sea year 2nd time round

jasperdog, no particular aversion to anchorman position. In it's own way, that is a distinction. If nothing else, it is a measure of a mids determination to make it! But some of her grades are just too good and that's not possible. So she might as well aim for a slightly higher GPA. :wink:
 
shutterbugC said:
Ut of curiousity, was the $254 also his GPA?
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No way, you have to do much "better" than that to be anchor man. The competition gets into multiple decimal places and usually begins with 2.00.....

I know a person who actually added on an unnecessary PE class so he could fail it to get his GPA that much closer.
 
KPMum2012 said:
jasperdog, no particular aversion to anchorman position. In it's own way, that is a distinction. If nothing else, it is a measure of a mids determination to make it!
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yup. what do you call someone who finishes dead last in their class at med school?




......Doctor :wink:
 
Yeah, it would be like do you ask your doctor if he finished in the top half or the bottom half of his class. You don't. You just accept him as being a doctor.
 
shutterbugC said:
Ut of curiousity, was the $254 also his GPA?
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No I don't know what his GPA was but I am sure it was significantly less than a 2.5 ...

We had 254 graduate in our Class - everyone goes and gets $1.00 worth of pennies (that's 100 pennies for anyone who might be in the running for the prize right now that reads this forum :eek:) so the anchorman from our class received 25,400 pennies. Back in June of 1982 we did not have an NFCU branch on campus - we did still have the Bank of Long Island branch down on Zero Deck if I recall correctly it was beneath Murphy Hall... so the pictures of our anchorman coming away from the podium are with his B.S. Degree in Marine Engineering, His USNR Commission, His 3 A/E License and a very heavy Bank of Long Island canvas change bag with $254.00 of change - all pennies in it.

I offer a related point I think is interesting to consider, given all of us were leaving the Academy back in those days and heading out into a world where the economy was equally uncertain to the one the Class of 2011 will head out to, none of us had $32K or $64K+ of debt on that day. Since we didn't have access to either NFCU or USAA "career starter" loans, it wasn't an option for us. To be fair though since our futures weren't protected by the recent changes to Consumer Credit laws most of us did have American Express (regular green cards) that at the time it seemed AMEX would fill your Academy Mailbox with during First Class year until you applied and they gave you a Card.... In any case, I bring it up because it's something I've been pondering lately to try and decide whether or not access to these funds and the responsibilities that go with them is a good or bad thing for the "rising" Second Classmen. Not that in our case I have any say in the matter, DS has now spent over 8 months traveling the world and is getting ready to head to his last ship, I'm sure when he returns to campus in November he'll take at least one, if not both loans that are available. I wonder though if this fact isn't a reason why some graduating mids who are on the fence relative to choosing going active duty rather than "pounding the pavement" in the Maritime Industry, go Active Duty....
 
What is the point of midshipmen getting a loan with all that money? Dang, it's a great way to get into debt without a job. I don't see the merits in the loans.
 
KP2013dramamama said:
What is the point of midshipmen getting a loan with all that money? Dang, it's a great way to get into debt without a job. I don't see the merits in the loans.
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Because nearly 100% of them will have a job upon graduation. Some will be smart with it, others will buy a car they always wanted.

Some are good enough to realize that with an interest rate that low they can make more with smart investing moves and it turns out to be a great start to a retirement fund.

I've never heard of a service academy graduate having a difficult time paying that back. Might also help with moving expenses or paying a few months bills while waiting to ship out from the union hall. For some it makes sense, others, not so much.
 
kp2001 said:
I've never heard of a service academy graduate having a difficult time paying that back. Might also help with moving expenses or paying a few months bills while waiting to ship out from the union hall. For some it makes sense, others, not so much.
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While I haven't ever heard of anyone having a hard time paying the loan back, I have heard several Mids in the Classes of 2009 and 2010 indicate the fact they had "bills to pay" - including of coarse these loans, as a reason why they changed their mind and decided to go active duty vice pursuing a career in the Maritime Industry. I've never thought that was a good reason for a 20 something to do anything. For most people, you will never have the freedom from ongoing, pre-existing commitments relative to factoring into your decisions, more than the day you graduate... As for investing the money and using it wisely rather than buying a car or some other durable goods - sometimes the markets are up and sometimes they are down... Though I for one would vote on investing at least half of whatever they take in loans...
 
Interesting. The devil is in the detail, the timing and the "type of animal" the person is.
 
I'll tell ya that Deck Officers for the 2009 class had a hard time finding employment. That 32,000.00 helped our Ensign get through those first five months before he found a job. It not only helped him, but it helped us....:shake:
 
Wolf834 I hear you. I heard during our ds's summer of Plebe Candidate that many of the 09" grads couldn't find employment in the industry, went active duty, because of the economy. It sounds as if the loan is a great net. I'll keep that in mind. As always, thank you's for all wisdom you experienced people impart...no matter the age...:thumb:
 
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