GLMA Class of 2015

You’ll be living on it. You will have class during the day and mini classes some nights. You will also rotate through gangway watch every couple days and galley duty. The weekend in between the two weeks will be filled with the same duties and maintenance projects. Do not plan on trying to work during those two weeks unless you have a super flexible job. You’ll also need to factor in a few hours a night studying for the tests at the end of the two weeks. Good luck and enjoy your time there! It was 6 years ago I quit my factory job of 5 1/2 years and started at GLMA. Best decision of my life.

[QUOTE=GreatLakesMariner;185846]Hows it going everybody? Got the updates for our first day, seems very ceremonial. I have to say Im a little excited to be back into school. Eleven hour shifts make 4 years of 8-3 seem pretty nice haha. Im still curious how next summer is going to turn out on board the T/S State of Michigan. Appears like the first sea project happens in rotations. Not 100 days at a time but shorter rotations. It says in the packet it holds only 40 cadets at a time. Not sure how it all works but like anything, Im guessing we will have to figure it out as we go. Anybody else here applying for jobs while in school?[/QUOTE]

We ended up with a good amount of free time during pre-fall last summer, but it was unpredictable. We fit 60 cadets on the ship during that. Not sure how many we just had on the first summer cruise between the GLMA and Texas Maritime cadets. It wasn’t in rotations though. There are two seven week cruises this summer. I imagine next summer will be similar. We just got off the boat yesterday for the end of the first cruise.

As far as winter relief, I wouldn’t bet on it at all unless you have prior deckhand experience. Before you’re really even trained for the job, you have to go back to school, and the shipping companies just aren’t interested in that.

Feel free to PM me with any questions. I know when I was coming in, I wished I had a cadet to bounce questions off of.

Just arrived in town. If anyone else is already here and wants to meet up just shoot me a PM.

Hey everybody how’s it going? I’m starting at GLMA here in 2 weeks and still looking for housing, anybody know of anything around town?

Just got to town here in TC and know absolutely nobody - If anyone wants to get together before the semester begins, send me a PM.

Muel - housing options aren’t ample, but there’s a few I’ve seen around town. I managed to find a place decently close to the school through Schmidt-Rogers. I do believe they have some units in the area still for rent as well.
Beyond that, Craigslist and PadMapper were very helpful.

Thanks— I locked in a place renting a bedroom in a house in Heritage estates about 7 minutes from school. I’ll be up there either THursday or Saturday, I’d be up to get together with anybody else and bum around town a bit before we’re trapped on the ship for 2 weeks.

Hi Muel and FLCA,

Welcome to TC.

Muel - Your best bet is to check craigslist for something quick. You may want to post on GLMA’s facebook page too and see if anyone needs any roomates. Good luck, I know it can be a hassle.

FLCA - Check your inbox, I’ll send you a message shortly.

Not sure if my PMs are going through or not. If you haven’t gotten a reply from me, that’s why.

Hey all!

I’m applying to enter GLMA in Fall 2017 as an accelerated student (already have a Bachelor’s) to graduate in 2020. Not much maritime experience but have been on a couple of cruises and don’t get motion sickness of any kind or mind being away from home for long periods. I really think my personality, capabilities, and life goals are extraordinarily well-suited for this career.

For those of you who have gotten in, do you have maritime experience? Do they accept those with little to no experience?

Any advice on what to do to maximize the chances of acceptance?

Thanks in advance and hope to see you in a year!

[QUOTE=MrFrost;189480]Hey all!

I’m applying to enter GLMA in Fall 2017 as an accelerated student (already have a Bachelor’s) to graduate in 2020. Not much maritime experience but have been on a couple of cruises and don’t get motion sickness of any kind or mind being away from home for long periods. I really think my personality, capabilities, and life goals are extraordinarily well-suited for this career.

For those of you who have gotten in, do you have maritime experience? Do they accept those with little to no experience?

Any advice on what to do to maximize the chances of acceptance?

Thanks in advance and hope to see you in a year![/QUOTE]

You don’t need maritime experience. You’ll have a good chunk of it before graduating between the summer cruise and the two “internships” you’ll do with commercial companies. I believe it’s 300 days as a Deck and 240 days as an Engineer on the sea/ocean/great lakes are the requirements to graduate.

As far as maximizing your chance for acceptance, just do your homework on the academy and the profession and you should be fine. Just be aware that a visit to the academy is mandatory and there is a strict no tolerance policy for having a criminal record that would appear on an FBI background check. The most common issue is a DUI, because Canada considers that a felony offense and you will not be accepted if you can’t enter Canadian ports. If you do have a DUI, you’ll want to check other academies.

Good luck on your endeavors.

[QUOTE=MrFrost;189480]Hey all!

I’m applying to enter GLMA in Fall 2017 as an accelerated student (already have a Bachelor’s) to graduate in 2020. Not much maritime experience but have been on a couple of cruises and don’t get motion sickness of any kind or mind being away from home for long periods. I really think my personality, capabilities, and life goals are extraordinarily well-suited for this career.

For those of you who have gotten in, do you have maritime experience? Do they accept those with little to no experience?

Any advice on what to do to maximize the chances of acceptance?

Thanks in advance and hope to see you in a year![/QUOTE]

You don’t need any experience. I’m straight out of high school and have never been on a ship before. However apply early and when you do your tour of the academy, dress professionally because it is both an interview for them and you. I went as far as bringing a resume.

The academy is a great school. Our class starts their first fall classes today after a two week stint of living aboard the T/S State of Michigan. The classes get really close and everybody has each other’s back. If you need any other insight or information fell free to message me and I hope to see you at the academy next year.

Hi everyone,

I have been accepted to the academy to start in the Fall 2017 semester as a traditional student as a Deck Officer. As it seems for most high schoolers now, it is hard to come across financial aid. To help with that, I was looking at signing up for the SSOP and was wondering if anyone here who is currently in it could tell me what all that entails for my time at the academy, such as what the two courses are like that are required for it and what else I would have to do extra like the PT and how often.

Thanks in advance and hope to hear back soon!