wrote:
snip
If'n it were me, I would tell my son to go to the State University and
pay the cheaper in-state tuition. Find a local FBO and a grey-haired
instructor and get the ratings there.

Sorry, I have to make my standard disagreement that age does not make a
great instructor. My instructors were all under 30 and all but one did
a great job. I was 22 when I got my CFI, and while I have a lot to
learn, no one ever complained. Older does NOT always mean better and
it's a disservice to suggest that it does.

My flight instructor was an ERAU graduate. He had about $150,000 in
school debt. He got a job out of school with a regional but was
quickly furloughed, hence the reason he was sitting right seat with me.
He got his degree in aviation management (or something like that),
which is not very cross-marketable. He was making $10-12/hr
instructing, with that massive debt and a wife and kid to support. How
he did it, i don't know.

Food stamps, according to the guy who did most of my instrument. He was
an ERAU Prescott grad.