Important Information for Future Students Interested in a Career as a Pilot

Prospective Professional Pilot Majors

Thank you for your interest in 5X��’s B.S. Professional Pilot program. We are excited to welcome a new cohort of 100 students to the Fall 2025 Bachelor of Science in Professional Pilot program.

The selective admission assessment dates for the Fall 2025 cohort are posted below. We are accepting applications for the Fall 2025 PROP cohort. We also encourage you to review the Aeronautical Studies, Pilot Career Focus degree program as an alternative.

The foundation of the Professional Pilot program is the 1:1 instruction with a Certified Flight Instructor in an aircraft. This individualized instruction is imperative to the student’s academic, personal, and professional success.  Given our growth and the demand it places on our resources, the Fall 2025 cohort of students should expect to begin flying in the program's second year. As part of the Kent State welcome package, admitted students will be given the necessary information to make the best decision regarding their acceptance of admission into 5X��’s B.S. Professional Pilot. Once admitted, Fall 2025 PROP students will work in partnership with their academic advisor to determine a plan for success to ensure their most timely graduation.  

Selective Admission

The B.S. in Professional Pilot program (PROP) at 5X�� requires students complete a pre-admission evaluation to be considered for admission.

Students applying for the PROP program and receiving admission to 5X�� will be placed into the B.S. in Aeronautical Studies (AEST) program allowing students to begin any scholarship or financial aid applications while waiting for the final decision regarding the PROP program. IMPORTANT: Be sure to choose the Professional Pilot program when submitting your application to Kent State.

Once admitted to AEST, students will receive an email directing them to take an external assessment called Casper, offered by Acuity Insights. Casper is a timed, proctored, situational-judgement test that supports the holistic review of applicants beyond their GPA, ACT/SAT, letters of recommendation or college essays, and other traditional admissions criteria. Backed by over 15 years of extensive research, Casper consistently predicts future performance by evaluating an applicant’s social intelligence and professionalism and will be used to determine admission into the PROP program. The exam cost is $50 and the Casper assessment may be taken once. The assessment fee includes preparation for the assessment.

Casper Assessment Dates for Selective Admission to PROP for Fall 2025

Thursday, November 14, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. ET
Saturday, January 18, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. ET
Thursday, February 20, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. ET

Scheduling and Evaluating the Casper Assessment

The Casper assessment is scheduled directly with Acuity Insights. Two weeks after the assessment is complete, the scores will be sent to the College of Aeronautics and Engineering. While you won’t receive your Casper test score, you will receive a quartile, indicating how you performed relative to your peers. You can expect to receive your quartile approximately one month (4 to 5 weeks) after the completion of your test.

Quartiles are values that divide a set of scores into four equal parts, meaning that a quarter of scores are placed in each quartile. Specifically:

25% of applicants score in the first quartile (0-24 percentile)
25% of applicants score in the second quartile (25-49 percentile)
25% of applicants score in the third quartile (50-74 percentile)
25% of applicants score in the fourth quartile (75-100 percentile)

Quartiles tell you how you scored relative to your peers. For example, applicants who scored in the fourth quartile scored higher than applicants in the first, second and third quartiles, meaning they scored higher than at least 75% of all applicants. Applicants who scored in the second quartile scored higher than applicants in the first quartile, but lower than applicants in the third and fourth quartile. Specifically, this means that they scored higher than at least 25% of all applicants, but lower than at least 50% of all applicants.

Remember that quartiles represent what percentage of other applicants you scored higher than, not what percentage of questions you got right or wrong – as there are no right or wrong answers on Casper.

If the student's score meets the cut-off score for the assessment, they will be offered a slot in the PROP program. To secure that spot, an admissions deposit is required, and these will be accepted on a first come, first served basis.

Students that are not offered direct admission to PROP or are unable to declare the PROP degree before the cohort limit is reached are invited to explore the B.S. Aeronautical Studies program with Pilot Career Focus.

While we hope that additional Professional Pilot spots may open in the future, there is no guarantee that any student who chooses to pursue a degree in Aeronautical Studies or Pilot Career Focus will be able to transfer into the Professional Pilot major at a later date.

Learn more about the B.S., Aeronautical Studies, Pilot Career Focus program

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Casper being used as a selection tool for the Professional Pilot program?

Casper is a timed, proctored, situational-judgement test that supports the holistic review of applicants beyond their GPA, ACT/SAT, letters of recommendation or college essays, and other traditional admissions criteria.

Research indicates that high school GPA does not accurately predict success in a collegiate-flight training program. Similarly, there is currently no correlation between performance on the ACT or SAT to increased success in professional pilot.

Backed by over 15 years of extensive research, Casper consistently predicts future performance by evaluating an applicant’s social intelligence and professionalism and will be how AEST students are admitted into the PROP program.

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