Hey everyone! Just wanted to intruduce myself and ask the mentors a few questions. I’m a senior at Colorado State who will be graduating in May of 2019. I recently took an intro flight with ATP in Denver last Monday and absolutely loved it. I know this is what I want to do with my life and after doing some research think ATP is the best bet. Just had a few quick questions for you guys. I want to try to get my writtens out of the way before I start and with school and working part time I will be busy up until my start date. I have a month off during January that I could use to try and knock a test or two out and then could try to get the rest done during the next 4 months of school. Would starting to get them done in January be too early? Do you need the information fresh in your head right when you start? Also I know you have to get your medical done before setting your start date and getting access to the course work. Would getting my medical in December be a waste since I wouldn’t be starting until June?
As far as the writtens go the only risk taking them early is that they expire after 24mos. If for some reason you didn’t start in June and delayed a year or more you may have to take them again. If you know for certain than it’s not a problem. As far as the actual knowledge goes the info on the exams really doesn’t follow any actual curriculum and anything of any importance will be reviewed during training so that’s no factor.
No rush either on the medical unless you think you may have some issue (big or small). If there’s something of concern it’s always a good idea to see your AME early so any possible problem can be addressed.
Thanks for the quick response! I don’t see any reason my medical would be a problem as I am in good health. Would I be able to start the Kings course without the medical being done? I definitely think I will try to start getting the writtens out of the way in January so I can be done with them by my start date in June.
Starting the King’s training without a medical is fine (you only need your medical for actual flight training). Once you sign up with ATP, pick a start date and give your deposit you’ll be sent access to all the study materials for all the courses.
I would need to check with admissions on this, but I do not believe that they will accept your deposit if you do not yet have a medical certificate. Without the deposit, you will not have access to the study material for the writtens.
I went through this about three months ago. ATP will accept your deposit without the medical, BUT they highly recommend you get it before the deposit. You absolutely need your medical for your first day of class though.
You can move your start date once without penalty/losing your deposit, but after that all bets are off.
Thanks for all of your responses! Im going to try and put my deposit down in December to get access to the coursework and then complete the medical a months or two before my start date.
Thanks for the advice! That makes sense to get your medical done since the deposit is non refundable. I’m thinking about getting my medical at the end of December so I can put my deposit down in the beginning of January and start to try to get the writtens out of the way. Can anyone that completed the writtens before they attended ATP answer how much time it took in total to do so? Just trying to get a rough estimate of how long that will take.
Depending of course on how fast you learn, how much time you devote to it, etc I think 2 weeks an exam is a good goal. Again obviously some folks need more, some need less.