Expert: David A. NewMyer - 11/28/2007

Question
I'm currently living in New York City. I would like to know which is the best aviation university for me to attend. I'm applying for Embry-Riddle..Its out in Daytona beach FL..i have no families around the campus. but the only thing on my mind is being the best pilot..should i attend aviation universities around NYC or other close states.

Answer
Hi, Jimmy:

Thanks for your question, I will try to assist.  Your selection of an aviation university should mainly depend on how you see yourself fitting into the university that you select.  In other words, what do you want from the university overall, and what sort of characteristics are you looking for?  If I were you, I would select three to five universities to compare.  Then, I would lay out a series of criteria that you personally select that you will then use to compare all three (or five) schools.  For example:

Location?

Costs?  (flight costs as well as overall tuition costs)

Placement in the industry?  (do they have intern programs, bridge hiring programs and other features that make pilot placement easy?)

Degrees offered?  Do the universities that you are looking at have the degree that you want?

Aircraft types being flown?  Do they operate a common aircraft type that it will be asy to transition from to the industry (Cessna, Piper, etc).

Student organizations for professional development in aviation?  Do they have an NIFA flight team, AAAE Student Chapter, etc?

And, what other things can you add that include items that you are looking for?

To get a good listing of schools, please contact the University Aviation Association at www.uaa.aero or by emailing them at carolyn.williamson@uaa.aero to order the COLLEGIATE AVIATION GUIDE.  It costs about $20 and lists ALL of the aviation universities and colleges in the country.

I wish you the best,

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