Got accepted to Maine Maritime. Tough decision to make

Hey fellas. I’ve got a tough decision to make and I was hoping someone who was in a similar position could weigh in. Basically I can either go to Maine Maritime for engineering this fall. Or I can choose not to go in order to complete my associate’s in electrical engineering at a community college and then reapply for the next available semester at the academy.

If I decide to attend Maine Maritime in the fall I should have Calc 1-3, Differential Equations, Physics 1 and 2, and Chem 1 completed. However if I had one more semester at the community college I would also have thermodynamics, electrical circuits, and advanced C++ under my belt as well as an associates degree.

Money is not an issue thanks to the GI bill. Can you guys think of any reason I should stay and finish at the community college instead of heading straight for the academy? Thanks for any advice you can give me.

Good questions.

First - Are you absolutely certain your CC credit will be transferable to MMA? If no - then transfer ASAP.

Second - A CC associates degree does not carry much weight in the real world. Don’t make your decision based on earning an AS degree

I think the question you need to ask yourself is where would you rather complete these final ball busting classes. Answer that one honestly and you will have your answer.

[QUOTE=PawpTawp;127478]Hey fellas. I’ve got a tough decision to make and I was hoping someone who was in a similar position could weigh in. Basically I can either go to Maine Maritime for engineering this fall. Or I can choose not to go in order to complete my associate’s in electrical engineering at a community college and then reapply for the next available semester at the academy.

If I decide to attend Maine Maritime in the fall I should have Calc 1-3, Differential Equations, Physics 1 and 2, and Chem 1 completed. However if I had one more semester at the community college I would also have thermodynamics, electrical circuits, and advanced C++ under my belt as well as an associates degree.

Money is not an issue thanks to the GI bill. Can you guys think of any reason I should stay and finish at the community college instead of heading straight for the academy? Thanks for any advice you can give me.[/QUOTE]

Classes don’t always transfer at MMA as easily as incoming students are led to believe. If you’re end goal no matter what is to go to Maine and your only reason to spend one more year at community college is to get some more transferable courses under your belt then my honest-to-goodness advice to you would be just go to Maine right away. Taking more courses at your community college may very well not do you any good.

I’m not saying they don’t accept transfer credits, they certainly do. That path, however, can often be long and extremely difficult, and students frequently come away from it with less classes transferred in than they had hoped. Math and physics are right at the top of that list. I don’t mean to scare you away from MMA, I happen to believe it’s the best maritime academy in the world, I’m just telling you this because the school won’t. They want to get you locked in as soon as possible.

Best of luck to you, you’ve made a very good life choice by choosing Maine Maritime.

Classmates of mine did a year or two at cc’s up in the county and transferred in a good number of credits. Unlikely major specific though but 100-level general-Ed stuff to make sure the bozos from crappy highschools will have a chance at surviving. You can probably knock a semester off if you do it right.

Go to Maine ASAP. Bottom line.

Who knew those credits earned at Beal College would be worth something someday!!!

Congrats, and please do it. You can always complete the A.S. another time, if the credits don’t transfer in. What a great opportunity you have.

If you are going for an unlimited license you are required to start in the fall. If you don’t do it this fall you have to wait a whole year…

Not sure about the structure at Maine, but I know CMA has it set up that it will take 4 years to complete. Certain classes only offered certain semesters. Some people have been able to restructure their semesters but I can be difficult. I had almost 2 years CC class’s and it didn’t save me any time. However it did lighten the load a little bit. Instead of 20 credit semesters I had a couple 16 credit semesters. I don’t see any benefit of putting off a BS degree in favor of an AS degree.

[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;127522]If you are going for an unlimited license you are required to start in the fall. If you don’t do it this fall you have to wait a whole year…[/QUOTE]Good point, there is a CFR that requires 3 years in a regiment in order to sit for the USCG license exams. You’ll end up having to stay an extra year even if you stay at the CC.

Once you have a BS, that fact that you previously got an AS from a community college will be virtually meaningless. Actually, a prior AS from a community college may be perceived as a negative. To some people it might imply that you were not good enough to get into a four year college in the first place, or that part of your education was substandard. I know that is unfair, but that’s how some people reviewing resumes would see it.

MMA alumnae contacts will be important in your career. Your AS might suggest to some alumnae that you got half your education somewhere else and are not really one of them. Why raise that flag?

The good news is that with your math and science preparation from the community college, you will have a huge advantage, and you should do very well, in your classes at MMA. If some of those credits do not transfer that may be a very good thing. You should do very well in any classes that you have to repeat. Good grades, high class rank, and a perception among your peers that you were one of smartest guys in their themodynamics class, could help you a lot when you are hunting for a job.

Good luck at MMA. Get there as fast as you can.

[QUOTE=tugsailor;127539]Once you have a BS, that fact that you previously got an AS from a community college will be virtually meaningless. Actually, a prior AS from a community college may be perceived as a negative. To some people it might imply that you were not good enough to get into a four year college in the first place, or that part of your education was substandard. I know that is unfair, but that’s how some people reviewing resumes would see it.

MMA alumnae contacts will be important in your career. Your AS might suggest to some alumnae that you got half your education somewhere else and are not really one of them. Why raise that flag?

The good news is that with your math and science preparation from the community college, you will have a huge advantage, and you should do very well, in your classes at MMA. If some of those credits do not transfer that may be a very good thing. You should do very well in any classes that you have to repeat. Good grades, high class rank, and a perception among your peers that you were one of smartest guys in their themodynamics class, could help you a lot when you are hunting for a job.

Good luck at MMA. Get there as fast as you can.[/QUOTE]

Completely agree with all of the above. Good thoughts.

[QUOTE=davit_launched;127538]Good point, there is a CFR that requires 3 years in a regiment in order to sit for the USCG license exams. You’ll end up having to stay an extra year even if you stay at the CC.[/QUOTE]

Not really. The regiment is a MARAD requirement. The Coast Guard doesn’t require participating in the regiment (e.g. the non-regimental, graduate degree/3rd Mate program at SUNY Maritime). You would have to complete all of the sea time and all of the maritime related courses in the academy curricula, but the Coast Guard does not require that be donne as part of a regimental program.

Also, the requirement to start in the Fall is likely a MMA requirement, there was a recent thread from a guy starting as a cadet at SUNY Maritime this month (January).

[QUOTE=“tugsailor;127539”]Once you have a BS, that fact that you previously got an AS from a community college will be virtually meaningless. [/QUOTE]

But we all know ASS with no BS is the best of all!!

Go now.

As JDCavo wrote, you will need to complete the full set of mandatory maritime subject courses, so you might as well get started.

There are other valid reasons to start at Camp Castine ASAP, so go ahead and enjoy it.

Once done, it will help set the course for the rest of your life - a very good course if you approach it with a strong dose of hard work and a little luck.

Good Luck ! See you Soon.

[QUOTE=+A465B;127630]Go now.

As JDCavo wrote, you will need to complete the full set of mandatory maritime subject courses, so you might as well get started.

There are other valid reasons to start at Camp Castine ASAP, so go ahead and enjoy it.

Once done, it will help set the course for the rest of your life - a very good course if you approach it with a strong dose of hard work and a little luck.

Good Luck ! See you Soon.[/QUOTE]

Ha! Camp Castine, I like that. I always preferred the “Castine University of Nautical Technology” myself though. Guess what our mascot is? We’re the C… Well poop, I guess I can’t say that word on here… :frowning:

Castine School for Wayward Boys

Where men are men, and so are the women. Slim Pickens, and the Pickens ain’t slim!

So where’s the OP on this one? Have we helped in your decision making process? Have you made any decisions?

[QUOTE=z-drive;127669]Where men are men, and so are the women. Slim Pickens, and the Pickens ain’t slim![/QUOTE]

Where the women are scarce and the sheep are nervous.

Or as a woman I once knew you use to say about Castine: the odds are good, but the goods are odd.

Actually, I was over there a while ago and I was quite surprised at how many cute young women there were. Of course at my age, every woman under 30 is cute. Oh, how times change.

[QUOTE=tugsailor;127686]Where the women are scarce and the sheep are nervous.

Or as a woman I once knew you use to say about Castine: the odds are good, but the goods are odd.

Actually, I was over there a while ago and I was quite surprised at how many cute young women there were. Of course at my age, every woman under 30 is cute. Oh, how times change.[/QUOTE]

Marine biology and business can do wonders for an aggrieved student population.