Advice PPL student off to MRU

[780Pilot]

Im currently instructing this guy for his PPL, the plan is MRU Sept 1. He's doing his long x tomorrow and hes just gotta go back and redo NAV for his written. So things are going smoothly and on time. He casually mentioned to me his has a bachelor of science. He got that debt free and his PPL will be as well. To me it does not make sense. He wants to do MRU where he has 100k of student loans setup when he already has a degree. He could get all his ratings for way less. MY question is given the environment of the industry, does it make sense for him to go to MRU? From what iv'e heard airlines really don't care what kinda degree or diploma you have so long as you have one, at least for the major carriers.

[Shinyjetsyndrome]

As an MRU graduate, as much as I thought highly of the program, I think he's wasting his money. If he has the degree, he's already ticked the post-secondary box. I think things changed recently, but it was something like 250/hr for a 172 (solo) at MRU and 700 something for the multi, which is a tad more than CFC/SATC. If I were him, I'd save the money and continue till the end at the FTU he's at right now.

[rookiepilot]

Money to burn will find a match.

[780Pilot]

As an MRU graduate, as much as I thought highly of the program, I think he's wasting his money. If he has the degree, he's already ticked the post-secondary box. I think things changed recently, but it was something like 250/hr for a 172 (solo) at MRU and 700 something for the multi, which is a tad more than CFC/SATC. If I were him, I'd save the money and continue till the end at the FTU he's at right now.

250 for a solo 172? Jeez lol. You can get a g1000 172 for $190 an hour in Edmonton.

[rookiepilot]

As an MRU graduate, as much as I thought highly of the program, I think he's wasting his money. If he has the degree, he's already ticked the post-secondary box. I think things changed recently, but it was something like 250/hr for a 172 (solo) at MRU and 700 something for the multi, which is a tad more than CFC/SATC. If I were him, I'd save the money and continue till the end at the FTU he's at right now.

250 for a solo 172? Jeez lol. You can get a g1000 172 for $190 an hour in Edmonton.

I'm trying to understand that price, and trying to get the appeal of the G1000 in a 172....

[780Pilot]

As an MRU graduate, as much as I thought highly of the program, I think he's wasting his money. If he has the degree, he's already ticked the post-secondary box. I think things changed recently, but it was something like 250/hr for a 172 (solo) at MRU and 700 something for the multi, which is a tad more than CFC/SATC. If I were him, I'd save the money and continue till the end at the FTU he's at right now.

250 for a solo 172? Jeez lol. You can get a g1000 172 for $190 an hour in Edmonton.

I'm trying to understand that price, and trying to get the appeal of the G1000 in a 172....

I agree with you. Honestly the G1000 is a bit much for a slow slow 172.

[Shinyjetsyndrome]

250 for a solo 172? Jeez lol. You can get a g1000 172 for $190 an hour in Edmonton.

Yeah it was a bit ridiculous. They did have a proper analog gauge time building C172 that was actually a bit cheaper than renting at CFC/SATC though, so building time outside of the set lesson plans was not prohibitive. I’ve heard that they‘ve reduced the cost of the G1000 aircraft to match that of the time builder recently, but I don’t know what it works out to now.

Your student would still have to pay tuition fees and deal with far less flexible scheduling and school bureaucracy. I spent nearly 100k all in at MRU and that’s with free rent/food and not including the PPL I needed to have before joining. I’ll be paying those loans back for ages. Was it worth the cost? I’m not so sure anymore with the state of the industry. Again, I enjoyed my time at MRU and the instructors were fantastic, but if I had to do it all over again, I think I’d do a degree in something unrelated to aviation and train privately the whole way. It would probably work out to about the same cost, if not less.

[200hr Wonder]

Provided he is the type of student that will continue to fly regulatory and get his CPL hammered out MRU is a waste. A BA in basket weaving is good enough.

If was in your student’s shoes and had the cash in hand. I’d be flying every moment and just the CPL signed off. With COVID maybe slow down a tad. I think by spring 2022 it’ll be an OK time to be a low time pilot looking for a first gig again.

[780Pilot]

Provided he is the type of student that will continue to fly regulatory and get his CPL hammered out MRU is a waste. A BA in basket weaving is good enough.

If was in your student’s shoes and had the cash in hand. I’d be flying every moment and just the CPL signed off. With COVID maybe slow down a tad. I think by spring 2022 it’ll be an OK time to be a low time pilot looking for a first gig again.

After his PPL its all a mix of loans from parents or student loans. But even then hes ahead vs 100k at MRU at least the way I see it.