Students and an instructor working inside an open engine cowling

Cost and financing

One Price, Books and Tools Included

$39,539 covers tuition, books, lab and app fees, tool rental, and your FAA written and DME exam fees, and you can finance all of it

Run your number→Talk to admissions→

A&P Program

Day or night, 10 months, any campus

$39,539Tuition, books, labs, tools and FAA exam fees

1,900 hours of FAA-approved training
Hands-on with real engines and airframes
Classes capped at 15
FAA written and DME exam fees
DME connection for your oral and practical exams
Laptop or iPad, bring your own

Talk to admissions→

Student Housing

For students moving in from out of the area

about $9,000For the full program, on top of tuition

Not included in tuition
Can be added to your loan: apply for $48,539 instead of $39,539
Available at all four campuses

Ask about housing→

Run Your Number

Nobody checks your credit and nothing gets sent. It just does the math on a fixed loan.

What you would borrow for Cash up front $0 A 529 plan or savings counts here. Interest rate 13.5% Starts at Sallie Mae's most common fixed rate. Your lender sets the real rate after you apply. Sallie Mae's career training loan runs 2.19% to 17.64% fixed APR. Repayment term Terms vary by lender. What you make now, a year $35,000 Pay as an A&P, a year $48,780 Starts at what the lowest-paid 10% of aircraft mechanics earn. The national median is $79,870.

Estimated payment once you finish — on a fixed loan, before any lender has seen an application

Fixed payment loanSallie Mae · Stratus

While you train—interest only, if you choose to pay it

After you finish—every month, flat

Total repaid—over the full term

What it pays backYour numbers

More pay each year—A&P pay minus what you make now

Loan as a share of paymonthly payment over monthly A&P pay, before taxes

Earned back in—total repaid, out of the extra pay

Ahead after 10 years—10 years of extra pay minus total repaid

Rates from Sallie Mae's published career training loan ranges, Oct 2026; your rate depends on credit. Pay figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, aircraft mechanics and service technicians, May 2025. Not a promise of any job or wage.

Ways to Pay

Sallie Mae

Career Student Loan

Can cover the whole program. No origination or prepayment fees, with in-school deferment and grace period options. Apply for the program amount, or the amount with housing.

Stratus Financial

Built for Aviation

Founded by FAA-certificated instructors, and they look past your FICO score. They finance the full program and let you defer while you train and find a job.

529 plans

Tax-Free Savings Work Here

Since August 2025, 529 college savings plans can pay for FAA-certified aircraft maintenance training: tuition, fees, books, supplies and equipment.

Co-signer

A Parent Can Co-Sign

Little or no credit history? Apply with a co-signer. It makes approval a lot more likely.

Cash

Pay Directly

You can pay cash. Admissions has the details.

Apply for a Loan

Admissions sends you the exact steps. On Sallie Mae, pick Texas, then Thrust Institute of Maintenance, Addison, TX, and choose Certificate.

Enter $39,539 as the amount, or $48,539 if you need housing. Approval depends on the lender and your credit.

Talk to admissions→

Two students working on an aircraft wheel and brake assembly

Talk to Admissions

An admissions advisor will call you back to answer questions, book a tour or set up a free day in class. No deposit, nothing to sign