My name is Peter Ellison, and I am a third-year student at Seneca College’s aviation program. Here, I hope to share some insight on Seneca’s program.
“Choosing the right flight school is arguably one of the most expensive decisions a student pilot will make.”
What made me choose Seneca?
I first heard about Seneca College’s flight program through a pilot volunteer at my Air Cadet squadron in Whitby.
This pilot is a British Airways Captain, and when I was a young cadet, he told me he graduated from Seneca’s program. I knew that I could be like him someday if I graduated from the same program.
I also heard that Seneca had a good reputation in the aviation industry for putting out well trained pilots ready for the airlines.
Challenges during training
As my British Airways mentor would say, Seneca College’s flight program can make you feel like you are drinking from a fire hose.
One of the challenges of the program is keeping up with the pace and intensity of full-time flight training alongside full-time academic courses. Effective time management is a valuable skill to succeed in the program.
Another challenge I face during training is not falling behind due to scheduling. This seems to be a theme across several flight schools in Ontario, where pilots are late to graduate because of delays in training. So, when the weather is nice, it is important to capitalize and keep moving forward through the training syllabus.
What else did I learn?
One thing I have learned since starting at Seneca is how early they prepare you for the airline environment.
Seneca College has strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that are enforced from the first training flight. This removes any flying related ambiguity that I had encountered previously in training at local flight centres (like not knowing whether I really had to pull out the cruise checklist).
Through the SOPs, Seneca clearly defines procedures such as how to call out checklist items, what criteria constitutes a go-around, and much more, just like how the airlines implement their SOPs.
It has become clear to me that Seneca’s program is designed to produce airline-ready pilots.
From a student living standpoint, it was not obvious until I started Seneca flight training that keeping a part-time job would be so challenging. Students do not know at what time they will be flying until the day before their flight, making it difficult to define availability to employers (students have one day off per week).
Personally, I tutor students virtually which has worked out well during covid; I work based off my schedule and no travel time is required.
Additionally, there is no public transportation, ride share (Uber), sidewalk, nor bike lane, that goes to the Peterborough airport. This leaves driving as the only option to CYPQ. While carpooling between students is an option, most students end up getting their own cars for convenience.
Tips for those looking to join
My advice to those interested in joining Seneca is to be sure that an integrated program is right for you. There are many benefits to flying at an integrated program like Seneca’s, versus flying at your local flight centre.
- Seneca’s program is unique from other colleges in Ontario because it is a four-year degree program, and it could set you up for an airline interview after graduation.
I strongly recommend talking to someone in the program, or someone who has graduated from it. This will give you more valuable insight before investing your time and money into this program.
Nicely written Peter. This will help others when deciding to join in an integrated program.