I’m from California, in my 3rd year at a state school for accounting but I hate it. I realized this past spring that I want to become a marine engineer, really get my hands dirty and get out on the water. I was planning for Cal Maritime, but I heard about them going broke and potentially merging with Cal Poly SLO so I don’t particularly trust that they’ll still be open to finish my degree. I need advice on where to go, what I can even get into, things I should know.
Academics:
3.0 GPA in college
3.6(?) GPA in high school
1370 SAT
Calc I, II, III, Statistics
Currently in physics I (mechanics), differential equations, and intro python
No chem yet, but I can take some classes in spring, whatever will transfer.
I have no experience on ships yet, I’m not sure if that matters in admissions. All I know is I need more structure than what normal public university is giving me, I want to drown in as little debt as possible, and I want to be able to get a solid, hands on job in engineering at the end that will last me through my life.
Mostly looking at Maine, GL, and SUNY, but I’d be open to Mass. Only a bit iffy there because I saw on another post that their hazing can be a bit rough. If anyone has info on Cal and if they’re going to be stable after all let me know.
Also for letters of recommendation I’m thinking of asking my university band director, anyone think that’s a bad idea? Sounds a bit better suited to this than a business prof that barely knows me in my opinion.
Long story short: what will take me, what will take my credits so far, and what will I get the most out of?
No matter how many credits you can transfer or which academy you go to, you’re probably going to need to do 2.5 to 3 years at an academy. The core maritime program courses and the intervening ship time will take about that long.
So how much time of those 2.5-3 years do you actually spend at sea?
Do you take most non maritime classes shoreside and do the so-called cruises or is it all aboard on day 1 and then 8hr watch, 8hr class, 8hr sleep for 2.5-3yrs?
I would recommend GL or Texas. It’s all anecdotal but I know people who have transferred in there and finished the program in about 2 years because they accept the most transfer credits. Mass was very particular about what classes they accepted as transfer credits and pretty much everyone I knew that transferred in took at least 3 years to finish. Make sure regardless of what school you choose, get it IN WRITING which classes they are going to accept as transfer credits and which classes you will have remaining. That will give you a good idea of how long it’ll take you to get through the program.
Basically all your classes are done during a regular semester. You do a training cruise either in the winter or summer depending on which school you go to (for you, probably both because you’re ahead credit wise and you’ll graduate faster). With the exception of the pseudo military bullshit when you’re taking classes it’s just like any other college. M-f you have classes when you schedule them.
Is there a reason you’re avoiding Cal Maritime? It’s a state school so your credits should all transfer easily and, again, anecdotally it’s the “chillest” academy as far as the extra military school bullshit goes.
Cal Maritime is broke and they’re voting this November on whether or not to merge with a state school almost 4 hours away. I don’t fully trust that they’ll have all the resources, or that they’ll even be open long enough for me to get my degree. I’m still going to apply, just in case I don’t get into anything else.
I’ll definitely shoot each one an email about my transcripts and ask them what will transfer, thanks!
Yeah but the schools staying in the same place. Just gonna share a name and some programs. Can’t move the training ship anywhere else and they’re slated to get a new build training ship I think? I’d be shocked if they build a ship for them and then close the school. But understood.
There’s usually at least two classes on each cruise. I went to Maine so it might be slightly different elsewhere but:
1st Cruise: You are a Freshmen, upperclassmen boss you around. You also take classes outside the 8 hour workday.
2nd Cruise: Cadet Shipping (Paid internship on a real live money making boat). No classes but you must do a very large project.
3rd Cruise: You are a junior, you actually run the boat under ‘adult supervision.’ You also take classes outside the 8 hour workday.
Graduating from an approved program is all that is required to meet the sea time requirements. Academy grads don’t need to get 1080 days of sea time AND graduate from the academy.
Graduating from an approved program is all that is required to meet the sea time requirements
So if you transfer in as a grad student into a 2 year Master Program with a masters already in your pocket. You can use transfer credits and if you can then shorten it into say a 1 year effort and graduate, that’s all you need to get a 3UL?
No. It’s not just sea time. There are maritime academic courses you would not have had, and you can’t substitute a “generic” business course for them. As some of the courses have prerequisites of training ship or commercial courses and other academic courses, it’s unlikely they can be accelerated more than the normal duration of the graduate program.
No. There’s no way possible that you could do all the required maritime courses for the license in one year. I’m pretty sure it would take you closer to 3 years going as fast as possible. Your essentially taking half an undergrad degree (the Maritime classes without the general education requirements) plus your graduate courses for the graduate degree.
I’m not sure if most grad degree programs ever allow transfer credits. Undergrad degrees do because the curriculum for Calc I or English II at a community college is not going to be different at a similarly accredited state school. For grad degree, at a maritime school, all the business courses are specific to maritime. I guess if you’d had a logistics or supply chain masters it would be similar. That takes up about 34 credits, or ~12 classes. Then there’s the License courses which can definitely only be done at the school, in-person, which are about 65 Credits(~17 classes, and each Summer Sea Term is worth 6 credits). Based all that info on SUNY’s grad program. It’s ideal for if you already have a BS degree and realize you want to pivot into maritime, so they won’t make you do a whole 2nd bachelors just to get the license. It is an extensive program compared to a MS in a general business topic. But I’d argue a BS in Marine Transportation or MS from a Maritime Academy is worth a whole lot more than an MS in say supply chain management, even from some of the better graduate schools. The license is what adds considerable value.
I think this is the perfect year to apply to Cal Maritime. If they merge with Cal Poly, you will probably graduate with a diploma that says Cal Poly and that carries a lot of weight. It is almost impossible to get into Cal Poly for engineering so starting at Cal Maritime in 2025 could be your only chance at a “Cal Poly” degree. I would say that it is 99.9% certain that the merger will happen. If they don’t merge, then the maritime academy will continue for several more years until the enrolled students graduate.
Cal Maritime is, by far, your cheapest option, too. You’ll pay in-state tuition and the summer training cruise is significantly cheaper than any other academy. You’ll save more than $10,000 on the cruise fee alone.
I transferred into Maine Maritime with 2 years of college (many years ago) and prior military service, and being married. Maine allows non traditional students a lot of leeway , I was accepted at Mass as well but they made you do all the stupid regiment bullshit. As a result Maine has a ton of non trads, I had classmates with 4 year degrees. That being said it takes 3 years to meet the course requirements and cruises. I doubled up my freshman cruise and cadet shipping in one summer so I would not need to super senior a cruise after graduation. It’s going to to take 3 years, just use your prior experience to be an outstanding student and try and get a cadet shipping billet on the tpe of vessel you want to work on.