Is ERAU worth it?!?

[mystickal]

This is what I got from an admissions officer from ERAU...

ESTIMATED
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXPENSES FOR ACADEMIC YEAR
FALL 2004/SPRING 2005

Tuition & Fees $22,386.00
Books & Supplies 900.00
Housing & Meals 6,600.00
Medical Insurance 504.00
International University Fees 50.00
Personal Expenses (will vary per individual) 1,500.00
TOTAL (Estimated for Academic Year) $31,940.00

Additional costs for flight related degrees are estimated to be approximately
$9,600 per year.
___________________

Now I'm wondering if this is all worth it... Taking into consideration that I am an international student and getting FAA certificate might not help me. However, I do want to get a degree in something. Any suggestions or ideas?

[MikeD]

That's for ONE freaking year?

[Kristie]

YIKES!

[Doug Taylor]

My people my people.

[project7]

pirates...
just frigging pirates

[RiddlePilot]

*falls over*

I'm still paying what I did in 2001...I had no idea that ERAU increased tuition that much.

[skyrunner1500]

Are there any serious chances in getting scholarships at Riddle or are they just after your money...?

[cessna2351]

I am starting at riddle this fall.

Despite the high tuition, I was able to recieve a solid amounts of financial aid, namely scholarships, and a few loans. I know I will come out with debt but nowadays most college kids do. Also, starting at riddle your freshman year doesn't commit you for the next four or five. I have several schools which I was admitted to that I can also transfer to the following year if need be.

I figure this is the time of your life to try new things and to be outgoing. Right now (about a month and a half before I leave), I'm not even thinking about the money....I'm thinking how cool its gonna be to be flying a piper seminole over beaches and palm trees instead of a frozen Lake Erie like i'm used to.

Don't think I'm some spoiled rich kid if it sounds that way.....I was able to get a scholarship to a private college prep high school in which I worked my ass off.....along with my parents who worked long hours to keep me in that school and in the air with my private pilot lessons.

*off soapbox*

My advice would be to work your ass off in school and get all of the financial aid you can get....any little bit helps.

Mike McM

[jtrain609]

I'm paying that for my ENTIRE education at Western Michigan University. I don't even think I'd top $50,000 if I went to Michigan (the most expensive state school we have).

Rape

[Doug Taylor]

True. Not trying to carry ERAU's water pail, but cost-wise, you've got to compare private universities versus private universities. Similar to "$40 for limo? heck, it's only $12 for a taxi downtown!"

[Kristie]

[ QUOTE ]
Also, starting at riddle your freshman year doesn't commit you for the next four or five. I have several schools which I was admitted to that I can also transfer to the following year if need be.

[/ QUOTE ] ya but.... will the credits you earned at ERAU be transferable to another school? that's the BIG question.. because most college universities want you to do all or nothing at their school and if you transfer too many credits, they may not allow them and you'll have to retake the courses...

OUCH!

[Wm226]

[ QUOTE ]
This is what I got from an admissions officer from ERAU...

ESTIMATED
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXPENSES FOR ACADEMIC YEAR
FALL 2004/SPRING 2005

Tuition & Fees $22,386.00
Books & Supplies 900.00
Housing & Meals 6,600.00
Medical Insurance 504.00
International University Fees 50.00
Personal Expenses (will vary per individual) 1,500.00
TOTAL (Estimated for Academic Year) $31,940.00

Additional costs for flight related degrees are estimated to be approximately
$9,600 per year.
___________________

Now I'm wondering if this is all worth it... Taking into consideration that I am an international student and getting FAA certificate might not help me. However, I do want to get a degree in something. Any suggestions or ideas?

[/ QUOTE ]

Jesus!

[RiddlePilot]

Well, in all fairness, nobody said a degree would ever be cheap. There are quite a few schools in the US that charge quite a bit more than that for tuition. Is ERAU worth that? Ask me in a couple years.

[mtsu_av8er]

Man, I wouldn't pay that much to even go to heaven!!!

[vipermcg]

One of my friends is actually starting at Yale next fall. He told me that after everythings said and done it will probably cost him 45K a YEAR! He also said that was pretty typical for an Ivy League education. Yikes!

[mtsu_av8er]

The MTSU Blue Raiders are good enough for me!!

[kellwolf]

That sounds about right. It's only slightly higher than what I was quoted for DAB last fall. As far as the credits transferring, since ERAU is an accredited university, I don't see any reason why they wouldn't.

[project7]

I'll tell ya what is "worth it" is to check out the extended campus. Same degrees and a heck of a lot cheaper.

Good Luck

[TheShortOne]

generally most schools will let you transfer up to 60 credits (assuming they transfer). At one point john was looking to transfer to my school but only like 4 of his classes would actually convert over to classes here, the rest he would have had to retake. However, if i was to transfer to his school all my classes would go, but since i'm only a semester away from graduating, i'd lose about 40 credits in the transfer process.

[kellwolf]

[ QUOTE ]
I'll tell ya what is "worth it" is to check out the extended campus. Same degrees and a heck of a lot cheaper.

[/ QUOTE ]

Word. That's what I decided to do. Instead of spending $10K a semester, I'm spending about half of that to get my degree. Another advantage of the extended campus (or at least distance learning) is you don't have to deal with Riddle's flight dept.

[jtrain609]

[ QUOTE ]
True. Not trying to carry ERAU's water pail, but cost-wise, you've got to compare private universities versus private universities. Similar to "$40 for limo? heck, it's only $12 for a taxi downtown!"

[/ QUOTE ]

Very true, but with the a few of the super public university's that are out there such as Michigan, Berkeley, Stanford etc. etc. why would someone go to a private school? You can get just as good of an education at one of the high end public schools.

[mystickal]

This is getting rather annoying here. I asked a question of whether it is worth attending ERAU as an international student and I still haven't gotten a stright forward answer. Kinda ironic because all you are talking about is how outrageous the cost of tuition is... Doesn't help me a lot here :P

[Wm226]

[ QUOTE ]
This is what I got from an admissions officer from ERAU...

ESTIMATED
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT EXPENSES FOR ACADEMIC YEAR
FALL 2004/SPRING 2005

Tuition & Fees $22,386.00
Books & Supplies 900.00
Housing & Meals 6,600.00
Medical Insurance 504.00
International University Fees 50.00
Personal Expenses (will vary per individual) 1,500.00
TOTAL (Estimated for Academic Year) $31,940.00

Additional costs for flight related degrees are estimated to be approximately
$9,600 per year.
___________________

Now I'm wondering if this is all worth it... Taking into consideration that I am an international student and getting FAA certificate might not help me. However, I do want to get a degree in something. Any suggestions or ideas?

[/ QUOTE ]

Is ERAU your number one option right now?

I would look at the both the pros and cons of attending ERAU for yourself (if you have not done so already). After looking at them, do you think it's worth it?

If you think it is your best option that will make you happy, then I would personally go for it. However, before you do, I would make sure that I would have/will have the ability to pay off those loans (assuming you take out loans) after you graduate. Also, consider the expense of how much the FAA conversions will cost you.

As far as FAA license conversions, I am not sure about that. I would check out the The JAA/European Aviation section of the forums... unless someone can give a quicker response here.

[Doug Taylor]

To be completely frank, the data you gave us was cost-based. I was a student at ERAU when it was roughly $2,300/trimester for tuition so when I see numbers like that, without reference to average costs of other private colleges, all I can say is 'holy crap! that's a lot of money!' like everyone else.

I'd suggest a little self-evaluation. Get a sheet of paper and list what you'd like to get out of college from quality of life, academics, name on the dipoloma(well, fess up Harvard grads!), location and list an approximate yearly cost you're willing to spend/finance/beg/borrow/steal and match a college with has the best mix.

Is it worth it? I dunno. What specifically are you looking for?

[kellwolf]

[ QUOTE ]
This is getting rather annoying here. I asked a question of whether it is worth attending ERAU as an international student and I still haven't gotten a stright forward answer. Kinda ironic because all you are talking about is how outrageous the cost of tuition is... Doesn't help me a lot here :P

[/ QUOTE ]

It's a subjective question you have to answer for yourself. We don't know your current situation as far as family, finances, etc. If I had thousands of dollars in the bank, I'd say yeah it's worth it. But, I don't. I have to look at what I would have to give up in order to fund ERAU. Is it worth it to me? I'm not sure yet. I'm glad I'm going the distance learning route since I can actually afford it, but I don't have the degree or a job yet. Therefore, I have to defer my decision until a later date. As far as $20K+ a year (and that's NOT including flight), Riddle's got top notch academics, but I honestly don't think they are worth THAT much.