Hi,This may seem a weird post, sorry.My impression is that alot of people on this forum seem to American so that is why I am posting here. I am a British Citizen living in the UK (ie. no ties to the USA) and in a year I am going to University. I am looking into taking a degree in the USA but I have but not a clue were to start. In England we have a brilliant system called UCAS but it only deals with UK universities. I want to take a degree to do with aviation, I am interested in the systems side (ie electrics fuel etc.) but I know nothing about US Universities. Could anyone help? How do you find out about Universities over in the USA? Is their a centeral website like we have? Sorry for the O/T post but I am asking for help anyware I can!Ric

Here's three that are related to aviation:MIT - Massachusetts Intitute of Technology (Boston Mass) - your chances getting here are smaller than slim. 4th best in the whole country! Best in my perspective.Embry Riddle (Prescott Arizona)University of North DakotaI don't know about any cetral sites sites.http://turnhead.com/dot/alex/banner-retro-cool.gif

The first step to surviving your years in higher education is independent research! 25 years ago, when I started attending College, it was much harder--I had to pour over books and magazines. Now, just go to any search engine--Google, Hotbot, etc... Put in keywords related to your interest... At Google, I typed "aviation systems college", and received over 232,000 hits. Find something that appeals to you, then email the college for more information. Many U.S. Colleges even offer scholarships to students who add to the mix of cultures and experiences within the student body. You may receive a wealth of responses here, but using the search engines available will help you find information fast and specific to your query--and help develop a skill you'll be required to hone as you follow your course of study.Regards,John, KPHX

Ric-I think John said it very well--you will need to do some research on your own. The reason why I stress this is that there are simply hundreds of different degrees/careers that relate to "aviation." For instance, you could get a degree as an aviation mechanic, FBO operator (small business degree), or an aerospace/aeronautical engineering degree. All of which would require a different degree from, most likely, differing institutions. It is important that you consider all of these options and ask yourself what you want to do.I myself was set on getting an aeronautical engineering degree when I was in high school, but a wise fellow persuaded me to get a mechanical engineering degree instead, as it would give me more career opportunities should the hiring in the aerospace industry decrease. That was great advice considering the last year of my undergrad, the aerospace industry did not look very promising. ;-) In the end, after working a number of years in engineering, I got a post graduate degree in another field. Albeit not aviation related on its face, I do a considerable amount of work for a larger aircraft manufacturer.Hope this helps.Regards,http://home.earthlink.net/~snyders2000/name.jpg

Hi Ric,if I were you, I'd do my first degree in Britain (for all types of engineering options, check out Imperial College, London, Brunel University, UCL, and a few others). The reason being, that US first degrees are fairly generalised, in your first year you are likely to repeat what you've already learned during A-levels. Also, they are not very highly regarded in Europe, so you may find it difficult to get a job, especially if, like engineering it requires registration with a professional body. You may find, that you'll be asked to take additional courses, which are part of a UK degree, just to meet the minimum requirements. However, it is a different story as far as postgraduate degrees are concerned. An MEng (or whatever they call it) from MIT will definitely go a long way. Also, funding for US first degrees is nearly impossible to come by. Although UK LEAs will cover study abroad, they will only do so , if the period abroad is part of a UK course, or your chosen subject is not offered by a UK University ('Klingon' and 'Horse Appreciation' do not count...), and especially in science and engineering fields, they're very likely to just point you to Imperial's entry in the UCAS prospectus. Funding for postgraduate courses, while still not easy to come by, is definitely more realistic. Also, that way you'll get the best of bost worlds.Cheers,Gosta.

>if I were you, I'd do my first degree in Britain (for all types of engineering options, check out Imperial College, London, Brunel University, UCL, and a few others)..absolutely agree>Funding for postgraduate courses, while still not easy to come by, is definitely more realistic...do a PhD, and you're likely to be 'employed' or receive some kind of studentship from the College/University involved. Also, do some teaching whilst you're at it and earn a nice top up.Cheers,Paul BSc(hons) MBA PhD ACMA

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.haworth/Fortress.gifVoted Best Virtual Airline of 2002 and Best CEO of 2002 by participants in the BIG VA Vote organized by FSPILOT.comVANF "Best" New Virtual Airline Awardhttp://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.haworth/saint_georgex1.gif

>..do a PhD, and you're likely to be 'employed' or receive >some kind of studentship from the College/University >involved. Also, do some teaching whilst you're at it and >earn a nice top Definitely, when I did my MA, I did some 1st year undergraduate teaching at a different university - always looks good on your CV. My DPhil funding came from the ESRC, and I could always give a few seminars, when extra beer money was needed...Cheers,Gosta.

Obviously can't speak for Gosta, but I found the undergrad teaching bit to be rather well paid and I loved every minute of it (of course, because I was in the Med School, there was always the excuse to have some young womans clothes off :-))Cheers,Paul

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.haworth/Fortress.gifVoted Best Virtual Airline of 2002 and Best CEO of 2002 by participants in the BIG VA Vote organized by FSPILOT.comVANF "Best" New Virtual Airline Awardhttp://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.haworth/saint_georgex1.gif

You're right Paul, it was well paid - I was working three half-days a week, and got enough to live on quite comfortably. Plus, you get extra for marking exams, and even more for marking external ones. Also, don't just look at your own University, if you're in a big city like London, you have loads to choose from (I lost count now, with all the polys being unis as well...).Cheers,Gosta.

I found that quite a few Universities think quite hard about whether to accept a student for a postgraduate course if they also were an undergrad at the same institution. Seems like they wonder if the course is the 'only' reason why you want to stay in the same city.Cheers,Paul

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.haworth/Fortress.gifVoted Best Virtual Airline of 2002 and Best CEO of 2002 by participants in the BIG VA Vote organized by FSPILOT.comVANF "Best" New Virtual Airline Awardhttp://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.haworth/saint_georgex1.gif

Yes, it's probably a sign of laziness, if you can't be bothered to apply elsewhere. Besides, why would you want to stay at the same place? OK, I could understand it at very specialised institutions (such as SOAS), or those with an exceptional research record (like the LSE). I knew one fellow at Oxford, who spent his entire career not only at the same university, but at the same college - from undergraduate through postgrad to fellowship. How sad is that? (He stopped talking to me, after I spotted him in another college's bar and commented 'I did't know they allowed you out'). But when I said 'another university', I was referring to a teaching post - I was teaching at a different university than where I was doing my MA (which also was different from the one I got my BSc from).Cheers,Gosta

My old college, City University in London, does various degrees in this field, including Aeronautical Engineering, Air Transport Engineering and Air Transport Operations.And if you want to fly - join the University Air Squadron!Rob