What a friend would tell you
What ERAU is looking for
A clear aviation or aerospace career goal is table stakes. Embry-Riddle wants applicants who can articulate exactly which corner of the industry they're targeting, whether that's flight, propulsion, or unmanned systems. Mentioning specific labs, fleet aircraft, or the Eagle Flight Research Center signals you've done your homework beyond the brochure.
What students wish they'd known
The male-to-female ratio hovers near 5:1, which shapes the social scene in obvious ways. Daytona Beach outside of campus is a tourist strip, not a college town. If you're not locked into aviation or aerospace, the curriculum feels narrow and the liberal arts offerings are thin.
ERAU might be a fit if...
- You've known you wanted to fly or build aircraft since you were 12
- You want paid co-ops at Boeing, Lockheed Martin, or NASA before graduation
- You'd rather train on actual flight simulators than read about aerodynamics in a textbook
ERAU Admissions Strategy
1.2x
Advantage
: the numbers
ERAU's acceptance rate is 77.0% vs 65% RD.
Deadlines: RD January 15
Deadlines: RD January 15
Test Policy
Test-optional
You choose whether to send scores. A strong score helps your case; a weak one is better left off.
Demonstrated Interest
Not Tracked
Not tracked. Skip the info-session circuit and put those hours into the application itself.
Interview
Optional
Yield Rate
33%
Only 33% of admits choose to enroll. The waitlist moves more than you'd think; if you land on it, make your interest loud.
Want the strongest possible application to ERAU, plus better odds and merit offers everywhere else you apply?
Join the free one-hour workshop from two Harvard grads who have helped 3,000+ students get in. Parents welcome.
Cost & Financial Aid at ERAU
$65,000
Sticker Price
$18,000
Avg Merit Aid
Need-aware admissions. Meets need: Partial. 80% receive financial aid.
What you get for it: ERAU spends about $18,000 per student per year on instruction and student resources, well above the $15K national average.
What ERAU Graduates Get
$61,000
Avg Starting Salary
97%
Employed or in Grad School
42%
Graduate in 4 Years
The 4-year number is the on-time rate; the 6-year rate (66%) is the one schools usually advertise. A wide gap means many students pay for extra semesters.
ERAU Campus & Culture
The Campus
Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus sits on 185 acres adjacent to the Daytona Beach International Airport, where students watch planes take off between classes. The architecture is functional and modern, heavy on glass and concrete, built around the flight line and engineering labs. The Lehman Engineering and Technology Center is the academic core, with the ICI Center's flight simulators a short walk away.
The Social Scene
Daytona Beach, aerospace student culture, beach proximity
ERAU Traditions & Trivia
Blue and Gold Week
Each March, students, faculty, and staff celebrate the university's identity with a week of events beginning with a campus carnival; for a school where most students are training to fly, the pride runs from the hangar to the quad.
Flight Team
ERAU competes nationally in precision flying competitions, which means some students spend their weekends landing an aircraft with the accuracy others spend on a golf course.
Academics at ERAU
What ERAU is known for
Aerospace and engineering, flight program, aviation focus
Most popular majors at ERAU
Standout programs
Aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, aeronautics, aviation
How the curriculum works
Engineering core with specialized majors
Recommended high school courses
4 English, 4 Math, 3 Science (including physics), 3 Social Studies, 2 Foreign Language
Notable ERAU Alumni
John Herrington
First enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space (STS-113)
Nicole Stott
NASA astronaut who lived on the ISS and painted in orbit
Daniel Baker
Led NASA's Heliophysics Division and directed CU Boulder's LASP
Chesley Sullenberger
Studied at Embry-Riddle's Prescott campus before the Miracle on the Hudson
If you like ERAU, also consider
Georgia Institute of Technology
Stronger overall engineering brand with aerospace depth
Purdue University
Major aerospace pipeline with Neil Armstrong's alma mater pedigree
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Learn-by-doing engineering with broader campus culture
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Small, hands-on engineering with better teaching focus
University of Colorado Boulder
Aerospace engineering near major space industry employers