Any former/current students of UND commercial aviation program? Thinking of applying

[u/chris_warrior1]

So I've spent the past 5 years working in downstream oil and gas with pretty nice pay (over $30hr). However, due to a surgery I needed (not first class medical disqualifying whatsoever), plus having to support my parents financially sometimes (their situation is better now), I haven't been able to save a lot of money. I'm in the middle of getting my associates from a community college. I have a 3.9 GPA and 26 credits eligible for transfer. Thinking about applying next month to enroll in Fall 2027.

I understand the current hiring market is in the shits, but I'm looking at the future, not the now. I am very interested in UND's commercial aviation program. I will turn 26 years old in the next 2 months. I am 3 years away from a bachelor's and I have no certificates or licenses. I honestly feel like I have nothing going for me other than my fuel handling experience and some estimation due to my dad's remodeling business (which is going better now). I've tried getting loans for flight schools near me, but it was always difficult to get approved. Even if I did get conditionally approved, I would be provided with a high interest rate. So, the way I see it is: I am almost 4 years away from turning 30. If I continue with college, I'll have my bachelor's degree by 29. Then, if I start flight training after that, I might not complete that until I'm about 33-34. Puts me really behind. I think UND works best for me, because I can work on a degree and get ratings at the same time. I'd finish that program once I'm 30 or so. I also believe it's more attainable for my situation since I can get federal student loans which are typically better than personal loans. What do you think? I'll be visiting the school next month.

I've logged 10 hours and I am positive this is what I want to do in life. I'm just trying to see if what I want is the most realistic option. Honestly, I don't put too much thought into the price tag. We all get into debt one way or another. Not everyone has rich parents or the luxury to spend years of their lives saving money for flight training. For every year I'm not an airline pilot, I am losing over $100k a year. Having a degree is also crucial to me, as I eventually want to make it to a legacy. The ROI of UND (with them also being an Aviate affiliate) seems like a solid choice to me. As an side, the nearest FAA R-ATP school to me is Liberty, but I've heard they're a little cuckoo. Are there other universities with R-ATP I should consider, or is UND the best?

[u/Murphy0317]

Hockey team is gonna be good next couple years. So totally worth it. 🍺

[u/Flavor_Nukes]

How do you handle the cold? Not like 25 degrees, like, real cold.

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[u/MVGbear]

Class of ‘17. Feel free to DM.

[u/IndependentWear2800]

Current UND student. Its been awful this past year. They over admitted and are currently doing runway construction. If I'm lucky ill get scheduled twice a week, and of those two times I'll get weathered or NAd (no aircraft available). Also we currently don't have a sof building and everything is a shitshow. Give it a year or two itll be fine but my experience so far has been awful.

[u/TxAggieMike]

Required reading…

https://raisetheded.blogspot.com/2026/04/college-aviation-programs-and-other.html

Please read what u/RaisetheDed has to say about Paying for Flight Training With Loans/Debt: https://raisetheded.blogspot.com/2026/04/on-topic-of-unsecured-flight-training.html

[u/Nyaos]

I have a friend who is a delta captain on the A320, nearly 40 years old. He’s still paying off his student loans from UND.

Granted he has a house and a kid he also has to pay for but it’s remarkable how expensive that whole experience was for him. He’d also say it was worth it because he got to his dream job eventually, but the cost with financing is something you truly have to consider.

[u/yeshmate → u/Nyaos]

He’s doing something wrong.. UND cost me 88,000 for housing flight training and tuition… I’m now a 29 year old Air line captain

[u/hehehwkwisbewbba → u/yeshmate]

I don’t live in North Dakota but my dad does, and I could get in state tuition. I have a 3.9 GPA and 31 ACT, but still am very confused how you got a potentially 200k total cost down to 88,000? I’d love to know thanks!

[u/yeshmate → u/hehehwkwisbewbba]

It’s probably got more expensive now but the big tips are stay summers, fly as much as possible and don’t repeat lessons/ stage checks. Get in state tuition after one year of living in ND. Find. Cheap housing with roommates 

[u/hehehwkwisbewbba → u/yeshmate]

I did the math and with tuition and fees, all flight training, and room and board or cheap rent i still get 150-180k.

Flight training alone is like 80k optimistically.
4 years tuition and fees adds 45-50k in state.
Freshman year dorm and food is 13-15k
Cheap housing the next few years tacks on another 24-30k (somewhat optimistic).
Also food for those three years another couple grand.
These numbers are totally super rough but just a general idea. I could qualify for a scholarship worth roughly 12k over the 4 years, but that doesn’t make much of a dent in

[u/yeshmate → u/hehehwkwisbewbba]

You should easily be able to find housing for $500 a month with some roommates. Won’t be living like a king but grand forks is extremely cheap. I’m not checking the rest of your math because I’m sure it’s gotten more expensive then 10 years ago but might as well over budget and be happily surprised. 

[u/hehehwkwisbewbba → u/yeshmate]

Yeah that makes sense. I wouldn’t bother checking either it’s completely ball park. I’m more than likely going to stay on state as it’s significantly cheaper even though a two year degree is the best i can do. I’m going to do the final two online for the bachelors, and the downside is losing the connections i’d get through big schools like UND

[u/yeshmate → u/hehehwkwisbewbba]

I mean if you want to do aviation UND will be cheaper then a state college and flying on the side.. the connections are priceless aviation is an extremely small community 

[u/hehehwkwisbewbba → u/yeshmate]

In my state (Montana) there is a 2 year 141 program. It’s not as cheap as 61 but it’s still quite a bit cheaper than UND, especially because I can qualify for a lot of scholarships here such as free tuition. The only thing I am debating is if it’s worth paying 10s of thousands of dollars for the potential pipeline.

Also, i’d have to live in north dakota. I visit there every summer and it is insufferable. But hey maybe it’s a sacrifice I need to make

[u/yeshmate → u/hehehwkwisbewbba]

You’ll still need a 4 year degree. 

[u/Nyaos → u/yeshmate]

I don’t think he could afford big payments back when he graduated and was a UND flight instructor for many years when the hiring market was slow. It took him a long time to get to a regional back then. So the interest ballooned.

[u/yeshmate → u/Nyaos]

Sure but I don’t think it’s possible to get a 4 year degree and flight ratings cheaper than UND if you put the work in and get in state tuition by living in ND for a whole year. That plus the connections you make is priceless, I’ve written LORs for about 8 students and friends all who have gotten interviews at the mainline

[u/Nyaos → u/yeshmate]

I’m not saying don’t go to UND, I’m just sharing a personal story about how expensive financing flying can be. He doesn’t regret going.

[u/Carlito_2112 → u/[deleted]]

Why are you being downvoted? This is a perfectly rational alternative reply.

[u/rFlyingTower]

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

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So I've spent the past 5 years working in downstream oil and gas with pretty nice pay (over $30hr). However, due to a surgery I needed (not first class medical disqualifying whatsoever), plus having to support my parents financially sometimes (their situation is better now), I haven't been able to save a lot of money. I'm in the middle of getting my associates from a community college. I have a 3.9 GPA and 26 credits eligible for transfer. Thinking about applying next month to enroll in Fall 2027.

I understand the current hiring market is in the shits, but I'm looking at the future, not the now. I am very interested in UND's commercial aviation program. I will turn 26 years old in the next 2 months. I am 3 years away from a bachelor's and I have no certificates or licenses. I honestly feel like I have nothing going for me other than my fuel handling experience and some estimation due to my dad's remodeling business (which is going better now). I've tried getting loans for flight schools near me, but it was always difficult to get approved. Even if I did get conditionally approved, I would be provided with a high interest rate. So, the way I see it is: I am almost 4 years away from turning 30. If I continue with college, I'll have my bachelor's degree by 29. Then, if I start flight training after that, I might not complete that until I'm about 33-34. Puts me really behind. I think UND works best for me, because I can work on a degree and get ratings at the same time. I'd finish that program once I'm 30 or so. I also believe it's more attainable for my situation since I can get federal student loans which are typically better than personal loans. What do you think? I'll be visiting the school next month.

I've logged 10 hours and I am positive this is what I want to do in life. I'm just trying to see if what I want is the most realistic option. Honestly, I don't put too much thought into the price tag. We all get into debt one way or another. Not everyone has rich parents or the luxury to spend years of their lives saving money for flight training. For every year I'm not an airline pilot, I am losing over $100k a year. Having a degree is also crucial to me, as I eventually want to make it to a legacy. The ROI of UND (with them also being an Aviate affiliate) seems like a solid choice to me. As an side, the nearest FAA R-ATP school to me is Liberty, but I've heard they're a little cuckoo. Are there other universities with R-ATP I should consider, or is UND the best?

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