Pertinence of being a certified private pilot to admissions

[crypto186]

I have been working on achieving a private pilot certificate. It will take me 50 hours of flight training and another 50 hours of ground training. It is quite time consuming. My main question is: how relevant is being a certified private pilot to the admission team? I am confident to achieve it, but I wonder how much it will matter to them. To be frank, my time could be spent on other tasks that could better my profile. Which is why I am beginning to doubt if having a PPC will be a benefit to me.

[KPEngineer]

Anything that shows you to be a well rounded individual is a good thing but its not going to be some kind of magic bullet that will get you in. Its just another extra-curricular activity.

It is better to achieve a high level of success in a few things than to just be involved in many.

[Sunk @ the Docks]

Ships do not fly.

[luv2fly]

Tell that to Captain Mark Kelly.

[crypto186]

Originally Posted by Sunk @ the Docks

Ships do not fly.

Plenty can be learned from flying that applies to sailing. Take charting for an example, I am positive that when sailing you plan where you are going and how you are planning to get there. You most likely use a chart/map for reference. The same goes for flying cross-country, I use a chart, I mark radio frequencies for towers and airfields. A lot of what you learn from flying will surely come in handy when sailing. I hope admissions will acknowledge this.

[tankercaptain]

You would be better served getting your MMC and working towards getting your master of inland steam or motor vessels of not more than 100 gross tons.

[crypto186]

Originally Posted by tankercaptain

You would be better served getting your MMC and working towards getting your master of inland steam or motor vessels of not more than 100 gross tons.

MMC? I'm assuming that is some sort of sailing credential. Doesn't seem likely for me to get that, especially since I live hundreds of miles away from any coastline or lake.

[tankercaptain]

If you really want to go to Kings Point, I suggest you take the time to research what the merchant marine is, and what pertains to being a merchant mariner. With that being said, if Kings Point is your top choice, regardless of living near bodies of water you can always go to summer sailing camps or semesters at sea. If you are willing to spend the money to learn to fly that money would be better spent on semester at sea or tall ship sailing camps.

[crypto186]

I am always open to new experiences. What you say certainly sounds like a good idea. I will keep it in mind. It so happened that flying was the more convenient decision. There is an airport a few blocks from my home. My job is a few blocks from my home. I work to pay for fuel. But never would I have the wages to pay for a semester at Sea. My best guess would be that if I lived a few blocks from a shipyard I would have done the same. But then, when applying to the Air Force Academy and Naval, someone might tell me I should have gone to a flight ground training school in Florida rather than learning about sailing.

[tankercaptain]

What do you want to do? Do you want to fly? Do you want to go to sea? 33% of Naval Academy graduates become aviators or NFOs. If you really want to go flight I suggest sticking to the Air Force Academy, Air Force ROTC. Going to Kings Point with the hopes of going flight could be very disappointing. Remember what you are going to be trained as at Kings Point. It could be a difficult 4 years and an even more difficult sea year wanting to be an aviator.