Question's and answers that might help

[Boymomof3]

My son is a 3/c there now. Sailed on an MSC ship in the Med in support of the USS Gerald Ford during the attack on Israel. Has a naval flight internship in June with an F-18 training squadron, and just was accepted into an Army Corps of Engineers program for his 2nd sailing. He is working his butt off, but absolutely loving the overall experience. They seem to embrace the quality of life as a badge of honor.

Also, my son was a recruited athlete, played his freshman year, and is not playing now. Not uncommon for some athletes to reprioritize

I have posted this numerous times, apologies to those who have seen it already. It's a must-watch for prospective mids and their parents.

So many great opportunities!!

 

[Iblameej]

My son is a 3/c there now. Sailed on an MSC ship in the Med in support of the USS Gerald Ford during the attack on Israel. Has a naval flight internship in June with an F-18 training squadron, and just was accepted into an Army Corps of Engineers program for his 2nd sailing. He is working his butt off, but absolutely loving the overall experience. They seem to embrace the quality of life as a badge of honor.

Also, my son was a recruited athlete, played his freshman year, and is not playing now. Not uncommon for some athletes to reprioritize

I have posted this numerous times, apologies to those who have seen it already. It's a must-watch for prospective mids and their parents.

Wow! Congrats to your son. I will watch the video. What is your son’s
Major?

 

[Iblameej]

I was listening from the other room & was like - “What did he just say? That can’t be right.” Sure enough he did confirm the # .

Yes! My exact same reaction. He called the coach to confirm the numbers and coach confirmed. The coach did emphasize that there were very few setbacks on baseball bc he watches their grades and has mandatory study halls. But still…….

KP is my son’s first choice. I just don’t know if he really understands how hard it will be.

 

[flying2024]

From what we have researched, they need to squeeze in 4 years of academics in 3 years - due to the Sea Year. There are only a few majors and students at KP need to take through Calc 2 to graduate, which is very different than the other SA’s.

Can you explain your comment above? How is this "very different than the other SA's?" I would assume Calc 2 is a mimimum for all SA's. Is this requirement at KP less than the other service academies or more? Students go into the SA's with Calc 2 already completed so I was just curious how it was different. Thank you!

 

[Boymomof3]

Yes! My exact same reaction. He called the coach to confirm the numbers and coach confirmed. The coach did emphasize that there were very few setbacks on baseball bc he watches their grades and has mandatory study halls. But still…….

KP is my son’s first choice. I just don’t know if he really understands how hard it will be.

Your last sentence! This. I agree about the coaches watching grades - his sport appears to do the same thing…. But, who are these kids that are being setback if so many of them are student athletes? Each sport says “not it” but then where are the setbacks from? I have to remind myself that it will work out & we are so blessed to have kiddos that are even to this point. They rock ️!

 

[Iblameej]

Can you explain your comment above? How is this "very different than the other SA's?" I would assume Calc 2 is a mimimum for all SA's. Is this requirement at KP less than the other service academies or more? Students go into the SA's with Calc 2 already completed so I was just curious how it was different. Thank you!

For a management major at USCGA, they only require Calc 1. I believe it was similar at USNA.

 

[Bduett]

Curious how the difficulty of adding a sea-year in the middle of a four year education would lead to lower test scores prior to attending.

The difficulty in academic records at KP is all about the number of credits and the pace of the curriculum. You are doing a 4-year BS program in 3 calendar years. If you did a typical BA at the same pace as KP you would be done in about 2-2.5 years.

I was stating that lower scores may indicate not as acd. prepared on top of the rigor and pace which could account for setbacks and difficulties as compared to other SAs.

 

[DTT!FSA!]

For a management major at USCGA, they only require Calc 1. I believe it was similar at USNA.

USNA requires at least Calc 3 as part of the core curriculum.

USNA Core Curriculum

 

[Iblameej]

USNA requires at least Calc 3 as part of the core curriculum.

USNA Core Curriculum

Oh interesting. Our friend is a History major at USNA (and a football player) and didn’t took pre Calc his freshman year, first semester and Calc 1 his second semester and only needed stats after that. He’s in his 3rd year.

 

[Iblameej]

Can you explain your comment above? How is this "very different than the other SA's?" I would assume Calc 2 is a mimimum for all SA's. Is this requirement at KP less than the other service academies or more? Students go into the SA's with Calc 2 already completed so I was just curious how it was different. Thank you!

KP is letting kids in without Calculus

Oh interesting. Our friend is a History major at USNA (and a football player) and didn’t took pre Calc his freshman year, first semester and Calc 1 his second semester and only needed stats after that. He’s in his 3rd year.

USNA requires at least Calc 3 as part of the core curriculum.

USNA Core Curriculum

They offer a Pre Calc - maybe it’s only for Major.

 

[OldRetSWO]

KP is letting kids in without Calculus


They offer a Pre Calc - maybe it’s only for Major.

All USNA Mids are required to take Calc 1, 2 and 3.
Pre-Calc is a remedial course for mids that need it and does NOT count toward graduation. What that means is that you have to overload or go to summer school later because of it. I was placed in pre-calc as a first semester plebe and in succeeding semesters, took Calc 1, 2 and 3. I went to summer school before 1/C year to keep my academic year courses at a reasonable level of 18 to 19 credits.

For a while after my year, USNA required Calc 1 thru 3 plus Differential Equations for all mids, regardless of major but later backed off on the Diff EQs for some of the majors.

 

[Iblameej]

All USNA Mids are required to take Calc 1, 2 and 3.
Pre-Calc is a remedial course for mids that need it and does NOT count toward graduation. What that means is that you have to overload or go to summer school later because of it. I was placed in pre-calc as a first semester plebe and in succeeding semesters, took Calc 1, 2 and 3. I went to summer school before 1/C year to keep my academic year courses at a reasonable level of 18 to 19 credits.

For a while after my year, USNA required Calc 1 thru 3 plus Differential Equations for all mids, regardless of major but later backed off on the Diff EQs for some of the majors.

Oh interesting! Well then thank you for clarifying!
My son is considering USCGA and would
Need Calc 1 first semester and Stats second semester for a management degree.

The setback / drop out rate is our main concern at KP. My son is very interested in the mission of USMMA but that high drop out rate concerns me.

Thanks for the explanation!

 

[franknd]

What exactly was this setback information that was provided? The Merchant Marine Academy's latest report four-year graduation rate is 74% and 6-year rate is 82%.

Concerning the relatively lower SAT/ACT scores, I suspect the concern is that it's a seeming dichotomy that unlike the other SAs, you're stuffing four academic years into three years, but doing so with the students who -- based on SAT/ACT scores -- will have the hardest time doing it.

 

[franknd]

I think they have a harder time recruiting kids than the other academies. Possibly why they extended application date to March 1 too?

This is why I'm surprised that they seem to be dragging out offering appointments. I mean, I suppose they might be thinking that there will be a flood of completed applications in the next two days, but for the relatively small number of applications they get and relatively high percentage of qualified applicants who get appointment offers, they appear to be relatively slow to the draw in a manner of speaking. (As an aside, West Point seems to me to be exceptional at capitalizing on this and getting out in front of the other SAs with appointment offers.)

 

[Iblameej]

This is why I'm surprised that they seem to be dragging out offering appointments. I mean, I suppose they might be thinking that there will be a flood of completed applications in the next two days, but for the relatively small number of applications they get and relatively high percentage of qualified applicants who get appointment offers, they appear to be relatively slow to the draw in a manner of speaking. (As an aside, West Point seems to me to be exceptional at capitalizing on this and getting out in front of the other SAs with appointment offers.)

Yes, I agree. I don’t understand.

 

[Iblameej]

What exactly was this setback information that was provided? The Merchant Marine Academy's latest report four-year graduation rate is 74% and 6-year rate is 82%.

Concerning the relatively lower SAT/ACT scores, I suspect the concern is that it's a seeming dichotomy that unlike the other SAs, you're stuffing four academic years into three years, but doing so with the students who -- based on SAT/ACT scores -- will have the hardest time doing it.

There was a Zoom series that the USMMA had going this fall for students and parents considering KP. There was one from the football coach that went over what athletes have to do, there was one about future careers after graduation, and the infamous one - was where a first year plebe went over how many setbacks and drop outs occurred after the first trimester this year. I can’t recall the exact number - but I want to say it was over 1/3 of the class that failed Calc and physics. He called them the plebe killer.

 

[franknd]

and the infamous one - was where a first year plebe went over how many setbacks and drop outs occurred after the first trimester this year. I can’t recall the exact number - but I want to say it was over 1/3 of the class that failed Calc and physics. He called them the plebe killer.

That seems very high assuming that failing a class = automatic setback, which I don't know. (IOW, can you make it up with a better grade the next trimester or two and avoid a setback?) Actually, though, it seems very high regardless. If that many students are failing, then I'm inclined to say the problem extends beyond the students themselves. In any event, if 74% are graduating in four years, which necessarily includes students who leave for other than academic reasons, then I wonder whether the "failure" stats being thrown around might be a bit hyperbolic.

 

[Bduett]

That seems very high assuming that failing a class = automatic setback, which I don't know. (IOW, can you make it up with a better grade the next trimester or two and avoid a setback.) Actually, though, it seems very high regardless. If that many students are failing, then I'm inclined to say the problem extends beyond the students themselves. In any event, if 74% are graduating in four years, which necessarily includes students who leave for other than academic reasons, then I wonder whether the "failure" stats being thrown around might be a bit hyperbolic.

If I remember correctly, two failing classes = setback

 

[Iblameej]

If I remember correctly, two failing classes = setback

I think that is correct. They get sent home and have an opportunity to start over the next year.

 

[Pmaclax]

Wow! Congrats to your son. I will watch the video. What is your son’s
Major?

Straight engine