Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Top Questions

Way to expensive, but overall a pretty good college academically.

good

I think the best thing about this school is that the student to teacher ratio is so low that you are never in a class that is much bigger then 30 students, and on average a class of about 20 students per class. This school is a small school, but that makes it easier to walk from class to class, and the other student buildings we have. Most of my time on campus is either spent at my job, my classes, or studying in my dorm room. Prescott isn't a big town with many things to do, but it is within an hour of both Phoenix and Flagstaff which is perfect driving distance. There is not really anything unusal about this school, except we have a lot of smart students due to our Aerospace Engineering Program.

there is not enough space for residences no school pride

My overall opinion of Embry-Riddle is that for anyone who wants to do anything with airplanes, aerospace engineering or any engineering field for that matter, space exploration and travel, military or homeland security, or anything related to aviation, it is most certainly the place you want to be. Those things aside, it is still a really great school, and that is comparing my experience to other schools I have associated with and also comparing my college experience to those of all my friends from high school who attended schools all over the country. The best thing about ERAU (aside from being near the beach) is probably the motivational drive of the students and the academic support of the faculty. People at ERAU actually do care about your goals and whether or not you succeed, and that same support is often found from other students as well. If I could change anything, it would be to make the school cheaper. It is definitely expensive, even for a private university. I think the finance dept. listens too much to the stereotype that ERAU students are all rich, so they don't care about charging an arm and a leg. Also, I would increase the female student population, although that has been increasing significantly on its own in the last 2 years so that might not be a problem soon enough. ERAU is also the perfect size for a school. It's about 5,500 undergrads, so it's not so large that you just become another face in the crowd, people all over the school get to know you and you get to know most people in the school. Also, the faculty get to know you on a personal basis, which is important for developing professional relationships. It's not so small that you feel like you know everyone, either. It's the perfect size school. When I tell people where I go to school, most people have never heard of it and assume that it is simply a tech school or that it is a military school. Rest assured, it is a fully accredited university, and is often referred to as "The Harvard of the Skies" considering the high caliber of education. For anyone who has ever heard of the school prior, they are often impressed when you tell them where you go, especially if they work in the aviation industry or in the military. This school has a lot of cool things you would never find at most other schools. We have fully certified flight simulators for flight training, a high altitude hypoxia lab (basically an altitude chamber), a pretty advanced wind tunnel, an observatory, whole planes and jet engines inside of campus buildings, a spacial disorientation trainer, and an impressive flight line to boot. How many other schools have a course that take you up in a plane, flip it upside down a bunch of times, and make you figure out how to get it back under control? A misconception about Daytona Beach in general is that it is a very busy town with a large population. You will learn soon enough that this is only the case during Spring Break or during event at the Daytona 500 Racetrack. Otherwise, Daytona is a pretty quiet, averaged-sized town. If that's what you are looking for, though, Orlando fits that description and it is only an hour's drive away. Some of the most frequent student complaints about ERAU are the two I mentioned about the school being expensive and the small, but slowly growing, female population. A lot of people get around the cost part by getting ROTC scholarships, working hard to get scholarships, going to school on a GI Bill, or just being rich enough to not worry about it.

The size of the school is perfect for me. It's small enough where you can get individual attention in class and always find someone on campus to hang out yet it is big enough where you can meet new people and have a fun time. Most of the professors are helpful outside of class and make themselves available outside of class to answer questions. The dorm life is a lot of fun at ERAU. You make life long friends in the dorms and the RAs are a lot of fun. ERAU is an overall great school!