Hello all, my name is Erika! I’m 20 years old and am scheduled to complete my AA in Spring 2020. My goal is to train with ATP to become a commercial airline pilot and am looking at ATP’s Austin, TX location for schooling. I currently live in HI and have been trying to understand the whole applying and enrollment process but I’m quite confused and frankly- stuck. I’ve never applied to a University and have only been to one community college so I don’t have much experience figuring this stuff out. I’m aware that I should look into financial aid before applying but I’m not even sure of the steps I have to take to enroll to be accepted into ATP. Where do I start???
Hey, I have a problem with choosing my career, I want to become a pilot and am wondering what major to pick as am from texas only a few colleges have an aeronautical engineer and I don’t know what major should I choose instead after I graduate from high school.
If you like what you hear/see and meet their prerequisites you need to do 3 things pretty much in this order:
Get an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) Physical. To find a doctor who can conduct such a physical near you, go to https://www.faa.gov/pilots/amelocator/
You would need to call ATP to set up an introductory flight. Unfortunately they don’t have any locations in Hawaii so you’d need to fly to the mainland just to have this introductory flight. ATP will not schedule a class date for you without this. Also, when I called them, they usually don’t schedule students earlier than 3 months so after you have your introductory flight and pass, it will be about 3 months before your class date (maybe less but that’s what they told me). ATP’s target is students start between 3-9 months after their introductory flight. Perhaps you can get an introductory flight in while visiting the mainland on vacation or visiting family etc. Just make sure it’s close to one of their location and call them in advance to schedule you one.
Finally, secure financing. They have 2 preferred lenders Wells Fargo and Sallie Mae but you can get your own lender if you like.
While I agree with Sam’s list I don’t agree with the order.
You don’t mention whether you have any flight experience or not so I’ll assume the answer is no. If that’s the case you need to head down to the local airport and take a lesson. ATP will still require an Intro Flight with them before enrollment so yes if you’re on the mainland by all means but if you won’t be for a while go locally soon. Why? Because while you may believe you want to be a pilot until you actual go up in a small plane and experience the environment you won’t know. No need wasting time and money until you have.
Next I’d get the finances in order. You’re young so chances are you’ll need a cosigner. The process can take some time so you should start working on that.
Finally while you will require a First Class medical unless you have some condition that you believe might be an issue, I’d save that for last. In Hawaii you’re looking at around $125 for the medical and they expire so I wouldn’t spend the money till everything else is done.
Thank you for your personal insight! I have a friend currently in ATP who’s been kind enough to disclose some information, as well as a friend getting her private license locally. Do you think it would be enough to tag along on a flight with her or were you suggesting a more hands on approach rather than just experiencing the environment?
That would definitely help but I’d really like you up front with your hands on the controls. If you’re friend is close to getting their Private then they could def take you up when they do.
In all likelihood you’ll love it but there’s always the chance you won’t. Again you just want to be certain before you get your mind set.
Adam makes good points. I just put the physical at #1 since I personally figured if you can’t pass (for whatever reason) there really isn’t a need for the to do steps 2 and 3, plus it would be easier to do for sure than to find an ATP location near you for what will be a required intro flight with them. I didn’t want to steer you into the intro flight, paying for airline tickets to the mainland just to potentially fail the medical physical. Doing an intro flight with a local flight school in HI, however, while an extra cost, would be a good idea, not to mention fun. Keep in mind you will still have to do it again with ATP sometime in the future before you enroll with them.
Also keep in mind, especially since you’re young and have plenty of time, you can potentially get your Private Pilot License (PPL) in Hawaii with a local flight school, then when the time is right, transfer to ATP in the future since they have 2 different paths (1 with a PPL and the other with zero experience). One is 6 vs 9 months, as well as $64,000 vs $81,000. Just an extra option to see which one is best for you. There are pros and cons with both paths so you just have to do a little research and ultimately choose which one is best. Good luck with your journey!