Hey all, haven't posted here in a long time. Since I first joined I have made a visit to Jacksonville University and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach). Now, reading these forums I hear a lot of bad things about Delta Connection Acadamy and JU. The impression I got on my visit (of both the university and the DCA facility) was that of a very deticated group, that has a lot to offer me. Their statistics of how soon students get hired by airlines (98% within 6 months of graduation), the benefits you get on Delta once u get hired as a instructor (Jo Stone, the director of the Aviation Program at JU said that she's only ever seen 2 not get hired, and thats because they really didn't want it). A bonus was that I loved the city of Jacksonville, and the campus was VERY nice. Now, when I visited Embry-Riddle, it seemed like, they had the fancy shiney equipment, but in the end it wasn't going to get me any farther than I could get at JU (which is a little cheaper). I also hated Daytona Beach
. Anyways, with all this bad talk about DCA, and all the positive things I saw/heard on my visit (talked to a student that wasn't there to sell me anything, just gave us straight answers), I am a little lost. Jacksonville has offered me $10,000 a year (not officially, just based on my SAT scores and current GPA), and I have basically put them at number 1 on my list. I have another visit to both schools scheduled at the end of October, just before I apply, which will also give me a chance to catch the airshow at DAB. I plan to ask Jo Stone (VERY nice person, don't know if any of you have met her), what happens if Delta itself goes into Chap 11, or even in the unlikely event that it goes under. But I would appreciate any input you have here. (based on facts please, no "DCA sucks, stay away" as that does me no good). Sorry for the long post. I'll make a little list here to describe the benefits that I have seen at JU:
-Major includes Flight Operations AND Airline Management
-Minor can be something non-aviation related (I have an interest in their Marine Bio program that is supposed to be very good)
-It's relatively inexpensive (collegeboard.com puts tuition at just under $20,000/year. Flight costs estimated at an additional $6,000/semester, room and board estimated at $6,000/year.
-Aviation is the largest major at the school, and the aviation students are allowed to move into the "aviation community" apartments their sophomore year
-The automatic job interview as a flight instructor, which gives you the free family flights on Delta, and 10 buddy passes/year, which I have been told almost everyone gets
-The interview with the regional airline (one of the flight instructors told me that (cant remember if it was all or some) of the Delta regionals are doing quite well and have never furloughed a pilot
-Not to mention I loved the city, and everyone seemed very nice (hey, i find that to be very important). I seemed like my visit was important to the people at Jacksonville, where at Embry-Riddle I was just another perspective student.
Again, sorry for the length