Expert: David A. NewMyer - 1/15/2009

Question
Proffesor NewMyer, I have been accepted to five colleges and have narrowed my selection down to three. I want to major in Aviation/Flight. My top three choices are as follows; University of Illinois at U/C, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at Daytona. I was hoping you could give me some pro's and con's of each university, let me know what your personal opinion of the three is, and tell me how the Aviation community views these colleges. Thanks a lot. I look forward to having you as a Professor one day if I decide to attend SIUC.

Answer
Hi, Wes:

Thank you for your question, I will try to assist!  For starters, I want to emphasize what you already know:  I work for one of the schools to which you have applied, so, I am biased in favor of that school!

When I work with someone who is examining college choices, I ask them to think about the following:

1.  What do YOU want out of a college program?  What is your "gut feeling" about each program and what it means to your personal goals?

2.  What degree options are offered by the school and what opportunities exist within those degree options?

3.  Cost? (not just flight costs, but, overall costs).

4.  Fleet and other equipment.  Check the ratio of aircraft to students (to judge the ease of getting aircraft on a daily basis for training).

5.  Location relative to home.

6.  Internship and job opportunities to pursue among the preliminary college choices that you have made....

7.  Size of the school involved.

I would create a "spread sheet" with the information for each school lined up related to each question above (as well as other questions that you and/or your parents might have).

With regard to #1 above, that question is for you to decide....

With regard to #2 above, SIUC offers an AAS in Aviation Flight degree that leads to a BS Aviation Management degree (two degrees in four years).  U of I offers a BS in Aviation Human Factors with flight courses included.  Embry Riddle offers a BS in Aeronautical Sciences with Flight courses included.  SIUC offers the chance for your to gain your CFI (A) and then teach in the program as a junior or senior.  It also offers a multi-engine time building course, a turbine transition course and a glass cockpit course.  I am not sure what the other two schools offer in these areas, but, it is worth checking to see if they have comparable offerings or not.

#3 Costs:  SIUC and U of I compare favorably when comparing flight costs plus four year tuition and fee costs.  (flight costs more at SIUC than U of I but U of I tuition costs are more....also, there are some hidden costs in the flight fees at U of I that do not appear in their published costs.)  Embry Riddle costs more than SIUC and U of I, overall, plus, it is in Florida.

#4  Fleet and other equipment.  U of I purchased most of its fleet in the early 1990s and they fly Piper equipment.  SIUC purchased seven Cessna 172R aircraft in 2003 and the rest of its Cessna fleet is from the 1980s or late 1970s.  We have 34 flight training aircraft for 200 students. Not sure of the ratios at Embry Riddle, but, I think that they have about 70 aircraft and 1200 flight students....but, check with them.  U of I has over 200 flight students, but, less aircraft than SIUC. Embry Riddle just got its fleet wiped out in a tornado around Christmas, 2007....so, it has renewed its fleet recently.  I think with Cessna aircraft, but, I am not sure.  Check with them.

#5  Not sure where you live, but, two of the schools are in Illinois, one (U of I) is 3 hours from Chicago and the other (SIUC) 5 to 5.5 hours driving from Chicago.  The other is in Florida.

#6.  SIUC has formal internship arrangements with several airlines including UPS Airlines, American Airlines, Mesa Air Group, Delta and others.  It is also working closely with corporate flight departments on internships as well as with airports, airlines and other aviation entities.  It prides itself on its intern program.  I know that Embry Riddle works with a large number of companies on internships, but, I am not sure how many are formal agreements.  U of I, as far as I know, does not have a formal internship program.  But, ask them to make sure.  As far as job opportunities are concerned, SIUC holds one of the largest student-organized aviation job fairs each Fall.  In Fall of 2007 we had 34 employers present, with 24 coming this past year (the down economy affected the turnout).  We also have a University Career Service for all students to use and we teach a class in the Aviation Management program called "Aviation Industry Career Development" which you can take as part of your core requirements (it is all about "how to get a job in aviation").  Not sure what the other two schools do on the employment front, although I am fairly sure that both schools also hold an aviation job fair each year.  Finally, we have a very active aviation website where internship and job offers are frequently posted.

#7.  Size of each school:  SIUC has 21,000 students including undergrads and graduate students, including just over 400 in aviation (Aviation Flight, Aviation Management, Aviation Technologies and the MPA in Aviation Admin);  U of I has a total population of something like 35,000 studentss and over 200 flight students  (they offer just one aviation degree as far as I know).  I believe that Embry Riddle has between 4000 and 5000 students enrolled in a wide variety of aviation degree programs....as I said, I think about 1200 in Aviation Flight, but, it might be more than that.

I hope that this information helps.  Again, as I said, there are probably many other questions that you and./or your parents might want to ask.  Just add them to the list, create that spread sheet, and then fill in the spread sheet with all of the information that you can on each point.  Read it all over, and, then, see if that helps you in your decision process.

If you have any additional questions, you are welcome to ask a follow up question or contact me directly at the university.

Sincerely,

David A. NewMyer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
Aviation Management and Flight
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
http://www.aviation.siu.edu