There were plenty successful applicants under 25, some even 18 or 19 fresh out of school. There were also plenty without degrees.

Have a read back through this thread and the one from last years intake. There's mounds of info on there.

Hello everybody, I am 19 years old and finished my A-level studies in may of last year and decided to take a year out. I am now ready to chase after my dream of being a Pilot. I have been to one selection day in early May 2013 and was wondering if anyone could give me some help concerning BA's FPP, preparation for the selection days & what I must know or read up on to stand out in BA's eyes.

Many Thanks :)

This thread for starters.

Well if anyone could just point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated

:)

Just a general question but when applying what sort of factors/reasons do others consider when deciding on which FTO.

For me it was (in no particular order):

cost
location
ease of accommodation
quality of training

Same criteria as Bearcat, in most respects. Got a very nice vibe from the FTO during initial correspondence too.

On a different note, I already had a fascination with the area, history, landscape, having previously researched and worked in the country. Probably going to bore people silly with the 11th century Almoravid conquest of Iberia. :ok:

For me the location of the FTO was important. I had applied from abroad (the Netherlands). Because Netherlands - London is only about 50-60 flying time and can be very cheap (the airfare to the selection days with Ryanair was 24 Euros for a round trip). FTE Jerez was considerably more expensive to get to if selected. So I had to choose between OAA or CTC. Further I looked at quality of training, but I think CTC and OAA are quite similar. I chose OAA for my selection days in January this year.

Got called forward for the selection days, I was very surprised. I was the only one on my selection day from abroad, where there many more people from abroad? Also I was one of youngest with 18 years. Unfortunately I didn't get through to day 2, I think if it opens next year I will choose CTC.

Martin, you know FTE hold their assessment days for the FPP in London, right?

Surely the quality of training is almost irrelevant considering these have been screened and chosen by BA.
Been looking back through this thread and it looks as if the whole process from application takes almost a year, is anyone able to confirm this?

Actual course join dates can be anywhere from say June to November though, can they not?

It's more like end of September to April. It can be quite a long wait.

@MaydayMaydayMayday I have to be honest, I didn't really investigate applying at FTE. Just Googled FTE Jerez and saw it was in Spain, so I assumed (not very smart) that also the selection days were in Spain (because CTC and OAA were doing it at their schools). As well that I sent my application in the very last day, so I didn't have too much time researching everything.

Do you guys think that doing an ESOL or IELTS exam will help applying for BA FPP next year? Or other cadetships? I finished Dutch pre-university school (starting civil engineering at a technical university in September) so according to Dutch government that pre-university school level should be around CEFR level B2/C1. I should get a check from the UK NARIC but I heard that most of the time they will write that your English level is not comparable to UK standards. I know English is my second language, but native English speakers say my English is actually quite good. I would really appreciate it to know what you guys think?

Does anyone know if the 'BBC' entry requirement can be calculated through UCAS points, for example I'm also certain I messed up on a couple of exams this year and will probably only come with A*,B and D/E.

Did email BA recruitment but the department that it was passed onto has yet to reply.

For the previous two years you have to have the grades specifically or higher. UCAS points not counted.

I would not say this is entirely true. I applied last year with a BTEC National Diploma and an A level in mathematics. When I was invited to the final stage the email stated to bring proof of academic grades or UCAS equivalent.

I'm going to apply for this later in the year. I'm heavily leaning towards FTE. My first consideration was the quality of training, as I'd rather put quality before cost. But as BA seem to see them as equivalent in this regard I looked to the other factors. Cost of FTE looks highly competitive. On top of that, I like how their training is all done in a single location, with flying starting early on. When I finished my PPL last year I was glad to have done the flying along with the theory, as I believe both help each other out. Plus, learning to fly in European airspace has got to be beneficial from an ATC perspective if you're going to be based in London after training. I mean I know that airline pilots have to be proficient irrespective of which part of the world they are in, but it makes sense to start out with the ATC that'll initially be what you experience after training.

That's my reasoning, I hope someone finds it helpful. :) Any feedback regarding the above would be appreciated. :ok:

I really do hope they accept UCAS equivalent of 'BBC' (which I think is 290 points), because i'm doing the Irish Leaving Cert I do 7 subjects and it is a nightmare trying to find exact equivalents with NARIC never responding to me, and I heard that they are very harsh and never give you the benefit of the doubt. I'm doing my exams now and the BA FPP in mind really cranks up the pressure !!!

Well they seem to be looking for BBBB at Scottish Higher level, which would be 260 UCAS points. BBC at A-Level appears to be 280 UCAS points (although the English system is - frankly - stupidly complicated imo).

Source: Tariff Tables | UCAS | UCAS Tariff Table & UCAS Tariff Points

So I guess anything 280 or above with the required subjects would be considered to meet the minimum requirements.

Edit: the Irish Leaving Cert grades with UCAS points are also shown on the above link. I don't know the Irish system, but it seems like you have plenty of scope to get 280 points with 7 subjects at "Higher" level, but at "Ordinary" level it's impossible (so I'm guessing they are the equivalent of GCSE or Scottish Standard Grades). Hope it helps. :)

Yeh I'd say so, thanks for the help ! Let's hope they do reopen it at the end of this year again