I’m currently a high school senior who’s been accepted to both KP and A&M Maritime. At this point I’m trying to decide between the two. A&M is a lot closer to home (and a lot warmer,) but it’s definitely going to be more expensive. On the other hand, KP is free, but it’s a lot farther away and also has significantly more regimental BS. I talked to both Maine Maritime and Mass Maritime alumni who both said that between the two KP was the better choice due to the network and prestige.
Can any A&M alumni fill me in on the pros of Texas Maritime and whether or not they’ve had more trouble finding work in the gulf after graduation due to a lesser network?
Also, I know most threads involving KP devolve into trash talking KP; I’m not asking for senseless insults and trash talk, just the pro’s and cons of each.
I’d recommend going to KP. They’re right about networking and prestige. That said, eventually a license in just a license, but KP has the better overall experience. It’ll be 4 years of the worst BS you could imagine, but you’ll make lifetime friends and contacts, and have the premier maritime academy experience. Sea years are much better than training ship cruises. But it’s all what you make it. There are plenty of scumbags from KP and plenty of stars at the state schools.
I’m one of the few A&M guys who doesn’t work in the gulf. That said, getting a job there isn’t a given (I didn’t try, so I can’t say if I could have got one). Same with KP, you’ve got to make contacts if you want a specific job. That’s the best way, the other other one being dumb luck.
I would suggest you visit both schools if you haven’t already and talk to both those there as well as alumni from the respective schools. You will soon get a feel which is the better fit for you.
If the decision were based on location alone I would add these pearls of wisdom; the further you are away from home the faster you tend to grow up.
son, take it from a dirty old man but you’ll have much more “fun” at A&M…by which I mean ladies, babes, dames, snatch, poontang plus a they are nextdoor to a beach with bars wherein one fill find the aforementioned females of the species with lovely firm breasts… afterall, it is still supposed to be the college experience you will only have once.
think “what would Morgan do?”
I do not think the answer is go to a tinpot minime littleman’s version of Annapolis…
As much as one’s social life has a part to play in life it is more important to keep you eye on the ball. Nothing worse than hearing someone say I shoulda, woulda, coulda but for a piece of ass.
[QUOTE=Chief Seadog;156237]As much as one’s social life has a part to play in life it is more important to keep you eye on the ball. Nothing worse than hearing someone say I shoulda, woulda, coulda but for a piece of ass.[/QUOTE]
To that I say BAH! Do you want to enjoy life or wear a ring to say you suffered and are guilded as a result. If all you want to do is go to sea, go to a state school. If you want to smooze and knock rings with your chums, go KP but don’t expect the remainder of the world to worship you like your own alums.
Think Padre Island party weekends with bikini’d babes and beer…
With everything else being equal, ask yourself about the degree. A 3/M license is the same whether from A&M or KP or even hawsepipe. If you decide you want to work in a cushy office environment later in life, you may wish you had the degree from a little more prestigious school than KP.
I’m not comparing A&M to Yale or anything like that, but it is widely understood, at least around the state of Texas, that TAMU doesn’t turn out dummies.
[QUOTE=txwooley;156272]With everything else being equal, ask yourself about the degree. A 3/M license is the same whether from A&M or KP or even hawsepipe. If you decide you want to work in a cushy office environment later in life, you may wish you had the degree from a little more prestigious school than KP.
I’m not comparing A&M to Yale or anything like that, but it is widely understood, at least around the state of Texas, that TAMU doesn’t turn out dummies.[/QUOTE]
I would do KP due to the fact that it’s free.
I did my time in the military and all that retared regimental BS is just BS. Learn to “play the game” and let stuff roll off your back. Do what you can to not have anyone say anything to you (ie just iron your unifom, shine your shoes, shave, get hair cuts). If you do those things the rest is easy. Lots of people get hung up on doing those things and wind up being pissed off and miserable when they get in trouble for something like not shaving…“uhhh fuck the Navy, should have never joined!!” or “Fuck this place…I should have gone to UC Davis,” are two phrases I have heard while in the Navy and now at CMA.
I also think that the sea year/term at KP sounds like a pretty good learning experience.
[QUOTE=MandolinGuy;156306]I would do KP due to the fact that it’s free. [/QUOTE]
that should not be the only factor in making a decision although I admit it is a big one. It is still four years of a person’s life and they should enjoy the experience. Some may enjoy their time a KP but many hate it and only force themselves to get through it.
A person just needs to know what they are signing up for going there and be happy with the tradeoffs. I don’t know about the 2015 experience at A&M but know many grads from years past who thought their time there was great. The old TEXAS CLIPPER II was a true party vessel which everyone had a blast sailing on. That is what a schoolship experience should be and not more “regiment afloat”.
Any maritime training experience should be about learning to be a seaman first and an officer second. KP does not offer this and has it bass ackwards.
You’d be surprised what kind of network A&M has all over the world. It’s stronger than most think. Not knocking KP ( yes I am deep down inside ) because I sail with several good men from there but I’m proud to be a TMA grad. I’m always meeting alumni in places I’d never figure so.
[QUOTE=85949915;156183]I’m currently a high school senior who’s been accepted to both KP and A&M Maritime. At this point I’m trying to decide between the two. A&M is a lot closer to home (and a lot warmer,) but it’s definitely going to be more expensive. On the other hand, KP is free, but it’s a lot farther away and also has significantly more regimental BS. I talked to both Maine Maritime and Mass Maritime alumni who both said that between the two KP was the better choice due to the network and prestige.
Can any A&M alumni fill me in on the pros of Texas Maritime and whether or not they’ve had more trouble finding work in the gulf after graduation due to a lesser network?
Also, I know most threads involving KP devolve into trash talking KP; I’m not asking for senseless insults and trash talk, just the pro’s and cons of each.[/QUOTE]
The thing about KP is that it is much much more selective. The students are in general smarter and much better prepared for real college material. So the academics are much better at KP. At a good college you learn as much from you peers as you go from the professors. KP does not have to spend the first year trying to teach kids what they were supposed to have learned in high school. I don’t know how the attrition rate at KP compares to the state schools, but my guess would be that no one flunks out of KP because they are not capable of doing the work.
There are plenty of pretty girls from all over the world in the NYC area. In this era of internet dating, it should be easy enough to meet girls.
C.captain is usually right about most things, but when it comes to KP he tends to go nuts.
C.captain. I just saw a new job posted that would be perfect for you, President of Mass Maritime. I have no doubt that you could make quite an improvement there.
don’t kid yourself that somehow KP gets the crem de la crem…those candidates end up at the four “real” academies
There are plenty of pretty girls from all over the world in the NYC area. In this era of internet dating, it should be easy enough to meet girls.
FUCK the internet! The bestest way to bed a lady is when she is all liquored up and they love to get all liquored up at a beach! It’s scientific fact!
C.captain is usually right about most things, but when it comes to KP he tends to go nuts.
and why wouldn’t reach critical mass considering how much I loathe that idiotic and stoopid farce of a place
C.captain. I just saw a new job posted that would be perfect for you, President of Mass Maritime. I have no doubt that you could make quite an improvement there.
that is an idea worth considering but I need to set up an exploratory committee
Not in the least. There are several KP transfers at A&M, and I know they can vouch for the level of academics. A&M has some very hard and intensive classes within the MART program, and the ENG program academics is much harder as well.
