47) geezer.

Good luck.

 

[Bjammin]

I agree with "Lifs a Journey" However, at 36 I have reached the pinnicle of what I wanted out of aviation, some thanks to ERAU. Now I have a bunch of days off and a good paycheck so I can take up many other passions without the need to worry about moving up the aviaiton ladder.

My advice, if you truly want to make aviation your career do everything you can to make yourself maketable, then once you have acheived your goals move on to other things you want to do.

 

[RiddleRat]

Riddle

Well I might as well add in on this one, its been a while since i've posted anything. I went to the Prescott campus. Don't know much about the Daytona campus, so ill strictly speak for PRC. It was a good education, it is helping me get through UPT and I feel it doesnt hurt on a resume either, strictly because it can create convo since everyone knows of the place. That being said don't shut the door on any other place too, remember its just a name. I was an instructor @ Riddle, so I saw both sides of the place being a student and IP. The downside to Riddle now are those sims they have replacing flight time, and going part 142. You go to other aviation schools you will see a part 141 environment and somemore flight time.

Remember the name or degree won't get you a job, YOU will. I also feel that ERAU gets you an interview, you get yourself the job. Anyplace is like that too remember. I fly w/ guys from Iowa state, Zoomies from the Academy, and other schools, who are all good and bad sticks. Im sure the majority of pilots on this forum can say that your skills in the airplane usually arn't from how you learned @ ERAU, rather how you learned after ERAU. I think an aviation degree will teach you good habits (checklists, etc) to be a good professional pilot as you accumulate hours.

Just keep your options open, its an expensive place and certainly not worth the money if you are not 150% committed to going to school there and working on your degree. I know a handful of people who flew outside of ERAU, came in also w/ there own ratings,and had 2 years of Junior College under there belt or from somewhere else. There are always options and different routes.


Hope this helps...

 

[barracuda]

Dont go.

hey,

My two cents...the bottom line is you'll get the same ratings anywhere you go and end up flying the same jobs. I've worked with plenty of guys from riddle (very little personality, a doorknob is more fun) and even though they are very knowledgeable and mostly decent pilots its just not worth the money. Go somewhere cheaper otherwise you'll want to kill yourself when your flight instructing for 10 bucks an hour and have a 100k loan.

Go to a local FBO or one of the universities you mentioned. If you need further proof of ERAU's lameness check this out........ http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...64016731046366

good luck!

 

[djsk]

I know a bunch of people that went to a bunch of different schools. Everyone ends up at the same place at about the same time as long as they get their CFI ratings as soon as possible.

 

[EMB170Pilot]

Went to Riddle 1996-2001....I met my wife there so do not regret going there (no she didn't go to riddle and not that nasty high school down the street)...looking back now would I have gotten a different type of degree instead of an aviation degree... YES!!! (something to fall back on incase I want to get out of aviation) Airline companies dont care what type of degree you have..but if you have a "degree" it helps you get a job..certainly doesn't hurt you

Luckily, My older brother was a Pike at UCF sooooo the partying lifestyle was fun! As I still go to college football games and have a blast! Riddle doesnt have that whole atmosphere college lifestyle. It is very laid back! I missed out in that..oh well..that is why I guess I still go to college games.

I enjoyed the classes, the professors were very cool. Flight training I did some on campus and some off campus. (off campus was cheaper/faster)

Overall I enjoyed my college years! Important thing is to have fun! Good Luck

 

[RockbrigadePC1]

I suggest going to ERAU so you can make videos like the one posted in the General forum!

 

[heph224]

This is what you should do. Check the syllabus for riddle on the program from which you want to get your B.S. in. Make a note of the courses, especially the generic cources which u can take at ur local community college. Get you associates at a local community college focusing mostly on courses which you can transfer into riddle. Then, go to riddle for two years and get your bachelors. This way you will save a load of money, only have to spend 2 yrs a riddle, and have a B.S. from riddle. Make sure that those two years at riddle you get the best possible GPA you can. I wish I did this instead of spending over 100 k on a highly regarded aviaiton related college. No, I didn't go to riddle....

 

[planejockey]

I transfered from riddle to Averett ( a small university in VA) though it was a mistake to even think about getting an aviation degree. Averett is a good school when it comes to flight training, and the people here are fun; otherwise the school sucks! If I could do it again I would go to a big state school like VT and UVA and fly out of an FBO. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON A BS DEGREE!

 

[cforst513]

I transfered from riddle to Averett ( a small university in VA) though it was a mistake to even think about getting an aviation degree. Averett is a good school when it comes to flight training, and the people here are fun; otherwise the school sucks! If I could do it again I would go to a big state school like VT and UVA and fly out of an FBO. DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON A BS DEGREE!

the truth is starting to bubble to the surface. i wish more potential students would read this thread. same with the delta connection thread. keep the stories and opinions coming, guys!

 

[JSky26]

There is a happy medium which can be found and it has been touched on in this thread. To get the real college experience and professional flight training at the same time for half the cost would be to look at your local state schools. I attend Southern IL University (there are many others just to name a few... UND, Purdue, Western MI, U of IL, OSU, ASU, Central Wash). I am pursuing a BS in Aviation Management but there are many other degree fields you can choose from. Its nice to get away from aviation once in a while. I looked at Riddle and Comair Academy (now delta connection?) and it wasn't worth the time and money. Sure we don't have the newest equipment out there but are all those G1000 cockpits really needed at this stage in the game? I am grateful that I am learning the "old ways" first.

By attending a collegiate aviation program I think you turn out to be a more well-rounded individual. I could be wrong but that's just my .02

 

[gkrangers]

No glass at Riddle.

Nobody forces you to get an aviation degree.

 

[NorthShore]

Go to one of the others and get a degree in something useful, and do your flying out of school with the cash you'll save not going to ERAU.

You never know. You spend your entire life with nothing but flying then one day you wake up and wonder why you have heartburn SO bad!!! Two hours later they are trying to keep you alive while you are having a heart attack.
Suddenly that 10,000 hrs. isn't such a big deal.

 

[mcjohn]

I jog everyday because I'm paranoid of just such a situation. I have a little over 400 hrs and I went ahead and got my 1st class med. just to be sure (thinking they'd hook me up to an EKG but they didn't, not till your 35 doc said.)

 

[pgcfii2002]

I am in the process of earning the BS Pro Aero degree. The only reason I decided to pursue it was:

I was awarded credit for A+P/flight ratings
I was awarded credit for my BA from Cal State
My employer is paying for roughly 50% of the cost

Like others on this board I would STRONGLY recommend earning a BA/BS at the state university level in something like Business/Accounting/Finance, a field that is always in demand. You can transfer over about 1/3 of the units to ERAU, and receive another 1/3 for your flight ratings. The other 1/3 should not cost that much, and besides, the Pro Aero degree is pretty much useless outside of Aviation.

 

[down2mins]

Lilbirny21,
Check your PM's

 

[gkrangers]

I am in the process of earning the BS Pro Aero degree. The only reason I decided to pursue it was:

I was awarded credit for A+P/flight ratings
I was awarded credit for my BA from Cal State
My employer is paying for roughly 50% of the cost

Like others on this board I would STRONGLY recommend earning a BA/BS at the state university level in something like Business/Accounting/Finance, a field that is always in demand. You can transfer over about 1/3 of the units to ERAU, and receive another 1/3 for your flight ratings. The other 1/3 should not cost that much, and besides, the Pro Aero degree is pretty much useless outside of Aviation.

Yeah right, 1/3 for your flight ratings? No way.