state maritime academies?

[jstert]

does anyone here have knowledge? i have a younger cousin who may be interested. nice kid. physically active, smart but not an academic type. he was unsure about college, intent on joining the armed forces after high school, did well on asvab but medical exam turned up a hitherto unknown, disqualifying but not debilitating condition. really disappointed, but took a job as the handyman for a wealthy gentleman farmer.

now it’s a few years later and he needs to map out a life with a future. i suggested a state maritime academy but know little of them. he can never pass the u.s. naval reserve medical requirement so usmma kings point is out. here is my thinking why: a higher education that is more practical and focused, less fluffy and asymptomatic of current political fads (he is conservative), lots of well paying jobs at sea or ashore. he is a bit restless and wants to travel. he feels a need to advance himself and accomplish something tangible at some academic level greater than a default community college.

how would a 22yo freshman fare? is there hazing or even verbal/mental harassment in a state maritime academy’s regiment to be suffered or forced to inflict later as an upperclassman? is there a prescribed failure rate or do the academies want students to succeed in school and on licensing exams? he is more outdoorsy so i suppose he would pursue a deck versus engineering license, thoughts? maine and massachusetts maritime are closest and most likely, he isn’t a city boy at all so ny is out. great lakes, texas and calif are too far away from home.

thanks in advance for any insight.

 

[wings&wheels]

Two friends and someone who worked for me for years are MMA graduates and knowing them and knowing what I know now, I wish I had considered that path when I graduated high school.

MMA is rigorous but I am not aware of any mandatory wash out rate, but it is a demanding school. It is also physically demanding.

What I do like now more so than when I was at that age, is that there are more majors or concentrations not limited to marine, facilities management, international business, marketing, etc. All the folks I know did some ship time, but went on to various business careers and the opportunities for non-maritime related study are wider now.

Hazing? Probably, I/d be surprised if there wasn't but I don't think it is too extreme, never makes the local papers, and like in a fraternity it is a part of bonding as a team.

Plus, the campus is in a fantastic location.

 

[PimTac]

Dittos on the Merchant Marine.

 

[andyd]

SIL is about ten yrs out of MA Maritime. He took all the CoastGuard tests as soon as he qualified for them. He is an engineer on a Jones act tanker working mostly out of TX and FL.

 

[GON]

The Merchant Marine Academy is harder to get accepted to when compared to Air Force Academy, Naval Acadamy, and West Point.

You wrote that " bit restless and wants to travel", and then "he isn’t a city boy at all so ny is out. great lakes, texas and calif are too far away from home". Something seems a bit confusing. I wonder if being far away from home for a academy/ college might be a real benefit in the long run.

 

[Dave Hess]

If he is very serious about pursuing this career field...... he WILL find the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual motivation / energy within himself to do well at a maritime academy.

I did some research and find this tuition calculator.

Again, if he is serious and motivated he can definitely accomplish this goal. Anything in life worth succeeding at will require determination, stress, anxiety, gut check and self discipline. He will be in a sink or swim (no pun intended) situation at the maritime academy.

 

[JHZR2]

I work in engineering. I’ve heard anecdotally that engineers from the maritime academies don’t get as good or rigorous an engineering education.

At the same time I work with a few that are good engineers and get their jobs done well. There is a practical angle to the education that is valuable.

How a 22 yr old freshman would fare is dependent upon their maturity, focus, etc.

 

[andyd]

JHZR2. I gather from conversations over the yrs that you are some kind of chemical /electrical engineer, lotsa math. Keeping a ship going is more like a railroad engineer. Instead of a slide rule, they use a sextant. I don't know any details, but recently he R+R'ed a bad piston/ rod on the main engine. It was a 20 hr job. Hopefully tied up. After working 11yrs in a shipyard, I realized that Mass Maritime would have been a better choice than a BA in politics from U MASS.

 

[wpod]

If he is very serious about pursuing this career field...... he WILL find the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual motivation / energy within himself to do well at a maritime academy.

I did some research and find this tuition calculator.

Again, if he is serious and motivated he can definitely accomplish this goal. Anything in life worth succeeding at will require determination, stress, anxiety, gut check and self discipline. He will be in a sink or swim (no pun intended) situation at the maritime academy.



View attachment 81668

Mot much more that an entry level car .It is a great value.

 

[ctrcbob]

Maine Maritime Academy,
Castine Maine.

BTW, Castine was the site of many Revolutionary War Battles. Never heard of those battles? It’s because the British won them all.

 

[y_p_w]

I've gotten lost at Cal Maritime. Apparently they have a closed campus where unauthorized vehicles aren't allowed. I had to turn around at the gate.

https://www.csum.edu

 

[Dave Hess]

Mot much more that an entry level car .It is a great value.

Its a great value and will open lots of doors of opportunities for a person with discipline and focus.

The tuition calculator was old and I couldn’t find a newer one for my first post…. but it’s a ballpark figure.

 

[ctrcbob]

Maine Maritime Academy,
Castine Maine.

BTW, Castine was the site of many Revolutionary War Battles. Never heard of those battles? It’s because the British won them all.

Back when I used to visit, their training ship, the State of Maine was the former USNS Patch. That ship later got retired. Don’t remember anything about the new training ship.

 

[simple_gifts]

Is it true the Kansas Maritime Academy consists of bass boats moored in 4' of silty water. j/k

 

[chrlsful]

relatives thru Mass Maritime (almost like national guard or coast guard). Just as military as EMT or others (fire man, cop, etc). Deffinatly a college experience (academic) but add the West Point or other military flavor. Hazing is illegal but U no how young turks can B (w/each other). One now captains (200K$ yr) is away frm fam 3 to 6 mo. Like a guy who flew air-force'n now commercial jets. One story "Picked up ship in Arabia, sailed to Black Sea full of coconut oil. Went from desert to 20* below 0F. Lots of trouble getting that stuff out of the ship, dangerous on deck, one death."

 

[y_p_w]

So apparently the California State University Maritime Academy (aka Cal Maritime) is now official dead. They were hemorrhaging money and officially merged with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The campus will remain, but the President of the combined university will be based in San Luis Obispo but with a superintendent at the maritime campus.

​

https://www.calpoly.edu/maritime​

The California State University Board of Trustees took an exciting step on Nov. 21, voting to approve the CSU Chancellor’s recommendation to integrate Cal Poly and California State University Maritime Academy. This integration not only builds on Cal Poly’s strong track record in admissions and enrollment but also unites two institutions that share a hands-on, immersive educational approach while also creating administrative efficiencies.​

​

Integration brings tremendous opportunities and benefits for students, faculty and staff. With the trustees' approval, the integration process is moving forward, with the goal of welcoming the first Cal Poly Maritime Academy and Cal Poly, Solano Campus students into the Cal Poly family by fall 2026.​

​

https://calmatters.org/education/2024/11/cal-maritime-cal-poly-merger/​

Fueling Cal Maritime’s fiscal misfortune is a collapse in enrollment and the tuition dollars that flow from it: Since 2016-17, Cal Maritime shed 31% of its students, dropping from 1,107 to 761 last fall. Cal Poly’s enrollment in the same period has held steady at around 22,000 students.​

​

The chancellor’s office estimates that to keep Cal Maritime operating at its present reduced size, it’ll need about $30 million annually — on top of its current $52.3 million annual budget. Expanding the campus’ enrollment as a standalone campus would add to the costs, as would the needed financial aid, said Steve Relyea, the system’s chief financial officer, at the September hearing.​

​

In an interview today, Relyea explained that likely 80% of that $30 million would have gone toward salary and benefits for a Cal Maritime campus that cannot afford it. But that new money won’t be necessary with the merger. Because Cal Poly is large enough, its personnel can absorb much of the workload needed to sustain Cal Maritime after the merger. Relyea is also confident that Cal Poly’s infusion of cash and personnel can grow Cal Maritime’s enrollment. That will boost revenues for the combined university over time to afford any additional staff the merger requires, plus increased financial aid and student academic support.​

I wonder if their sports are going to remain, since they have an interesting sports nickname. Being keelhauled sounds painful.

I've heard one of the problems is that there actually aren't enough maritime jobs for graduates of these state maritime academies. But then again they're schools that grant bachelors degrees without service obligations (unless it's a condition for a scholarship) where I suppose there are some jobs where they just want someone with a degree.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy probably produces the cream of the crop, and they have an obligation (since it's free) for its graduates to serve a minimum time in merchant fleet service or alternately in the armed services. I'd think they'd also have their choice of available jobs.

 

[GON]

So apparently the California State University Maritime Academy (aka Cal Maritime) is now official dead. They were hemorrhaging money and officially merged with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. The campus will remain, but the President of the combined university will be based in San Luis Obispo but with a superintendent at the maritime campus.

​

https://www.calpoly.edu/maritime​

The California State University Board of Trustees took an exciting step on Nov. 21, voting to approve the CSU Chancellor’s recommendation to integrate Cal Poly and California State University Maritime Academy. This integration not only builds on Cal Poly’s strong track record in admissions and enrollment but also unites two institutions that share a hands-on, immersive educational approach while also creating administrative efficiencies.​

​

Integration brings tremendous opportunities and benefits for students, faculty and staff. With the trustees' approval, the integration process is moving forward, with the goal of welcoming the first Cal Poly Maritime Academy and Cal Poly, Solano Campus students into the Cal Poly family by fall 2026.​

​

https://calmatters.org/education/2024/11/cal-maritime-cal-poly-merger/​

Fueling Cal Maritime’s fiscal misfortune is a collapse in enrollment and the tuition dollars that flow from it: Since 2016-17, Cal Maritime shed 31% of its students, dropping from 1,107 to 761 last fall. Cal Poly’s enrollment in the same period has held steady at around 22,000 students.​

​

The chancellor’s office estimates that to keep Cal Maritime operating at its present reduced size, it’ll need about $30 million annually — on top of its current $52.3 million annual budget. Expanding the campus’ enrollment as a standalone campus would add to the costs, as would the needed financial aid, said Steve Relyea, the system’s chief financial officer, at the September hearing.​

​

In an interview today, Relyea explained that likely 80% of that $30 million would have gone toward salary and benefits for a Cal Maritime campus that cannot afford it. But that new money won’t be necessary with the merger. Because Cal Poly is large enough, its personnel can absorb much of the workload needed to sustain Cal Maritime after the merger. Relyea is also confident that Cal Poly’s infusion of cash and personnel can grow Cal Maritime’s enrollment. That will boost revenues for the combined university over time to afford any additional staff the merger requires, plus increased financial aid and student academic support.​

I wonder if their sports are going to remain, since they have an interesting sports nickname. Being keelhauled sounds painful.

I've heard one of the problems is that there actually aren't enough maritime jobs for graduates of these state maritime academies. But then again they're schools that grant bachelors degrees without service obligations (unless it's a condition for a scholarship) where I suppose there are some jobs where they just want someone with a degree.

The United States Merchant Marine Academy probably produces the cream of the crop, and they have an obligation (since it's free) for its graduates to serve a minimum time in merchant fleet service or alternately in the armed services. I'd think they'd also have their choice of available jobs.

Interesting, thanks for posting. Concur, U S. Merchant Marine Academy is the gold standard. Most, but not all of the Merchant Marine Academy graduates are set for life.

I only met one Merchant Marine Academy graduate that wasn't able to lock in a minimum mid six figures salary later in life. I know of no better academy to complete for financial success and employability than the Merchant Marine Academy.

 

[y_p_w]

Interesting, thanks for posting. Concur, U S. Merchant Marine Academy is the gold standard. Most, but not all of the Merchant Marine Academy graduates are set for life.

I only met one Merchant Marine Academy graduate that wasn't able to lock in a minimum mid six figures salary later in life. I know of no better academy to complete for financial success and employability than the Merchant Marine Academy.

I've heard of Mark Kelly graduating from there. The former astronaut. I think his brother (and also former astronaut) graduated from a state maritime academy. Looked it up and that was SUNY Maritime.