Leaving USMMA

kp momofmany

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
10
Is there information about leaving the academy either voluntarily or otherwise? I have a friend who is looking for information but is afraid to ask for fear of getting her Plebe in trouble. :unhappy:
 
all the info you need is this:
DON'T DO IT.
it's not worth it to bail out, especially as a plebe. these kids haven't seen the benefits of this place yet, and if they quit now they're selling themselves way short.
please PM with the kids name and i want to go talk to him before he does something foolish.
 
Leaving USMMA is a HUGE decision.

I highly recommend that the person in question goes and seeks personal counsel with any number of people on campus: the chaplain, their coach (if they play a sport), any upperclass they have a good relationship with, even their Company Officer (depending on which company they are in). Beyond those they can look to a few people in Wiley.

If after everything they still believe the best course is to leave then please complete plebe year. Transferring during the middle is a pain and can have devastating effects on what credits transfer and don't. I always recommend that people at least try to stay through the first sea year.

Remember, there is basically no commitment until you set foot on campus for the first day of your junior (2nd class) year.
 
Can you elaborate on the "no obligation" comment? I thought they signed an enlistment contract on Acceptance Day.
 
Thank You Flight Surgeon

Thank you! This is definitely the information she was looking for.

Does this mean they just tear up the USNR enlistment contract if they leave before the 2d class year? I understand there is no active duty obligation but will they remain in the Naval Reserve?:confused:
 
ROTC is much the same in that there is no obligation, in many cases, until you begin your second year. As for leaving, I would strongly recommend that you take the advice of Is2day. I just met a young man where I work. He said his best friend quit KP in his first year and has regretted it ever since. "The worst decision I ever made" was the quote as I recall.
 
Hope I'm Not Piling On But ...

This is probably a bit of piling on at this point but I echo the advise of don't even think of voluntarily leaving KP before the end of Plebe Year and if you are having doubts my advice is go B split and don't consider leaving until after your 3rd class sea year when you return to KP in November of next year.

There is no doubt KP is tough and not an easy place to get through. Right now is the toughest time of year to be there. It's cold, especially if you are from Southern Climates, the wind that comes of the sound is cold, the daylight hours are short, if you are a Plebe you are still not recognized yet you regularly hear at least through the grapevine of friends having lots of fun at "normal colleges" etc. Basically no getting around it you can definitely find yourself in a funk and thinking KPS is a big big way. If you're struggling either Academically or Regimen tally it only makes it harder for you to get through things, etc.

However, once you get through it and find yourself out at sea or at least off for a while it gets better. Also the prospect of resigning and sitting at home means you are doing what? Sitting home waiting for the next chapter of your life and likely also still finding yourself in a funk as well.

Look plain and simple now just like 30 years ago, KP is never the most fun place to be "at" - sure there are good times and good friendships and that's what you need to focus on to avoid despair and depression. However in the end it's all about how good a place KP is to be from, and the sense of accomplishment and confidence getting through it gives you.

That of course isn't always the thing that gets you through the dark times, and everyone has them. Seriously everyone, talk to the people you think are the "biggest reg c--ks" or the ones you think had it easiest and loved every minute because they were a star athlete, etc. They will ALL tell you they had a time when they truly thought about leaving and was it worth it. If they've now graduated, I believe you'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't think the struggle was worth it whether they were a Zombo or RC; the anchorman or the validictorian...

Recognize I'm not saying your child isn't having a difficult time or doesn't have a reason to consider whether this is worth the effort to them. Quite the opposite I am saying everyone has these times but leaving voluntarily before you've done your first sea year especially when they are more than half through their Plebe year is making a decision when you really don't have all the information you should as first hand information.

In a few weeks there will be a long weekend for President's Day. We just finished MLK day, I'll assume whatever happened that weekend did nothing to make your child feel light is at the end of the tunnel. So I'd suggest you try and find a way to help them get a bit of a break this coming month. Of course if academics are the issue, that will be difficult as President's Day Weekend comes just shortly before 2nd trimester finals... If you can I'd make some sort of arrangements to give them a break, I'd try to find some other way to offer them encouragement. They may be surprised at how many people are available to offer them support and IS2DAY's and KP2001's suggestions are good ones.

I hope it all works out for you.
 
We just spoke to our plebe this afternoon. The last week seems to have been a rough one - it's dark when they go off to class, it's dark when they get done, the weather's lousy (and my kid's from Upstate NY - it's warmer on the Island:rolleyes:), classes are getting to them, no liberty this weekend...exactly what jasperdog said. I remember a post on here last year that recommended that plebes tell themselves "I'm going to make it through Indoc...I'm going to make it to Acceptance Day...I'm going to make it to Thanksgiving...I'm going to make it to Recognition..." It seems to work for our plebe.
 
Talked to my son this afternoon also and his highlight of the day is going to EMT class in the evening...He trully enjoys it. But he also is looking very forward to Recognition. There is a site the class of 2013 has created with countdown clocks for special occasions all the way to graduation. This is what he told me not too long ago when I asked him if he still feels the same and is it what he thought it would be....." I wanted to do this since I was in 8th grade,last year I filled out all the paperwork, had recomendation letters written and sent, interviewed with the Senator and Congressmen, Physicals, corrective eye surgery, Passport, TWIC card, dead lines, then waited and checked daily (almost every hour), first the status was hold then one day principle, yea there were tears and happiness. And I'm getting a $250,000 education with the kind of expeirience that only Kings Point offers." Those were his words to me.
All the Plebes have gone thru this, so much to get in, so many hoops to jump thru, Grades...you know what I mean.
The Sea Years is the horizon that he's looking at now, grades are up, he's sick of cutting corners, says the weather sucks (Florida Boy), waiting for recognition. If you want the site for the clock let me know and have your friend's Plebe stay and go through sea year...after all he went through to get in.
 
once again, please let me know who this plebe is so i can talk to him. i can't make the decision for him. however, as someone who has lived through the suck that is plebe year, and all the other ups and downs of this place (short of license and graduation), i can provide some insight that he probably hasn't considered. i just don't want to see him sell himself short and be angry with himself for the rest of his life for not pushing through.
please please please give me his info so i can talk to him SOON. thanks
 
it sucks right now. yeah, i know, not as bad as it has sucked in the past, as everyone keeps telling us, but it still sucks. the thing i keep telling myself is pretty simple: every day is one more day ive done, and one less day i have to do. same thing as running somewhere, every step you take counts double: the more distance youve gone and the less distance left. along with what everyone else is saying, maybe pass this on. who knows, could be that last little push necessary to keep whoever it is here. i hate seeing names crossed off the list.
 
The site for the clock is USMMA2013.com damn over 6,000,000 views....can that be
 
i hate seeing names crossed off the list.

That's because you are becoming a good shipmate or you already were a mensch (which is a good thing) when you reported to KP.

Hang in there - it's worth it - seriously worth it.
 
What if academics do seem to be the major part of the issue of a plebe wanting to leave USMMA? After midterms, plebe is unlikely to pass enough classes this trimester to be able to continue.This is despite genuine effort, tutoring, study halls, etc. Though I do not want plebe to leave now, if he is looking at a fairly certain dis-enrollment in a month, and no longer wants to be there ( change of mind/heart regarding maritime industry) for any reason...what is to gain from staying through the end of this trimester? This is such a complex issue, as we all know what these young men and women went through to get into this school. As a parent, I know many young college students change their minds/majors...but when you have to leave KP to do so, it is heartbreaking to see a dream come to an end.
 
i still say even if the academics is the MAIN reason they want to quit. don't do it.
as the saying goes "don't change horses in the middle of a stream"
if it comes to a disenrollment, then so be it, but because it looks like it might go that way doesn't mean that it will. keep pushing, keep getting help. go talk to Mrs. Ripley in the ACE and never give up the ship.
i've seen people (including my own room mate) that gave up because they were "certain" that they'd be disenrolled. when it came to it, the dean even told them had they kept pushing and not given up, they wouldn't have been booted. you don't know what good things can happen.
"victory belongs to the most perservering" --Nepoleon Bonaparte
 
If you are setback or dis enrolled it will be a decision that is out of your hands. Do whatever you can to stay so that if you are separated it will have been someone else s decision. Then you will leave knowing that you had done everything possible to remain there. If you make the decision to quit you will almost certainly question that decision later in life. I believe the most unfortunate phrase in the English language is "what if." The dark ages don't last forever. Spring is coming. Recognition is coming. Hang in there!
 
It's not for everyone.

Different academy, but 1/3 of my original class left.
 
Leaving MMA

If I may offer some advice thru example.....in 1974 as a high school freshman I chose to try out for the football team. Now, coming out of a catholic grammar school I was ill-prepared for the discipline and rigoress practices that lay ahead. I lasted until summer double sessions were nearly done, then quit. My dad who WAS and IS always right told me finish the season and NEVER quit once you start something. His words...."you will look back and always regret it." I know how far I could have gone with football because of my success with other sports thru college and now some 35 years later I can tell you that the decision I made was my worst. The phrase "what if......" has never left my mind. It's one thing to learn from your own mistakes, but truly wise to learn from others! Listen to Is2Day4Him's advice and do whatever he suggests.
 
Back
Top