I am curious if anyone has any real time input or reviews on this course at MPT? Back in 2018 I taught myself everything for 3M unlimited but this time I am struggling with studying as life has changed a lot. If you have any insight on this course and whether or not it truly made you feel prepared, let me know. Feel free to DM or reply here.
I’ve done a few courses there, including CelNav, which was difficult, but I always feel like I learned everything I needed to know and felt prepared to take exams.
While I haven’t done the CM/Master prep course or even the Mate prep course and choosing to self study, with that much material in only 3 weeks… I would wager it’s going to be very intense, the weekends will be packed with homework, It would have me stressed out and struggling to keep up…but I bet you would leave much better prepared to test than if you were to self study.
I always highly recommend MPT over other schools because they’ve never let me down, GL!
1 Like
Save the $ and time away from home
Lapware
Upgrade U
Practical Navigator Online Videos for T NAV C NAV Chart Plot and Stability
This in combination with the Sample Exams (which the actual exams were very similar in structure and composition and question type) was all I used and just passed the CM exams two days ago.
2 Likes
Thanks man, yeah I think I will go that route. I’ve been studying each problem from the stability module practice exam and using practical navigators videos for that and it’s working well, I plan to do the same for the cel nav and T Nav modules.
1 Like
I’ve used Practical Navigator as well for Adv Stability, and while it was a great purchase and has a lot of useful info, as I get older I also find it more difficult to focus on things I feel are mundane or boring…like stability or cel-nav.
Maybe it’s the way the CG poses the questions, but, for some reason it irritates me now.
There is no way I would have taught myself how to do a 3 body running fix or the sailings on my own…you just can’t beat having a good instructor and teacher and the near assurance that you’re going to be ready at the end of the class.
The money can always be earned back, the time is harder to give up… but it will pay off when you get it done.
If you are sitting for Chief Mate, you should already know Celestial. It should just be a refresher and exam practice.
Stability is a serious undertaking of new material.
I agree that it’s much harder to self-study at 60 than it is at 30.
The thing that have found most effective is to self study and memorize the rules, the formulas, and have a good understanding of the topics, then go to school. That way I only have to study a couple hours a night to keep up in class. The class covers familiar material and sharpens my ability to do well on the exam.
3 Likes
Not necessarily, they may have went the NC route and there’s really a limited amount of Celestial material in Terrestrial Navigation.
I believe now Azimuths and Amplitudes are an assessment and are no longer on the 15q exam.
Even so, I do believe the Operational and Managerial level Cel-Nav exams differ a fair bit.
Assessments are for STCW, the exam is for the license. They are separate from each other, nothing was removed from license exams because it’s an assessment for STCW. Azimuths and amplitudes are still on the exam, see 46 CFR 11.910 and also the subject summary on the NMC web page.
I guess it never occurred to me that there would be any significant number of Chief Mates unlimited tonnage NC. That must be rare. What work is available to guy with an unlimited tonnage NC licensed?
For the most part it is a refresher, but it’s been 7 years since I took my 2M/3M oceans exams which back then I taught myself all of it. I seriously doubt someone testing for CM can go into that exam room and pass management level cel nav without a fair bit of studying or “refreshing” I personally have rarely used cel nav in the last 7 years.
1 Like
The large OSV’s in the gulf would be covered by unlimited tonnage near coastal.
1 Like
Thanks for the info. For some reason I though that it was part of the CelNav exam at one point but then was removed, I definitely had them on Terrestrial but they weren’t on the 15q
Cheers.
I went to MITAGS/LAP class, it will set you back on cost. I’m not union member but I went that route. It is worth it. I stayed on campus having the meals and bed walking distance is very convenient. It is very intense course. Alan is an awesome instructor as well as Bob for stability. It also includes classes on weekends. After all that month you’ll test at REC Baltimore. Before joining the LAP class make sure you have your ATT letter. Greatest feeling in the world is walking out that REC building knowing that you have endured all that week and that C/M UNL - O sticker is been processed.