★★★☆☆
3 out of 5
a year ago
If you're looking at K-State Salina for a non-pilot-related program, you'll find a family-like campus of caring faculty and staff, plentiful opportunities for networking & getting to know your classmates, and hands-on learning and experiences that will apply outside the classroom. Unfortunately, my review of the campus overall is tainted by the pilot program.
If you're considering the Professional Pilot program & paying for it yourself, steer clear. The university's advertising of it sounds spiffy and great, but it's as believable as a used car salesman's pitch. The program will treat you more like an airline employee than a valued customer, causing problems that will cost you far more time and money than admissions will quote you. It can be a very toxic, judgmental environment that can quickly kill any passion you've grown for flying; the uniform requirement, and many CFIs staunch enforcement of it, is a prime example. Last time I checked, businesses that value their customers don't treat them like military cadets & impose petty conditions like that for the "privilege" of paying $270 an hour to fly. Additionally, due to K-State's role in the program, flight training is treated as more of an academic class regimen rather than professional training. Expect to waste months waiting to start a new rating & be prepared to pay through the nose for your ratings compared to most respectable mom-and-pop schools, even though most CFIs here get paid crumbs, compared to what the school will charge you per hour for instruction.
In short, if you want to become a career pilot, unless you're a Veteran on the GI bill, get close to a full-ride scholarship for tuition & flight labs, or only care about "being a wildcat," stay far away. For the love of all that is holy, do not sink yourself into debt for this program or throw away hard-won savings; K-State Aviation will not respect it. Get your ratings at a mom-and-pop 61 or 141 school that believes in treating their customers & their hard-earned money with respect. Your future self and your wallet will thank you later. There are several phenomenal people in the program who genuinely care about students and the significant investment they're making, but their efforts are unfortunately tainted by a corrupt system that values academic formalities and petty conventions above all else. This program will demand everything from you, but never hold up its end of the bargain when difficulties inevitably arise.
If you do want an aviation-related degree alongside pilot ratings, check out the Aviation Maintenance, Management, or UAS programs at K-State; they're pretty solid & will give you more marketability outside of flying (having a backup plan is essential for anyone considering a pilot career).
Mysterious Mysteries
