What would you do

birdboybird

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I have been planning to attend the University of Central Florida for a couple months and then to reapply to the Coast Guard Academy ( As well as the other Academies ). The benefits of attending UCF in regards to reapplying are that they have a NCWA wrestling team, which would mean it wont count ageinst my NCAA years at the USCGA, and it is a relatively cheap option.

Recently the coach at Marrion Military Institute and the USCGA coach contacted me and said I should go self-prep for a year at MMI.

Do you think my chances to get into the USCGA would be so greatly improved after attending the MMI then at the UCF to warrant spending more money and going so far from home?

What do you think

Any comments would be great!

Thanks!!
 
I would personally do UCF. In the event that you are not accepted to CGA, you are in a better position.
 
Do you think my chances to get into the USCGA would be so greatly improved after attending the MMI then at the UCF to warrant spending more money and going so far from home?
Possibly!! Think long and hard and weigh the pros and cons.

I really don't know what "better position" LITS is referring to.....
MMI has a great wrestling team that is not NCAA - they are a jr college. It won't count for a year. Perhaps the USCGA coach will *recruit* you??
The CG Prep program is excellent and will give you support in your re-application even if you are not sponsored. You will take classes with the sponsored cadets.

What if you are not accepted again to USCG? Your credits from the SAP program at MMI are readily transferable. They have a very good track record of transferring kids into some very good colleges. You will have a year of good classes - English, History, Calculus, chemistry, physics.
 
I really don't know what "better position" LITS is referring to.....

That's ok JAM. I'm sure I don't have to simplify it for him, but, for your benefit I will.

What does MMI give you that a university doesn't? Nothing. If you've been accepted to UCF, and you do well, that's good. You're been rejected once. If for some reason CGA doesn't accept you, do you want to spend a year in a jr. college of you could have spent that year at UCF?

It's pretty simple. I'm not sure why it escapes JAM, but it shouldn't escape you.
 
Another thing to note is that JuCo sports do count towards NCAA eligibility, depending on the league they play in, so I would double check with the coach.
 
I have been planning to attend the University of Central Florida for a couple months and then to reapply to the Coast Guard Academy ( As well as the other Academies ). The benefits of attending UCF in regards to reapplying are that they have a NCWA wrestling team, which would mean it wont count ageinst my NCAA years at the USCGA, and it is a relatively cheap option.

Recently the coach at Marrion Military Institute and the USCGA coach contacted me and said I should go self-prep for a year at MMI.

Do you think my chances to get into the USCGA would be so greatly improved after attending the MMI then at the UCF to warrant spending more money and going so far from home?

What do you think

Any comments would be great!

Thanks!!

Go UCF. I have heard from credible sources that it is FAR more important HOW you do in college classes (of course they should mimic 4/c course load) than WHERE you go. A CC, A four year, military self prep...pick your poison. Just do well. Really well.

Good luck to you! The second time around can certainly be the charm. :thumb:
 
LITS:
I honestly do not understand your rudeness.
The OP came here for INFORMATION, let him get it.

That's ok JAM. I'm sure I don't have to simplify it for him, but, for your benefit I will.
snarkiness unappreciated.

What does MMI give you that a university doesn't? Nothing.
Not true at all. It's not beneficial to the OP for you to make up sweeping generalizations.
MMI will give him and advisor and contact with the Coast Guard Academy. LCDR Meisenheimer has been involved in prepping cadets for the CGA for a lot of years. He teaches physics to the SAP cadets who are applying to the CGA. He will write a letter of recommendation.
Even as a non-sponsored SAP cadet the OP will live with and attend class with future Coast Guard cadets. He will have many opportunities that he would not gain at UCF.

In 2010, 5 non-sponsored SAP Cadets earned appointments to the CGA. I am pretty sure they have UCF beat.

I also know for a FACT that if he is rejected as a non-sponsored cadet they will help him in transferring and entering into another commissioning program to become a Coast Guard officer.


If you've been accepted to UCF, and you do well, that's good. You're been rejected once. If for some reason CGA doesn't accept you, do you want to spend a year in a jr. college of you could have spent that year at UCF?
Why not? What is the harm? Nothing. If he doesn't like military school he can take his credits and transfer.

It's pretty simple. I'm not sure why it escapes JAM, but it shouldn't escape you.
It's pretty simple - your should do your research. Just because you know nothing about a program does not mean it is without merit.
 
One final point - do not discount that the Wrestling coach has recommended this program to him. Following the coaches recommendation could help in admissions.
MMI is in the NCWA - same as UCF. His time wrestling there won't count toward NCAA.
The OP should definitely contact the MMI SAP program and check it out - then make an informed decision.
 
LITS:
I honestly do not understand your rudeness.
The OP came here for INFORMATION, let him get it.

Perhaps you can help the original poster understand your history with Coast Guard Academy admissions. That would be a good starting place.

Try "Well, my experience with Coast Guard Academy admissions has been..." and fill in from there.


He's been rejected once. I hope he is picked up the second time around, but if not, he will be well on track UCF. One less year of being in uniform and having a little fun at a real college (cause let's face it, a service academy never has felt like "real college"."

He'll show up at CGA, they'll call him grandpa, he'll say "during my year at college." I had a classmate like that. My fiancee's brother. Spent a year at Fairfield. Had another that spent a year at Michigan.

You don't lose anything going to UCF...maybe you don't get into CGA, spend 4 years at UCF and got to OCS, or maybe you decide you don't really want CGA anymore, or maybe you get in and have fun REAL COLLEGE stories to share.

The key....DO WELL!!!
 
To clarify so that there is no misunderstanding:

With regard to MMI, the Early Commissioning Program (ECP) allows Military Junior College students to complete Army ROTC in two years and gain a commission as a Second Lieutenant. Upon completion of the two year program, ECP Lieutenants then go on to complete their education at a four year institution while serving in the Army National Guard or the U.S. Army Reserve. After completing their four-year degree, ECP Lieutenants can request accession into the Active Duty Army.

Marion Military Institute, a two-year public institution, educates and trains the Corps of Cadets in order that each graduate is prepared for success at four-year institutions, including the service academies, with emphasis on providing intellectual, moral-ethical, physical-athletic, and leadership development experiences in a military environment.

Short answer, MMI is a 2 year junior college that prepares students for the rigors of a 4 year institution. IMHO the choice of whether to attend a 2 or 4 year program is NO DIFFERENT than that of any other college student. The applicant must find the program that best meets their academic, personal and financial needs.

LIS stated it correctly, the key is to do well in whatever program a candidate chooses to pursue for that gap year.
 
the key is to do well in whatever program a candidate chooses to pursue for that gap year.
This is half the equation. The other half s to do what the academies want. I think this is a unique situation which calls for a unique solution. Normally, I would never suggest that an unsponsored student attend one of the prep schools instead of a regular college. However, the wrestling coach, an individual involved in the admissions process, at least for some, has made a recommendation. Concurrent with recommendations such as this is the commensurate responsibility to follow up. The OP should talk to the coach and find out the reasons for the recommendation. My guess is that they involve a 'guarantee' if the OP meets certain parameters at MMI.
 
I know the coach. Talk to your admissions officer. In the end, they'll have the best idea (and yes, I've talked to my classmates who were admissions officers about something very similar to this).
 
LIS stated it correctly, the key is to do well in whatever program a candidate chooses to pursue for that gap year.
No he did not. He outright dismissed MMI for vague reasons.
Program? MMI has a program. UCF does not. It's not enough to do well in college. You must take the correct classes. MMI will assure the classes will be correct and at the correct level of instruction for the CGA.
MMI will assure that an instruction will be capable of writing an accurate letter of recommendation.

LITS seems to think this year should be for play. It should not - it should be for prep for a successful appointment IF an appointment is the goal.
Prepping at a military school is not the end of the world. This year over 30 CGA cadets will arrive on R-Day from MMI. Most will graduate and survive 5 years of military school (egads!!). I doubt LITS has ever been to MMI or knows anything about their program. When he was at the academy they did not use it - know all sponsored CGA preps go through MMI. Why? Probably because admissions has FAITH in the program. To dismiss the thought because one person said it was legit (me) because of a personal vendetta against me is cheating the candidate.
Time to leave personalities out of a forum that claims to provide FACTS.
Is MMI *risky* sure - life is a risk and I enumerated the risks, factually - not based on vague assumptions.

It's important that instead of making personal recommendations to a candidate whom we have never met that we offer good and accurate information. This way the candidate can explore for himself, discover good questions to ask through the process and make his OWN determination.
 
No no no JAM, both MMI and NMI had candidates, a bulk went through NAPS. The person we are talking about has been rejected once. I would say the numbers are not on his side. He is not a sponsored cadet going through the program. He is WASTING a year to go there and not be selected. I'm familiar with the program. I can count on one hand, maybe half of one hand how many cadets went through it in my class. I can count on...two and half hands how many went through NAPS, and I can count on more than one hand how many of my classmates went to a normal university prior to attending CGA, whether that be Fairfield U., Michigan, or anywhere else.

JAM will have you believe she knows a thing or two about the Coast Guard Academy....she probably does, and everything she knows she read on www.cga.edu or saw in the movie "Yours Mine and Ours". Her class year is 2012...she's welcome to tell you where she's graduating from next year.


Do you want a straight shooting response? The odds are not in your favor, having been rejected once and not being a sponsored cadet. That said, it's certainly not impossible....

JAM would have you go to MMI, as an unsponsored cadet, take some classes, and see what happens. If you aren't selected....what are you going to do? What bachelors degree track will you be headed down at MMI? Did you just wear a uniform for a year, for no reason other than having some credits that hopefully transfer to another school? If you go to UCF, is that a school you could spend 4 years at. Would you have an idea of what BA or BS program you could begin to work towards while STILL working on your CGA application. A year down the road, and CGA doesn't select you, well you're a year closer to graduating in a program you selected. And OCS is still an option.

JAM thinks this is my view because I don't like her....this is my view because I'm not suffering from tunnel vision and I'm not living through another person. I don't need someone to take a risk because you know what, not everyone gets into a service academy, and less than half of the officers in any one service got there through a service academy. Neither option eliminates the end goal of going to CGA. Both options require you to do well. One option leaves a full academic program if you are not accepted, for the next 3 years of your college career.
 
It's not rocket science to mimic 4/c year at an accredited institution. Take the highest level of math that you can get into, Chem, maybe physics, an English course, and do WELL. Keep active in your sport, or try a new one. Do well in that too.

I don't know if it really matters that the coach told him to go MMI. He may/not be as in the loop as the AO. The AO is the person I would believe above all others....including us posters here on the SAFs.

As the parent of a successful 2x applicant, I can tell you in our experience it was NOT the institution that made the difference in round 2. It was the good grades, the extra effort put into raising test scores and more service hours. No magic formula...just a whole lot of hard work. :cool:
 
Exactly...it IS possible, and the underlying theme, where it be first round, second round, third round, straight of out high school or another college...do well. Good grades and well roundedness helps start to push you ahead of the pack!


GOOD LUCK! Good thing to remember many have been in the position you're in and many of them have walked across that stage to get their diploma and commission (in that order). Keep the faith!
 
As the parent of a successful 2x applicant, I can tell you in our experience it was NOT the institution that made the difference in round 2. It was the good grades, the extra effort put into raising test scores and more service hours. No magic formula...just a whole lot of hard work. :cool:

Exactly. If anything, I think that an individual being disciplined at a university is more impressive as it displays self-motivation and the sheer determination that one needs to be successful at the USCGA. I'm not saying that those who attend the prep schools do not exhibit these traits, but I am saying that the traits shine through at a university when it's up to YOU and only you to make the right choices every moment of every day in the face of so many other destructive options.

-Andrew
 
JAM=:banned1:

Happy Days! Another blowhard defused. Ban me I don't care. That is all.:eek:
 
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