Hello I’m new to this site and my main motive on making an account here was to hopefully get a few college questions answered. I am currently on MMA’s waiting list, according to the letter they sent me t was because they were currently full when I applied. I fell in love with this school the moment I set my eyes on it last year in November. Before then I was looking into going into some kind of medical program at Umass Lowell. But that day that I visited this school has changed my life forever. Now, I have down thorough research for the career that I am planning on pursueing, Marine transportation, and I satisfied in what I think I know what I am expecting for. Anyways, my question is how good are My chances of getting into MMA? I have been on the waiting list for several months now and have not labeen able to personally contact anyone at MMA. This scares me to death! Are they ignoring me? I am very passionate for getting into this school and I am all ears for any comment or opinion on this college. Also, I would not mind having some pros and cons listed for this college, or recommendations. Thank you for reading this post!
Thomas-current student of stoneham high
There are a few other schools just like mass maritime on the east coast you should look into, not sure if you have enough time left to apply but it’s worth a shot to keep your options open. Those schools are:
Maine maritime academy, kings point, SUNY maritime academy, great lakes maritime, California maritime academy.
They all offer the same degree as mass maritime as far as I know for The MT major.
Thank you for commenting on my post. I do believe it may be too late for applying to other colleges. Also, do you have any knowledge of mass maritime? Or maybe any suggestions? Either way thank you for your suggestions.
I don’t know anything in Mass. I went to Cal Maritime MT major it was a good program and you can’t beat getting to sail around to tropical locations as part of your classes. If you are really wanting to sail but don’t want a degree there is PMI in Seattle which offers a smaller license but it’s a good gateway into the industry mainly for small boat stuff. If ships is your calling you will prob. want to stick to a 4 year academy. Each one is a little different you will just have to research out the benefits of them all. You could always take a year off and try to get a job as a deckhand somewhere and see if you like the water, that is if you can find a job.
Thank you but I positive that I want to attend a 4 year academy. I grew up near the water and always wanted to do something marine affiliated.'I actually was thinking about joining the uscg at one time, but I was quickly shut down by my parents. Anyways, I am as of right now looking forward to maybe work on a ship on the ocean.
Do you mean you want to attend THAT 4 year academy, as in Mass Maritime and no other school even if Mass rejects you, or do you mean exactly what you wrote?
If you mean what you wrote, you want to attend A maritime academy, then the poster a few up listed most of the four year maritime academies that are in essence the same as Mass Maritime. All are four year colleges, all offer bachelor of science degrees in marine transportation or engineering, all offer a 3rd mate or 3rd assistant ocean unlimited license, all make you dress up in uniforms and march around.
If you want to attend a school otherwise identical to Mass Maritime then check out the schools below:
- Maine Maritime Academy
- Massachusetts Maritime Academy
- California Maritime Academy
- Texas Maritime Academy
- Maritime College State of New York (SUNY)
- Great Lakes Maritime Academy
- United States Merchant Marine Academy (King’s Point)
As of right now Mass Maritime is my first choice. But i would like to hear what college you would prefer and also, I would extremely grateful if you can tell me ANYTHING that you know about MMA. Or, what graduates are known for that come from MMA.
SUNY and Texas both accept applications for spring semesters. The other maritime schools only accept freshmen in the fall.
If you are against joining the USCG, then you may not be happy with a Maritime either. ALL the maritime colleges have a quasi-military system of rank, class status, discipline and structure. Many of the graduates come out with a ‘chip’ on their shoulder, because of this indoctrination. The Seniors are in charge of the Juniors. And they can shit on all the underclassmen. The Juniors are in charge of the Sophomores. And THEY can shit all over the sophomores and freshmen. The Sophomores are pretty much shell shocked after surviving the freshman year(s.) And the Freshmen… Well. You get the picture. There is a phrase. Shit flows downhill! The Freshmen are at the bottom of the pile (so to speak!)
If you can ‘get your mind’ around this mind game stuff they play, then you will probably do well at an academy. Some embrace it WAY to seriously, and don’t realize that in most marine jobs now there is no need or allowance for the military shennanigans which are a BIG part of the Academy ‘way of life.’
In addition, there in a pretty intense rivalry between the schools themselves.
There are two main avenues of learning at academies. Deck Officer. Engineering Officer. Any idea which way you are leaning? The Deck Officer route is pretty narrow, and there is not much else to do, other than the navigation and operation of vessels. However the Engineering Officer has MANY more employment possibilities, and the engine license is recognized outside the marine community as being ‘hirable’ (most anywhere.) Not many people need (or want) a licensed Captain working at the grocery store though! 
[QUOTE=cappy208;48298]If you are against joining the USCG, then you may not be happy with a Maritime either. ALL the maritime colleges have a quasi-military system of rank, class status, discipline and structure. Many of the graduates come out with a ‘chip’ on their shoulder, because of this indoctrination. The Seniors are in charge of the Juniors. And they can shit on all the underclassmen. The Juniors are in charge of the Sophomores. And THEY can shit all over the sophomores and freshmen. The Sophomores are pretty much shell shocked after surviving the freshman year(s.) And the Freshmen… Well. You get the picture. There is a phrase. Shit flows downhill! The Freshmen are at the bottom of the pile (so to speak!)
If you can ‘get your mind’ around this mind game stuff they play, then you will probably do well at an academy. Some embrace it WAY to seriously, and don’t realize that in most marine jobs now there is no need or allowance for the military shennanigans which are a BIG part of the Academy ‘way of life.’
In addition, there in a pretty intense rivalry between the schools themselves.
There are two main avenues of learning at academies. Deck Officer. Engineering Officer. Any idea which way you are leaning? The Deck Officer route is pretty narrow, and there is not much else to do, other than the navigation and operation of vessels. However the Engineering Officer has MANY more employment possibilities, and the engine license is recognized outside the marine community as being ‘hirable’ (most anywhere.) Not many people need (or want) a licensed Captain working at the grocery store though! ;-)[/QUOTE]
So if I had an engineering license I could get a job at my local supermarket? Darn, I knew I chose the wrong path!
You obviously didn’t go to Cal Maritime. The quasi-military system pretty much ends at the uniform. I doubt anyone has dropped out of CMA in the last 30 years because of the regimentation. I don’t ever recall any sense of rivalry with other academies either, but maybe that’s an advantage to being all by ourselves on the left coast. As rshrew pointed out, the South Pacific port visits are another advantage. 
If I do recall, I believe I said that my parents denied menthe uscg. Anyways, I know of the regimental aspects of MMA so I am not concerned of that. I am actually looking at majoring in marine transportation, which I am guessing s the deck officer. I considered engineering for awhile but M.T. Seemed more of my calling. Also, the Physics part and the stuffy engine rooms aren’t exactly as admiring as being able to work on the bridge of an actual ship. Also, what do you mean that being a deck officer is narrow careerwise?
It’s not narrow by any means I have many friends from school who were deck that now work shoreside at terminals, ship charters, anything maritime on land they do so you should not have to worry about that.
This is a complicated topic to discuss with you, since I don’t actually KNOW you.
By the fact that someone can complete a higher degree (college) it shows that you can organize, persevere, and take a project to completion.
As I said before, the Captain can work at walmart being a greeter. So can the Engineer. But the engineer can go work at a Nuclear plant. The Captain CAN’T (except to be the security guard!)
As far as being narrow, job wise, You can probably do a google search for how many US flag ships and Tugs there are in the country. Multiply that number by 6. That’s how many Deck officer jobs (approximately there are) That is also approximately how many engineer jobs there are. Now figure out how many actual engineering jobs at factories, power plants, and anywhere else a licensed certificated engineer is needed. There’s alot more engineer jobs in the country than deck officers.
This is assuming you really mean you are contemplating working on LARGE commercial vessels, not the whale watch boats out of Plymouth or Boston!
I think what Cappy means (sorry to put words in your mouth Cappy) is that many deck officers would become engineering officers if they could do it all over again. To be in the deck department is to be stuck in a very narrow job field that traps one into a job at sea away from family. The skill sets one acquires has little use ashore. Management maybe.
New technology is making the deck officer far less important than they once were. For example, the navigator was once an important job that required a large set of knowledge and skills with years of practice to be competent at. Today a well trained monkey can read the little LCD display and push the buttons to make a ship go where it’s needed. Future tech will remove the need for a navigator all together. The handwriting is on the wall.
Okay, I exaggerate. But the exaggeration illustrates a point.
Compare what an engineer can do ashore: they can work for power, water or sewer utilities, manufacturing or many of the new green jobs to name a few. And I don’t mean work as a handyman. As tech improves educated engineers will be in greater demand. The sky is the limit.
I say he’s offering a young man good advice. I would offer the same advice. That’s not to say the deck is dead or you shouldn’t follow your dreams. Deck officers will still be needed for some time to come. If it interests you that much than you’re doing the right thing by going for it.
(Sorry to derail your thread.)
[QUOTE=cappy208;48319]As I said before, the Captain can work at walmart being a greeter. So can the Engineer. But the engineer can go work at a Nuclear plant. The Captain CAN’T (except to be the security guard!)[/QUOTE]
Give me a break. Do you really have such a low regard for deck officers?
I don’t work at a nuclear power plant, but I do work at an oil refinery in a technical role. I’m a gasoline production planner. The person I replaced was a chemical engineer. Once you are out of school for more than a few years what degree you have matters little and what experience you have matters a lot. Deck officers have a lot more technical experience than they realize sometimes. In my case, I was able to leverage tanker experience into a recognizable skill set in a refinery.
I used to fall into the trap of thinking that I would have had more opportunities if I had gone engineering, but that’s simply not the case. My advice is to do what you think will interest you the most, then make the most of the experiences that present themselves.
[QUOTE=captobie;48329] Do you really have such a low regard for deck officers? [/QUOTE]
Of course not. I are 1!
Congrats on your ability to segway into another aspect of your career. Seriously! Many others aren’t so lucky. Most of the guys I know are ‘stuck’ either driving the boats, or in the coal pit for their careers.
But what I DO know, when an applicant for a job presents a diploma and a USCG license for a job the applicant for an engineering job gets almost no query beyond ‘when can you start?’ However a deck officer must prove themselves beyond their curriculum vitae. I am sure you had to demonstrate your expertise to show competence to get hired.
This thread was to illuminate the topic, and share work experience in the industry. At the ‘ripe old age of 17’ the topic may be a little too complicated to get into the differences between personal abilities, and how some can easily slide from one career path to another. At this kids age they are having all they can do to decide where to go to school, never mind what they will attempt with a career change later after a few years in the industry.
Haha, I think you may have too high a regard for engineers. As one of my old professors once said about our engineering majors, “Engineers? They’re not engineers! Darn good marine mechanics, but not engineers.”
So, what I think you are trying to tell me is to stop looking at marine trans and start looking at marine engineering because it has more job opportunities?
Not at all do what makes you the happiest.
Tom: One of the great things about a Maritime education is that you don’t even have to declare which way you are going until the end of the freshman or into the sophomore year. So you can attend and have some time to figure it out, once you get your eyes opened. All the freshmen year classes are ‘generic’ and everyone has to take them the first year. After the freshmen year you start taking specialized classes depending on your major choice.
As Rshrew said, You should do what makes YOU happy, and what YOU are interested in doing.