What colleges are good (somewhat affordable) places to attend to study aeronautics and commercial airline piloting?

Hi, The most economical would be to check at local community colleges/ state universities to see if they have aviation programs. There is also the option of going to a private aviation school at our local airport. If you decide to use the school at your local airport you will be able to focus on only flying but it will be harder to get student loans. Hope this helps.

Hello Sarah,

First, you need to realize that Aeronautics and Piloting are very different. Trying to do both at once will be hard. My Dad used to say "He, who chases 2 rabbits, will catch neither". My point is, what is more important to you and why. The road map to achieve one or the other is different. You can do both, but may be more successful if you focus on one. For piloting, you need a lot of flight time experience, meaning time in the cockpit behind the controls. Generally speaking, for a commercial pilot license, on an average requires about 1500 hours of "Pilot in Control (PIC)" experience. Now, this minimum rating does not mean that you are ready to fly and airliner, but a company might take you under their wing and send you to additional schooling for it. So, as the other response pointed out, you may just want to find a local flight school, take out a loan, and fly as much as possible. Being a pilot, is a full time job that requires your full time focus. If you do some research thru AOPA and American Flyers, you can find various schools. Remember that as a pilot, you need to keep up with the new technologies that apply to that position.

Aeronautics does require formal schooling, but as an accredited school, you can apply for scholarships, grants and financial aid. This could be a very rewarding career as well, but it too will require you to keep up with the new technologies that are constantly advancing. This path has a very different environment.

Not sure if this is an option for you, but you may be able to attend a collage and ROTC or one of the military academies, and then let the military pay for your training. Options are many, but only you can make the right decision for yourself. Do some research into both those fields and see which one appeals to you more. Then you can map out your way to success. Good luck!