Buying a Car as a College Student

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Cherie

If you are one of those poor college kids suddenly faced with the need to purchase a car then here are some really good questions to ask yourself:

How long do you need the car?
How will you pay for the car?
What type of car suits your needs?
Will you buy new or used?
What type of insurance will you need?
Vehicle Registration on Campus ($80)

These are the most important aspects that you need to think about before you make such a big decision. Before you even start looking for cars you need to have a plan so, figure out your finances before you start looking and find an insurance company that will work well for you.

Another factor to consider is finding a car you need not one you want. When you graduate and get a real job you will have to start paying off student loans so don’t get a ridiculous sports car that will drain your finances. If you can’t pay off your car and you can’t pay off your student loans you will wind up in big trouble. Be smart, get an affordable and reliable car which will allow you to travel with your belongings if need be.

Don’t forget that when you bring your new car on campus you have to register it with the Campus Safety Office. The fee is $80 and the parking permit is valid for a full calendar year. For more info on how to accomplish registering your vehicle check out the Safety website.

This applies to our incoming students as well, you are adults now so embrace the chance to make your first big decision. This decision should be one that makes you proud 🙂 Good luck everyone, hope the advice helped, and thanks for reading!!

365 Days Ago – Decision Time.

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Megan

A year ago today I made one of the best decisions of my life. A year ago today I visited campus for the first time. A year ago today I made the decision to attend Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott Arizona. I was not one of those students who waited till decision day in May to make my decisions. I was lucky, I had already been accepted to all of the schools I had applied to and had narrowed down my list. One in state and one out of state, it was decision time for me. After numerous visits to Washington State University, it was time to take the flight and come visit Embry-Riddle.

Before this trip, I had never been to Arizona and thought it was a place where everything was poisonous and wanted to kill. I was wrong. I was shown the glorious cactuses, the Disney-like rock formations in the Dells, and the wonderful sun of Arizona. After a day on campus, I was sure that this was my home. My tour guide gave me a glimpse into the school, and the students I met on campus loved their majors and were excited to tell me about the school. Seeing the green grass in front of the student union and the dorms where I would be living showed me what life would be like at Embry-Riddle. The thought of moving states away and leaving my family was hard, but once I walked on campus, I knew this would be my home for the next four years.

Looking back on the past year and all the changes, blessings, and challenges I can only smile. The stress of packing up my life and moving to another state (I flew to campus with my parents and fit everything I needed in 3 boxes and 2 carry ons), dealing with homesickness, and falling in love with my major, I could not imagine being anywhere else. Late night adventures, early mornings, and a new family here have made me even more thankful for this decision I made 365 days ago.

As acceptance letters keep rolling in during these next few months I urge you to visit all the schools you are seriously considering. Seeing campus on a computer and seeing it in person can make a world of difference, or at least it did for me. So as you keep going on this adventure, the odds are in your favor that you’ll find the perfect school for you. I am sure that you all will find a home at university, Embry-Riddle or not, and have the ability to look back a year from now and smile!

Engineering Detail Design Course – Hard Work and Very Rewarding

Posted on February 2, 2016 by Cherie

A major part of your student career at Embry-Riddle is the capstone course. For engineers the capstone course is comprised of two semesters/courses known as Preliminary and Detail Design. As a student in my freshman year I knew nothing about these two courses and towards the end of my junior year I began hearing quite abit about them. I wish I had known what the two courses entailed much earlier as I would have definitely restructured my game plan as far as fundamental courses go.

Team Daedalus on the last day of the Preliminary Design Course

The Preliminary Design course essentially forces you to use all of the resources you have learned in the past three years at college. You will work crazy hours, get frustrated but you will fall in love with what you are doing. The course teaches you how to be a leader and a member of a team, how to face problems and fix them, but, most important it teaches pride in your work. At the end of the semester you should have an outstanding product and an increased knowledge of professional engineering.

When you move into the Detail Design course you are verifying the information that you presented at the conclusion of the Preliminary Design semester. There are many options to verify assertions. The primary one is wind tunnel testing but, often students choose to fabricate a working prototype of their concept in order to prove that it works. No matter what your team chooses to do the process is extremely rewarding as you get to see how your intuition created a viable product.

I would highly recommend that every student entering these courses attempts to be a program manager or design team lead. As a PM or DTL you are the face of the team, responsible for the schedule, budget, and work produced by the team. I have been a PM for the last two semesters and although it has been very hard it has been extremely rewarding. For those ladies out there, don’t be intimidated, you are just as qualified to lead a team as any other member in your class. In my section of Preliminary and Detail Design I am the only female and I am one of two Program Managers. As long as you are a good manager you will do well but, don’t worry mistakes happen. No one is born a perfect manager and it takes alot of mistakes to figure out your management style. Just hang in there, do good work, take care of your people, and admit when you make a mistake. That’s really all it takes 🙂

I hope this information is helpful to our incoming students as well as our up and coming leaders in the Capstone courses! Thanks for reading!

One Month Left of the Fall Semester…

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Cherie

It is simply amazing how quickly the semester flies by. It seems like yesterday I was finally getting used to my course schedule! For our current Freshmen I’m sure this is an exciting time because next semester you won’t be the newest people on the block and you will get to go see your families over break.

However, this exciting time of year is also a very tiring time of year as classes are starting to wrap up. It is very tempting to just roll over and go back to sleep or even skip one assignment. This isn’t the best decision though, there is still some time left to make or break those grades so keep it together!

As a four year “veteran” of Embry-Riddle Prescott’s Fall semester I highly encourage you to take a small break from reality on the weekends but continue working hard. The end of the semester is like the last mile in a 12 mile hike — you are tired and you want to sleep but you are almost to the top of the mountain. You can’t give up yet!!!

For our students who we will be meeting next Fall, the same applies to you!! I know there is this whole Senioritis thing that is “tradition” in high school but do not allow that “tradition” to keep you from graduating. Without that diploma we here at Embry-Riddle won’t be able to support you as you make it through your years in college and shoot for that dream job.

You are almost there, one semester down and a few more to go!!

Choosing the Right University for You

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Adam

Are you applying to universities or making the decision of where to go? Then you are in the right place. I understand the struggle! It’s already a ton of work applying to multiple universities, but making the big decision can be even tougher on you.

Well you’re in luck because I am here to help you make the decision process easier. Let’s say you were accepted to University A that has a really high reputation for its quality and outcomes which means graduates get awesome jobs after graduation! While on the other hand you were accepted to University B which isn’t as reputable as University A but ts located 25 minutes from the beach!…Which do you choose?

A good question you need to ask yourself is “do I want to go to this school because it’s fun or because it will most definitely land me that cool job with the company of my dreams”. Well I want you to think about this, every university has something different/better to offer then the next but remember this is the most important decision you have to make. In my opinion, the location of the school is not your primary question! For me, the most important decision we have to make here is what to study which means choosing a university that outshines others in that area.

This decision is the most important for a few reasons:

A. It will determine what classes you have to take. In other words you will either really enjoy going to school or not which could eventually lead to bad grades. You have to like what you do.

B. Having faculty experts and labs to work in will mean that your learning is solid – not in just theory but in practice.

c. This will help you land the job you want. You want internship opportunities, a strong career center, and plenty of interaction with industry.

If you know what job you want to have in the future, then take a look at the credentials you need to put yourself on the right path. Choose a school that offers your major and has expert faculty teaching. Yes! It’s that important.

The decision I made to attend ERAU in Prescott AZ has been a great one for all of the reasons above!

Thanks for reading, I hope I could make help and possibly the decision process a little easier. Good luck!

College Decisions

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Cherie

When it comes time to make those college decisions it can be pretty scary and intimidating. The best way to do it is to get all the facts. Find a college that has the major you want and if you change your mind about your major ensure that the college has something else your interested in doing. Also, check out there area you will be living in. Do you like the weather there? The city or a rural area? What is the culture like in that area? Make sure you also research stuff you can do in the area. This is something I did not do before I came here, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that there are a lot of interesting things to do (provided you have the $$) withing a 3 hour radius of Prescott.

Also, look into the living costs of the area. Check out the on campus housing and local housing in the area. When you choose to move off campus you will need to know how much it will cost and if you can afford it. You should also look into the job market in the area. Many college students pick up a job to get some extra cash or to help work there way through school.

The last thing you should check out is students feedback on the university. This blog is a great source of feedback and many universities have similar resources available for potential students to use. I personally, am glad that I chose Embry-Riddle. It is the best place for me academically and for my AFROTC career as well. If I had to make the choice over again I definitely would. 🙂 If you have any questions or requests please let me know!

What has surprised me about ERAU — I Matter to My Faculty

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Vishra

ERAU is a small community, therefore you will be surprised to how fast the faculty and staff learn your name on campus. The professors get to know you within the first week of classes and professor to student ratio on average is 1:18. At Riddle, the professor and the students will know when you miss classes.

At Riddle, a professors’ number one priority is to teach, not research, even though there is plenty of that going on too. The professors put in more effort into preparing their classes and, often, into developing new classes. They even have open door policy along with at least ten office hours per week. All the professors have to grade their own homework, exams and finals, they always read your work and offer detailed comments. In short, I was surprised to see how the professors treated me as an adult and made me feel that I mattered.

It’s true that Embry-Riddle has a lot more men than women. Some may consider it a disadvantage but not me. It took me out of surprise to see how much I am respected by my male peers. Riddle men are incredibly nice and are gentlemen; they bring back etiquette and forgotten gesture! Ladies, you will be surprised at how often the door is being held open for you. I always remember to appreciate the timeless gesture of courtesy they show us.

Between the great faculty and the respect for each other on campus, I’m so glad I chose Embry-Riddle.

Weather

Posted on August 4, 2014 by Cherie

Have you ever wondered how the weather is predicted and tracked? Well if you want to know more perhaps its time to visit Embry Riddle in Prescott Arizona to check out our Meteorology program!! Please schedule a visit today and let us know your interests. We can set you up to attend a class, meet a professor, see our air craft and so much more!! When you visit us the door to a whole new world of experiences opens, its up to you to walk through and join our community 🙂

We look forward to seeing you on campus very soon. Have a wonderful day everyone!!

Ever Been to the South?

Posted on July 30, 2014 by Cherie

Over the last few weeks I have definitely had some interesting adventures and life lessons learned. One of those lessons is not to judge a place until you actually have been there. I used to think that I would not like anywhere in the South because I am not a hot weather/humidity type of a person. However, when I spent time in the south for my AFROTC training I actually loved it!!

Sure the heat and the humidity made it kind of gross and sweaty all the time but, the area is beautiful! I loved seeing all the trees and greenery every time I went outside. The sunsets and sunrises were also very majestic which totally made my day! I can honestly say that despite the tornado we saw and the heat/humidity, I love the South!

So my advice to you is not to judge a place before you actually visit it! I hope that this encourages you to stop on by our Embry Riddle campus in Prescott Arizona before you make up your mind for sure 🙂 Thanks for reading everyone!

Preview Day

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Cherie

For those of you who would like to come and visit Embry Riddle Prescott when we are open on the weekend here is your chance!!! March 22nd, is our annual preview day for accepted students. We hope to see everyone there!!!

So what exactly happens on Preview day you ask? Well, it is a chance for you to get to know our beautiful campus, meet some professors, hear first hand accounts of what it is like to be a student at our Prescott campus, try out our dining hall, meet your counselor, and so much more!!!

The opportunities at Embry Riddle are endless and so are the activities that you are encouraged to be apart of. If you have any questions please feel free to call or visit our website for more information. We are happy to help out 🙂

That’s it for now folks, hopefully we will be seeing you here on Saturday!!!