Marion Military

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Kingster227

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I recently accepted appointment to Marion Military Institute as a sponsored cadet for the Merchant Marine Academy. I wanted to post a thread so that current students and alumni from Marion can give me some insight for what I’ll be going through, next year. Thanks
 
Congratulations on your acceptance! I'm the faculty advisor for both USNA and MMA prep students, and I'll be able to answer any questions you have. Feel free to drop me a DM.
 
JacKing227 said:
I recently accepted appointment to Marion Military Institute as a sponsored cadet for the Merchant Marine Academy. I wanted to post a thread so that current students and alumni from Marion can give me some insight for what I’ll be going through, next year. Thanks
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DM me your snap username. I can add you to the MMI SAP 22 Group Chat.
 
Kingster227 said:
I recently accepted appointment to Marion Military Institute as a sponsored cadet for the Merchant Marine Academy. I wanted to post a thread so that current students and alumni from Marion can give me some insight for what I’ll be going through, next year. Thanks
Click to expand...
Hi, congrats on your acceptance! I just finished up my first year at MMI as SAP. Unfortunately I didn't receive an appointment so I plan to go back for a second year.

Academics are tough and trying to stay on task can be a challenge for some. If you put in the hard work and grit I am sure you will succeed. Do you have any specific questions or things you'd like to know about?
 
My DS attended MMI as a self prep for the SAP program. MMI offers leadership opportunities and as a self-prep, this was very helpful to improve his application. If you do not have military experience I would say MMI offers a good introduction. It's very much a pre-academy experience, not as intense as an SAP (from what I can tell) but great preparation. Any specific questions?
 
2026 USCGA CyberMom said:
My DS attended MMI as a self prep for the SAP program. MMI offers leadership opportunities and as a self-prep, this was very helpful to improve his application. If you do not have military experience I would say MMI offers a good introduction. It's very much a pre-academy experience, not as intense as an SAP (from what I can tell) but great preparation. Any specific questions?
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Does one have to finish HS to attend?
 
I have a few friends who went to Marion, one who was in the Service Academy Prep Program, and they have nothing but horror stories. You'll meet great people there, but you also might not have clean water for months.
 
Physicsguru said:
Congratulations on your acceptance! I'm the faculty advisor for both USNA and MMA prep students, and I'll be able to answer any questions you have. Feel free to drop me a DM.
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Just curious when these appointments go out?
 
G0navybeat@rmy said:
I have a few friends who went to Marion, one who was in the Service Academy Prep Program, and they have nothing but horror stories. You'll meet great people there, but you also might not have clean water for months.
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Can you elaborate on that? As we wait on my DS appointment decision from
The USAFA, he is considering Marion as a path to up level some things that may lead to a pass from the academy for the class of 26. We plan to visit and I have spoken the director. I’m sure there are students that love it and hate it but I’d love to hear both sides before we make a decision. He also has a free ride to a state school to do rotc but his intimate goal is to attend the USAFA which may not make sense coming from rotc. But I could be completely wrong in that assumption.
 
Richey, academic year 2020-2021 was memorable for MMI. Besides instituting Covid protocols, MMI was hit by Hurricane Zeta. While the school weathered the storm with minor damage, the widespread power outage took out the local water system. It took almost a week for the city to restore water due to damaged equipment. Classes were closed at that time because of lack of water pressure. While the system was out bottled water was provided to all the students, and students who were within a day's drive were allowed to head home. Many students from out of the area also went home with them.

The school restarted in-person classes the next week with the water restored, though the city was flushing the system for several days to clear sediments. During that time bottled water was still provided for drinking and hygiene. Three weeks later we completed final exams and the students went home the weekend before Thanksgiving.

This is my twenty-fifth year teaching at MMI, and I can say I've never seen a confluence of events like that before. During that time there were executive level meetings each day as well as contact with city officials to make sure the cadets were cared for. For the most part the corps took the events in stride, working together to face common adversity. It certainly wasn't what they had signed up for, but many took it as a challenge to overcome.

Since then, the water pumping system has been overhauled, so it is not likely that such an event could repeat.

As far as the Air Force Academy, keep in touch with LTC Bowen. He can give you the information on what MMI does to help a student become more competitive. In addition, he can enroll in Air Force ROTC with our agreement with the University of Alabama. Should he not get into the academy, he'll have the first year of ROTC under his belt already.

Best of luck, and I hope it clarifies some things.
 
Physicsguru said:
Richey, academic year 2020-2021 was memorable for MMI. Besides instituting Covid protocols, MMI was hit by Hurricane Zeta. While the school weathered the storm with minor damage, the widespread power outage took out the local water system. It took almost a week for the city to restore water due to damaged equipment. Classes were closed at that time because of lack of water pressure. While the system was out bottled water was provided to all the students, and students who were within a day's drive were allowed to head home. Many students from out of the area also went home with them.

The school restarted in-person classes the next week with the water restored, though the city was flushing the system for several days to clear sediments. During that time bottled water was still provided for drinking and hygiene. Three weeks later we completed final exams and the students went home the weekend before Thanksgiving.

This is my twenty-fifth year teaching at MMI, and I can say I've never seen a confluence of events like that before. During that time there were executive level meetings each day as well as contact with city officials to make sure the cadets were cared for. For the most part the corps took the events in stride, working together to face common adversity. It certainly wasn't what they had signed up for, but many took it as a challenge to overcome.

Since then, the water pumping system has been overhauled, so it is not likely that such an event could repeat.

As far as the Air Force Academy, keep in touch with LTC Bowen. He can give you the information on what MMI does to help a student become more competitive. In addition, he can enroll in Air Force ROTC with our agreement with the University of Alabama. Should he not get into the academy, he'll have the first year of ROTC under his belt already.

Best of luck, and I hope it clarifies some things.
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Thank you very much! This was very helpful. He has applied as ltc suggested and we are going to try and coordinate a visit in early March. My son also has run cross country through high school and he noted that as well. I feel like MMI would be a great opportunity to prepare for the usafa as he really is interested in a militarily regimented program and school over school and an ROTC program. I’m excited to see where all these options take him.
 
G0navybeat@rmy said:
I have a few friends who went to Marion, one who was in the Service Academy Prep Program, and they have nothing but horror stories. You'll meet great people there, but you also might not have clean water for months.
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The clean water was not MMIs fault. It was the city water pipes.This past year MMI did what they could to ensure the cadets had drinking water etc. They also sent them home, or off campus, while it was at its worst, until it could be fixed.
 
Richey112 said:
Can you elaborate on that? As we wait on my DS appointment decision from
The USAFA, he is considering Marion as a path to up level some things that may lead to a pass from the academy for the class of 26. We plan to visit and I have spoken the director. I’m sure there are students that love it and hate it but I’d love to hear both sides before we make a decision. He also has a free ride to a state school to do rotc but his intimate goal is to attend the USAFA which may not make sense coming from rotc. But I could be completely wrong in that assumption.
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The dirty water problem was not The fault of MMI. It was a city water problem and they fixed it. MMI did what they could to provide clean drinking water, etc. They closed the campus for a bit and sent the cadets home or to host homes, through the worst of it. The school itself, is a pretty campus. The surrounding area of Marion is a bit run down, but a lot of the cadets go in to Tuscaloosa, Birmingham or Auburn for fun. The Staff are great mentors, and a lot of leadership opportunities are available. It has been heartwarming to see the confidence the cadets have after just a couple of months. The classes are challenging, but they have time to study and complete the homework.
If someone is looking for the easy, party college life, this is not for them. If the cadet gets up early, works hard, and follows the “military” type regimen they will be fine. As for the ”horror” stories, I am not familiar, and I am pretty sure my DS would be telling us about them. So far, it has been a great experience and I would recommend MMI. My DS just told me the other night how surprising it has been to see so many self preps getting appointments. That, in itself, has to say something about the school. 🙂
Good Luck to your DS.
 
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Richey112 said:
Can you elaborate on that? As we wait on my DS appointment decision from
The USAFA, he is considering Marion as a path to up level some things that may lead to a pass from the academy for the class of 26. We plan to visit and I have spoken the director. I’m sure there are students that love it and hate it but I’d love to hear both sides before we make a decision. He also has a free ride to a state school to do rotc but his intimate goal is to attend the USAFA which may not make sense coming from rotc. But I could be completely wrong in that assumption.
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In general a lot of the facilities are terrible. There was about a 1-2 month long period where the school's running water was contaminated and brown. This was all the water in the bathrooms, barracks, and laundry rooms. Some of the teachers are pretty bad, but wherever you go there will be bad professors. The location is less than ideal and an hour to an hour and half drive to civilization. The major complaints I've heard though were mostly quality of life in the barracks (water issues, rodents, A/C, among others).
 
No school is perfect, but I have visited MMI several times and found the campus beautiful. Some very expensive 4 year colleges have run down dorm rooms and MMI’s are spartan but totally satisfactory.

If you ask the many successful former MMI service academy program cadets who are now at all 5 federal service academies I bet most would say their time at MMI was well worth it. Not everyone will like any college, that is why having choices is a good thing.

DS thought his math, physics, chemistry, and English professors were top notch.

MMI is a military junior college. If you are looking for an experience that would lead to an appointment consider it. Visit the school and make up your own mind. You can only learn so much by reading the opinions of others,
 
Richey112 said:
Can you elaborate on that? As we wait on my DS appointment decision from
The USAFA, he is considering Marion as a path to up level some things that may lead to a pass from the academy for the class of 26. We plan to visit and I have spoken the director. I’m sure there are students that love it and hate it but I’d love to hear both sides before we make a decision. He also has a free ride to a state school to do rotc but his intimate goal is to attend the USAFA which may not make sense coming from rotc. But I could be completely wrong in that assumption.
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My son was in a similar situation last year but for USMA. We are from PA and he had 4 yr ROTC scholarships for both Penn State and Pitt. He had decided to do the ROTC route and reapply to West Point if his option was a self prep, but was then offered a sponsored prep spot so took that. He strongly considered both MMI and GMC which are both junior colleges, and from talking with the schools and from what I researched, are similar programs with amazing leadership. The academies dictate the classes the prep students take so they would be the same if you are at MMI, GMC, or NMMI. He ultimately chose GMC because the town was a bit bigger with it having two small colleges, and easier access to the airport to get home. Within the last two weeks, all nine West Point preppers received their acceptances. My son said (so who knows) that the 15 USAFA and 12 USNA prep students find out next month, not sure about the 25+CGA prep students. MMI seemed like a great option also, best of luck to your son on his journey!
 
Armyfeight said:
My son was in a similar situation last year but for USMA. We are from PA and he had 4 yr ROTC scholarships for both Penn State and Pitt. He had decided to do the ROTC route and reapply to West Point if his option was a self prep, but was then offered a sponsored prep spot so took that. He strongly considered both MMI and GMC which are both junior colleges, and from talking with the schools and from what I researched, are similar programs with amazing leadership. The academies dictate the classes the prep students take so they would be the same if you are at MMI, GMC, or NMMI. He ultimately chose GMC because the town was a bit bigger with it having two small colleges, and easier access to the airport to get home. Within the last two weeks, all nine West Point preppers received their acceptances. My son said (so who knows) that the 15 USAFA and 12 USNA prep students find out next month, not sure about the 25+CGA prep students. MMI seemed like a great option also, best of luck to your son on his journey!
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sounds about right for USAFA. I reached out to team blue and although apparently there have been some early appointments, the majority of the appointments are being decided at the beginning of march with letters going out at the end of March, early April.
 
Are there any MMI SAP students heading there in Aug 2022? My son accepted his USNA foundations program offer last week. We are heading to MMI on Friday March 11th for a tour. He would love to connect with others going. He was given an appointment to USMMA but really wants to go to the Naval Academy! He thinks one year of prep will be the best for him!
 
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