Which school for ATPL's?
 

Hi,

I'm in the process of deciding where to do my ATPL exams and study. Even though I will essentially be going the modular route, ATPL ground school will be full time.

Am looking primarilly at CabAir Bournemouth and Oxford. Oxford though is significantly more expensive:
Oxford - £4600.00
Cabair Bournemouth - £2950.00
** both do not include exams which are £63.00 each

Is there any reason why Oxford charges £1600 more for their ATPL ground school?

Any past experiences or advise that you could share of these schools would be greatly appreciated?

Thanks... SC

Have you thought about distance learning ? I dont see the need to rush with everything thats going on, and that way your ATPL credits will last longer. I did the DL course with OAT, and it was a good experience.

I'd go distance learning if I were you. Do it over 12-18 months or so, hour build at the same time, keep your salary coming in, then do your training. By that time there might be a job for you!

I was in the same boat as you, in fact, I was booked into Oxford then as soon as I went down to Bournemouth to look at Cabair, I changed my mind.

Cabair has better pass rates, and the instructors are top quality, I'm not knocking Oxford but you are paying for the name.

At the end of the day if you put the hard work in, it really doesn't matter if you go to Oxford or Cabair or Bristol - but I would definitely recommend Cabair Bournemouth for the ATPL study.

Thanks for the advise guys regarding distance learning. I have thought about this extensively. However for me personally, I am going down the route of full time atpl ground school.

Although as with both replies to thread, I do agree it is a sensible option to do the distance learning option.

But going back to reason for thread, if any thoughts or experiences on schools, would be grateful.

Thanks..

Thanks subhuman,

Just seen your post. Really appreciate the info! :ok:

So have you completed all the ATPL exams now?

CATS at Cranfield have an in house course at 2499 and distance course at 999 don't see why anyone would pay more....:ooh:

Cheers

Matty

I did the CATS distance learning and passed all 14 first time. The way I see it, the money saved is paying for the IMC rating I'm doing in a couple of weeks.

I think no matter what distance learning is a good option just now you can take it slowly whilst enjoying hour building.

CATS
 

If you are a highly motivated individual have a look at CATS. If you want shiny marketing material and someone to hold your hand dont bother. With the economic downturn a full ATPL theory course for £999 has got to be a smart move - why pay more?

I just finished my groundschool at BCFT, and found it to be great.

It's about the same price as Cabair, although the structure is slightly different.

Cabair do the exams in 3 sittings, one every 2 months, whereas BCFT have 2 sittings, one every 3 months.

This means taking 7 exams per sitting, where I think Cabair have 5,4,5 or something like that, but it also means only having to go to Gatwick twice, so only 2 lots of hotel fees, and only losing your motivation once. Trust me, after your first set of exams, getting back into study is really hard.

Also, Cabair require you to wear a pilot uniform, whereas BCFT is very casual, shorts in the summer, very relaxed atmosphere.

you only get 6 sittings to do the exams, so choosing BCFT means you have 4 left for any re-takes you may require. although hopefully you won't need any.

These are the reasons I chose BCFT. I don't think there's much to choose from in terms of instructors, both have some really great people on board, and are about the same price.

I know you're not currently considering distance learning but if you change your mind then I can recommend Bristol Groundschool over Oxford.

The course is cheaper, there's a very good study management programme on CD and, most importantly, the manuals are on the whole better organised and don't get bogged down in so much unnecessary detail.

SweetChariotXV:

Yeah I'm currently now holding CPL/ME-IR, got first interview tomorrow...

I got about a 90% average mark, all first time pass in my ATPL's. the splitting into 3 sittings is nice as then your only studying a handful of subjects, allbeit for a smaller time, the split is 6 5 3 , it doesnt make sense but it does when you think about how much there is to learn in VFR comms compared to Airframes & Systems!

And extra hotel? on the grand scheme of the total cost of your training, an extra week of b & b and eating at cheap pubs isnt going to make much odds... on that note, the corner house in horley is very good and close :) go with a few guys when you go down to gatwick and get some study in together, makes a big difference...

VFR comms was a joke!!!

As I took my exams in 2 sittings, after the first sitting I found it really hard to get back into studying. I'm not sure if it was the same for people who took 3 sittings, but i'd rather only have that lack of motivation once.

I did my training with BCFT they were very good cannot fault them .
Cannot comment on any other as never attended another school, but I will say standing in a cafe in town with one bar on your shoulder makes you look bloody stupid , oh and massive huge ginormous gold wings and one bar makes ya look even more stupid .
Tried Oxford , great if your fresh out of school and not used to being treated like an adult .

Strange as I never see OAA students posting any comments on this type of threads........

Oh come on Max, don't knock us Oxford types for having a uniform!

I think Oxford's average is around 94% just to throw an extra bit of information in for you Chariot. You will get treated like an adult if you act like one. And I'm certainly not fresh out of school :)

I'm going to do distance when I come to that stage. How exactly does it work? Is all the material computer based? Am I right in that you don't receive any books? That CATS course sounds great as I'm aiming to do it at minimal cost.

Yes it is only 999 for online only and 1499 with a full set of manuals and for students at other schools not getting on with their study material there is now a 99 pound course that gives you access to the online material without the ground school etc.

Cheers Matt

Either way, it's a lot of work and dedication.

The online question bank is becoming less and less a tool to be relied upon. Only perhaps 60-70% of the last set of exams were in there, where previously it was more like 70-80%, so you really need to know the subjects too.

I just don't think I would've had the dedication for distance learning, although the learning would be more spread out, and you may use more than 2 sittings.

Tick Tock wasnt referring to oaa matey They arent at Bmth . I was referring to Cabair . Some of them on their groundschool have unfeasibly large gold wings . Most ridiculous .
No problem with wearing a uniform