Can’t get into a college with and Aeronautical Science Degree, what should I do?

You don't need an aeronautical sciences degree to become a pilot. physics, business, education, political science, history, etc. all work. The best degree is one you can fall back on if aviation doesn't work out, or something you can do part time as a side gig.
 
Community college is not a bad idea. It may end up taking a little longer to finish - there usually isn't a perfect transfer of all the credits.
You don't need a degree in Aero to be a pilot.
 
Jah-Christo Decembre said:
I want to be a pilot but the schools I applied to with an Aeronautical Science degree I probably won’t get into. I know I can just go to a flight school and get my licenses but my parents want me to get a college degree and I don’t mind that. Since the colleges with aviation might not accept me, I thought that I should go to a community college and take the required courses so far and re-apply next year because my grades will be much better. What do you guys think? What are my other options?
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Try Delta State University. I think it's one of the easiest to get in at, and it's cheap.
 
Jah-Christo Decembre said:
I applied to Delaware state university, I think I’ll get accepted into it but I live in Long Island,NY. My parents don’t want me going away for college
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Does SUNY Farmingdale still have a 2 year aviation degree? Can't help you with your parents.
 
Community College is not a bad idea, but see if there is relationship between the community college and a local university. For example, on the west coast, Santa Monica College is a very good community college, and it has a relationship as a feeder school to UCLA. It might actually save you some money to go with the community college and get your "General Education" requirements out of the way so you can focus on the upper division topics in a major you select. (Which does not need to be Aeronautical Engineering unless that field strongly interests you.) In my experience (yours may vary), once you are in the School of Engineering, it is easier to move amongst the various Engineering majors if you change your mind.
 
Says me get an engineering degree if you can hack it. That way if the flying doesn’t work out you have a marketable skill.
 
Keep going....start taking classes at the Community College and transfer when you can. The degree is your fall back plan if you happen to lose your medical. I'd highly recommend getting a degree "outside" of aviation in something that will get you work should things go south.
 
You don’t have to get an aeronautical science degree. If you really want to study aviation maybe try an aviation management degree that way you have some sort of business background in case you won’t be able to fly for a living. Not sure what your career path is but the nice thing is it’s going to be a few years before the airlines hire again so you’ll have some time to think about what you want to do. I got my degree in Economics. I’m also in Long Island. PM me if you have any questions and maybe we can meet up.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Community college is not a bad idea. It may end up taking a little longer to finish - there usually isn't a perfect transfer of all the credits.
You don't need a degree in Aero to be a pilot.
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Not only that, but a CC is cheaper to get the required courses out of the way. There are a lot of CCs on Long Island. Take all the courses there, then take your flight instruction locally. You can study for your FAA exams while studying for school. Trust me, this will be lots cheaper than an "Aviation School", which will make your parents happier, and you'll learn just as much. Airlines really don't care that much if you went to Embry-Riddle or Long Island U.

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I got into Officer Candidate School by passing a college equivalency exam....I do not have any kind of a degree per se. Still I had a rewarding career in the military, learned to fly four years before I retired, and ended up with an ATP and a modest amount of jet time. Don't let your parents make this decision for you (unless they are picking up the tab)

Bob
 
Brad Z said:
You don't need an aeronautical sciences degree to become a pilot. physics, business, education, political science, history, etc. all work. The best degree is one you can fall back on if aviation doesn't work out, or something you can do part time as a side gig.
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This is wisdom. I had a young and aspiring pilot friend whose dream was the airlines and who hated the idea of going to even a community college. My convincer was this: "You are one failed medical away from being a former pilot. Do you know what you will be when you go to an employer looking for a job? Unskilled labor." That overstates it a little bit, but not much. When we are young we know that we are going to live forever in perfect health. But we won't. Prepare for the day with a good education in a field you like.
 
Unless you have a large collage fund, or are interdependently wealthy, start with a community college. They will have associate degree programs for 'university parallel' that are designed to transfer to a four-year university. This does a few things for you.

1. It is significantly cheaper. Both in college costs and, since there's probably a community college near you, it avoids the costs associated with moving to a university. Stay home. Live inexpensively.

2. Do well in community college and your options for universities will broaden. University admissions will put much more weight on strong community college grades over a poor high school record. The two years at community college gives you another chance to prove that you're ready and able to succeed at university.

3. Don't borrow money for your education. Two more years of living at home and working, while attending community college, gives you time to save money to pay for university without taking out loans.

https://www.amazon.com/Debt-Free-De...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1593989521&sr=8-3
 
Get a degree in something other than aviation. I have an aeronautical science degree. It’s done nothing more to help me than any other degree would have. Pick a degree that you would love as plan B. Yes community college is an excellent start, much cheaper. I’ve worked with plenty of pilots at the airlines who have non aviation degrees. Not at all a requirement. Do yourself a favor and don’t put all your eggs into one basket
 
jdm is spot on. If your plan is to be a professional pilot get a degree in something that will pay the bills, not if, but when, a down turn hits. Ive been a 121 pilot for 21 years, i've been lucky to never be furloughed,but been downgraded twice, was 2 months from upgrade on 9/11 finally upgraded in 2007, and might be facing a furlough depending on what happens in the next few months. I have a degree in engineering and have a small engineering company that part time makes more than I was as a regional pilot. If you get an aviation degree, where are you going to go when a downturn in aviation happens. your degree is in the field that you were just furloughed from. good luck.
 
Get a degree that you can work at if you aren't a pilot. There are many ways that your career can end early and you need something you can fall back on.
 
Jah-Christo Decembre said:
I applied to Delaware state university, I think I’ll get accepted into it but I live in Long Island,NY. My parents don’t want me going away for college
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How old do you need to be before they let you live your life?
 
I graduated from Riddle. They used to take anyone with a pulse and a wallet. The aviation part was good, but not essential to a career. The A&P school proved the most useful. If I were starting again, I would go to community college for a couple of years while getting my ratings at the local FBO. Hopefully get some initial work washing and gassing up airplanes while learning. After getting the licenses, get an instructors job somewhere were you can transfer to public school to finish the degree, ideally while still with the same FBO and airport community. Once part of the community you will start to build a network and probably get an opportunity to fly varied aircraft. I have found the airport communities to be generally quite generous about helping young people who are seeking a career in aviation.
 
N918KT said:
No, not anymore. They have Bachelor degrees in Aeronautical Science-Pro Pilot and Aviation Administration (aka Aviation Management).
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40 years ago when I was looking at Aviation colleges they only offered an Associates.
 
NHWannabe said:
40 years ago when I was looking at Aviation colleges they only offered an Associates.
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Yeah, they used to have Associates but changed to Bachelors I think sometime in the 90's. I entered as an out-of-state community college transfer student and majored in their Aviation Admin program. The Admin curriculum significantly changed since I graduated. There's a mix of business and aviation courses and now I heard we have an Air Traffic Management class and the college got Dowling's ATC simulator.
 
G-force said:
Old enough to pay your own bills is usually a good start...
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If you are old enough to be in college and are unable to pay your own bills, perhaps you should not be in college until you can afford to pay your own bills.

P.S. I had my own place, my own job, and was paying my own bills when I was 16. I have ZERO sympathy or tolerance for any 20-something still living at home with mommy and daddy.
 
smv said:
If you are old enough to be in college and are unable to pay your own bills, perhaps you should not be in college until you can afford to pay your own bills.
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That's a pretty bad assertion. Almost no 18 year old can afford a college tuition on their own until after college. Even if you were paying your own bills, pretty sure you were not making 40k at age 18, which is the cost of a year of college these days.
 
smv said:
If you are old enough to be in college and are unable to pay your own bills, perhaps you should not be in college until you can afford to pay your own bills.

P.S. I had my own place, my own job, and was paying my own bills when I was 16. I have ZERO sympathy or tolerance for any 20-something still living at home with mommy and daddy.
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you sound like a special person..... o_O
 
smv said:
If you are old enough to be in college and are unable to pay your own bills, perhaps you should not be in college until you can afford to pay your own bills.

P.S. I had my own place, my own job, and was paying my own bills when I was 16. I have ZERO sympathy or tolerance for any 20-something still living at home with mommy and daddy.
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and get off of his lawn.
 
Brad Z said:
The best degree is one you can fall back on if aviation doesn't work out, or something you can do part time as a side gig.
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100% this. I made the mistake of going with aeronautical science and then having things not work out the way I expected. Thankfully I already had job experience in mechanical design I was able to fall back on, but if I'd finished my engineering degree instead of AeroSci I would have been even better off.
 
If you live on Long Island and want to fly check out the NY Guard. The Air Guard has a C-130 unit at Gabreski and the Army Guard has Helicopters at Farmingdale and Islip. Additionally the Guard has programs that help pay for your college education.
 
Get a degree that will have value. As we all have seen in many cycles, aviation is an unstable industry. And as far as being a pilot, it helps to have something to fall back on In case the flying doesn’t workout. You can have some years in as a pilot and one little thing can kill off the first class medical.
 
smv said:
If you are old enough to be in college and are unable to pay your own bills, perhaps you should not be in college until you can afford to pay your own bills.

P.S. I had my own place, my own job, and was paying my own bills when I was 16. I have ZERO sympathy or tolerance for any 20-something still living at home with mommy and daddy.
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Yawn.

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Price Of College Increasing 8 Times Faster Than Wages
 
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bobmrg said:
I got into Officer Candidate School by passing a college equivalency exam....I do not have any kind of a degree per se. Still I had a rewarding career in the military, learned to fly four years before I retired, and ended up with an ATP and a modest amount of jet time. Don't let your parents make this decision for you (unless they are picking up the tab)

Bob
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Is it safe to say they may be helicopter parents on an aviation forum?
 
As one who has a bachelors and community college trade certs , i think CC is fantastic to start, and then move onto a uni degree. Do community college, go for a trade as well as the prerequisites for university. IE; A&P, better yet electronics/electrical tech, then transfer into university. This gives you a trade you can take to the bank immediately, and you’ll always have it in your back pocket should you need those skills to make cash. In my experience, my community college training{a&p, machining, electronics) has done 5 times more for me than my university degree. From a pure value perspective, a trade from a CC is superior. Do that first, then get the university degree, then learn how to fly.
 
Geosync said:
As one who has a bachelors and community college trade certs , i think CC is fantastic to start, and then move onto a uni degree. Do community college, go for a trade as well as the prerequisites for university. IE; A&P, better yet electronics/electrical tech, then transfer into university. This gives you a trade you can take to the bank immediately, and you’ll always have it in your back pocket should you need those skills to make cash. In my experience, my community college training{a&p, machining, electronics) has done 5 times more for me than my university degree. From a pure value perspective, a trade from a CC is superior. Do that first, then get the university degree, then learn how to fly.
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yup....I have the same. Got the A&P and AA at a CC then went on to earn the Aerospace Engineering degree.
 
Look at how many credits from a A&P program you can use towards an AAS degree and in turn how much of that degree is transferable to one of the SUNY colleges. If the long-term goal is to be a pilot, the A&P card is never going to stand in your way.
 
smv said:
How old do you need to be before they let you live your life?
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However old you are when you start paying all of your own bills and aren't living in their home. Until then, suck it up and listen to mom and dad or figure out a way of doing it on your own.
 
Back on topic....

If I was in your shoes, I would look on this list:
https://www.faa.gov/pilots/training/atp/media/institutional_authority_list.pdf

For a school that offers an Associate's degree, and after graduating with the associates, transfer to a non-aviation Bachelor to have for the times when the industry goes bust. If you can work on the non-aviation degree while building time you could have ATP minimums before the airlines are hiring pilots with ATP minimums again.
 
Jah-Christo Decembre said:
I want to be a pilot but the schools I applied to with an Aeronautical Science degree I probably won’t get into.
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I fly with a lot of pilots with $200,000 Bachelor of SCIENCE degrees in Aeronautical SCIENCE from UND, Riddle, etc. and yet they can't calculate our crosswind components. I even give them my scientific calc app and they can't perform basic high school trig to determine the crosswind. So what did they get from their $200,000? An MEI cert?

Frankly, I enjoy flying with the few guys with degrees in history or geology better. At least their degrees taught them how to think.
 
Ace66 said:
I fly with a lot of pilots with $200,000 Bachelor of SCIENCE degrees in Aeronautical SCIENCE from UND, Riddle, etc. and yet they can't calculate our crosswind components. I even give them my scientific calc app and they can't perform basic high school trig to determine the crosswind. So what did they get from their $200,000? An MEI cert?

Frankly, I enjoy flying with the few guys with degrees in history or geology better. At least their degrees taught them how to think.
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Education is all about the effort you put into it, although some schools will hold your feet to the fire more than others. I was teaching some STEM students about crosswind components. I asked what a sine was. "I don't remember, I took trig last year" was one answer I got. Well I took trig 20 years ago and I remember.
 
smv said:
If you are old enough to be in college and are unable to pay your own bills, perhaps you should not be in college until you can afford to pay your own bills.

P.S. I had my own place, my own job, and was paying my own bills when I was 16. I have ZERO sympathy or tolerance for any 20-something still living at home with mommy and daddy.
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