Expert: D. Norkus - 9/22/2008

Question
what is the minimum grade required to get an admission in a flying school.Will i get scholarship in US for pilot training? Please let me know as i am planing to go to US for my pilot training course. i am from Nepal so do i have to do anything else?

Answer
Niraj

In the United States, there are three kinds of "flight schools".

1) Is literally a flight school. There are no academic requirements and anyone can do pilot training, providing they can pay of course. Most flight schools offer 'pay as you go' training on an hourly basis. Others provide a discount when a student purchases a block of aircraft rental time in advance.

2) An aviation academy. Such places are really flight schools with a fancy name. The difference is that they have an airline affiliation, train their students in mock airline style programs and can get their pilot graduates interviews for jobs upon finishing their flight program. Such programs run about $50,000 USD and up.

3) A college or university with an aviation program. In this setting, one would earn not only their pilot licenses and certificates but also their degree. Some schools may have a minimum grade point average for admission. That grade would be specific to the school. You would have to check with your desired college or university and see if they have  a minimum grade requirement.

IMPORTANT:
As a foreign national wanting to come to the United States and flight train to become a pilot, you must apply and be approved for a special pilot visa from the Alien Flight Student Program/AFSP before you will be allowed to do so. If you are not approved, you will not be permitted to come to the U.S. and fly. Also, you will be limited in the flight schools or academic institutions you may attend. You may only go to a school approved by the government to accept non-U.S. citizens.

You will need to go to the U.S. government website for information and the pilot visa application.

http://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov

On that website you will also find the list of approved flight  schools. You will only be able to attend a school on that list.

Additionally, you will need to provide proof of financing or the ability to fund your flight training before you will be issued the visa.

Regarding a flight scholarship, I do not know of any that sponsor male foreign pilots although there are perhaps 5 awards that sponsor women internationally for flight training. Many American flight students even have a hard time finding scholarships, so being a foreign national your chances are very, very slim.

Flight Scholarships in the USA are usually awarded by: organizations, unions or clubs to assist their members, schools to already enrolled students, or benefactors wishing to give an award to benefit a people of a certain region, affiliation or heritage. They also are small amounts, often ranging from $1,000- $5,000, which certainly will not cover the cost of a flight training program. Perhaps you might be able to win a small an award from your university once you are already a student but you will not find a sponsorship to come to the USA for flight training if that is what you are hoping to for.

I suggest you go to this link for some good information-
http://www.pprune.org

Regards,
Dottie