I’m going into my senior year of highschool at an STEM oriented highschool and am on my way to my PPL, Checkride in a month (most likely). My training is paid for by a scholarship so no worries on that. But I need advice in terms of achieving my other ratings. Would it be wise to go to ATP and get all my ratings within a 6-9 month period, then possibly transfer to a college in hopes of achieving my degree? I also attend an after school program that will give me 60 college credits after my senior year. I want to be an commercial airline pilot but I don’t want to wait too long. Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!
Rafael,
Please visit our FAQ section as we address this and many other common questions.
Adam
Rafael,
Yes, I do think that your best bet would be to attend ATP, then work on your ratings. Although ATP does require two years of work experience or college, so you might need to check with the admissions department to see how they will look at the 60 credit hours that you got while in high school.
Chris
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Thanks for your insight Chris. Do you know if the work experience can be obtained while in ATP?
Could you link it or discuss it a bit, I didn’t seem to see it on the website.
What after school program while in high school give 60 credit hours towards any recognized university?AP and IB give some credits but nowhere close to 60, do you mind sharing?
Rafael,
No work experience can be obtained WHILE at ATP. You need to have the work experience to attend ATP if you don’t have your PPL or a 2yr degree or at least 60 credits.
If you simply take a look at this forums home page you’ll see “frequently asked questions” listed.
Adam
I came out of high school with about 40 college credits between IB and Dual Enrollment (only 2 courses). It’s entirely possible to come out with 60 depending on the program, summer courses, etc. Though I’m not familiar with an “after school program” that does this, the poster would know better than anyone what his program will credit.
And to Rafael, I’d recommend doing at least one year of college after high school. You can bring your total to 90 credits, start ATP at 19, and go to a regional right at the minimum age of 21. Then you would only have about 30 credits left to finish online while working at a regional. And depending on what credits you have and how they transfer, you could potentially satisfy those 30 credits with the ratings you just earned. There are a lot of options, but you are obviously in full-swing with courses and should keep that momentum going since you can’t even get to a regional until you are 21.
I came out of the IB program with about 30 credits, could have had more if I had applied myself better.
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The program is named “Aeronautical Science Pathway” offered by the Museum Of Flight in collaboration with Green River College and the Puget Sound Skill Center. As long as you get a B or higher in the college courses, you get the credit, which I can easily satisfy. All credits contribute to an aviation degree of some sort. Such as Aviation Management for example. But I know aviation degrees aren’t always the most applicable 
Would getting my associates, starting ATP, then finishing my degree off be a better plan. I’d also come in with my PPL as well. What do you guys think?
The program has credits that can be transferred to lots of aviation colleges such as ERAU, UND, and CWU which are all well-known flight schools as well and the credit transfer was demonstrated by past alumni so, that wouldn’t be a problem.
Rafael,
I personally like the idea of finishing your degree, then attending flight school. I think it is generally best to finish the degree as it is not always easy to go back to college later, even when somebody has the best of intentions.
Chris