When is acceptance final date?

M

mwa2

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Dec 30, 2023
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MY DS has an appointment to Merchant Marine Academy and we are wondering when is the cut off date to accept? We are also waiting on the USAFA to see if he has an appointment there as well. But USAFA is taking much longer than expected. Does anyone know?
 
Question? The two academies have two completely different missions? What are your kids career goals? USMMA produces seagoing officers and AFA produces Air Force officers. Why would you apply to 2 academies on almost opposite sides of the spectrum?
 
KPEngnr90 said:
Question? The two academies have two completely different missions? What are your kids career goals? USMMA produces seagoing officers and AFA produces Air Force officers. Why would you apply to 2 academies on almost opposite sides of the spectrum?
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I don’t know the original context of this post or if it was just a question in general. Speaking for my DS, his initial goal was naval arch. & marine engineering. He wanted a little adventure and the education to ultimately do what he wanted later in the private sector (designing improving aircraft carriers, and other military equip/watercraft). His initial SAs were USCGA & USNA. We had never heard of USMMA (he now has an appt. and we are 99% sure that’s where he will go). Once we found out about it and $$$$$ (as has been pointed out many times) he was sold. Still getting a great engineering degree. He also applied to USMA, totally different than the water academies. The reason… what if by some chance his waiver came through for WP but none of the others. It is still a hell of a degree if you are willing to serve & he is. Ultimately his goal was a top notch engineering degree & being debt free upon graduation. He was willing to serve in whatever branch could provide him his end goal. For a 17 year old he has a pretty logical and solid head on his shoulders. We are still working on the little bro though 🤣🤣
 
Okqy I see what ypu're saying but I see parents post their kid applied to all the academies and I have to wonder why? Usually kids wanting to apply to the academies have a career goal and a vision for themselves in the military but I understand minds can change over the course of 4 yrs. For instance as a highschooler during the cold war I envisioned myself on the bridge of a destroyer hunting down Russian Submarines and I wanted an engineering degree so naturally that left me 2 choices Annapolis or Kings Point. I got appointments to both but since we had a family connection at KP and hearing about the $$$, I chose KP. So when I see posts about applications to multiple academies that havr completely different missions I wonder why? If you want to be an artillary officer or fly apache helicopters why would bother applying to the Naval or CG academy? I wonder if parents and students are blinded by the romance of the academies and the shiny brass buttons on parade uniforms worn on Saturday reviews. I hated those uni's stiff and the choker collar made my neck itch on hot summer days. But in the end I got to do what I wanted, drive a destroyer, engineering degree and a marine license to boot which of all things earned me more money than the diploma they handed me.
 
KPEngnr90 said:
Okqy I see what ypu're saying but I see parents post their kid applied to all the academies and I have to wonder why? Usually kids wanting to apply to the academies have a career goal and a vision for themselves in the military but I understand minds can change over the course of 4 yrs. For instance as a highschooler during the cold war I envisioned myself on the bridge of a destroyer hunting down Russian Submarines and I wanted an engineering degree so naturally that left me 2 choices Annapolis or Kings Point. I got appointments to both but since we had a family connection at KP and hearing about the $$$, I chose KP. So when I see posts about applications to multiple academies that havr completely different missions I wonder why? If you want to be an artillary officer or fly apache helicopters why would bother applying to the Naval or CG academy? I wonder if parents and students are blinded by the romance of the academies and the shiny brass buttons on parade uniforms worn on Saturday reviews. I hated those uni's stiff and the choker collar made my neck itch on hot summer days. But in the end I got to do what I wanted, drive a destroyer, engineering degree and a marine license to boot which of all things earned me more money than the diploma they handed me.
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I'm going to take the opposite side of this. I'd love to know the percentage of full-grown adults who ended up doing what they thought they wanted to do at age 17, but I bet it's not very high. I know in my case it wasn't. When I was 17, I wanted to be a sports announcer. 40 years later I'm an attorney doing judicial work. That simply wasn't on the radar screen for me as a teenager, and not least because there were no lawyers in my family. In fact, I didn't really figure out I wanted to be a lawyer until I was an Army Field Artillery officer getting ready to leave AD.

My point is that it's awesome if a kid really has a vision of what his exact vocation is in life; but essentially requiring that as a basis to decide which academies to apply to, IMO, is incredibly short-sighted. I believe it's enough for a kid to know he wants to serve and will figure out the rest later, and I suspect SA admissions people agree with that. That's why kids apply to multiple academies.
 
KPEngnr90 said:
Okqy I see what ypu're saying but I see parents post their kid applied to all the academies and I have to wonder why? Usually kids wanting to apply to the academies have a career goal and a vision for themselves in the military but I understand minds can change over the course of 4 yrs. For instance as a highschooler during the cold war I envisioned myself on the bridge of a destroyer hunting down Russian Submarines and I wanted an engineering degree so naturally that left me 2 choices Annapolis or Kings Point. I got appointments to both but since we had a family connection at KP and hearing about the $$$, I chose KP. So when I see posts about applications to multiple academies that havr completely different missions I wonder why? If you want to be an artillary officer or fly apache helicopters why would bother applying to the Naval or CG academy? I wonder if parents and students are blinded by the romance of the academies and the shiny brass buttons on parade uniforms worn on Saturday reviews. I hated those uni's stiff and the choker collar made my neck itch on hot summer days. But in the end I got to do what I wanted, drive a destroyer, engineering degree and a marine license to boot which of all things earned me more money than the diploma they handed me.
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I get that and a valid question. He had no interest in flying and did not apply to AFA, WP was the stretch for him.
 
KPEngnr90 said:
Choose KP. He'll make more money
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But they would have to attend Kings Point.

Kind of like saying that a prison inmate found to have been incorrectly convicted will get a big compensatory payday after the conviction is overturned and they get released. :p

Not sure that it is worth it for a relatively small differential in income. Quality of life matters.
 
DTT!FSA! said:
But they would have to attend Kings Point.

Kind of like saying that a prison inmate found to have been incorrectly convicted will get a big compensatory payday after the conviction is overturned and they get released. :p

Not sure that it is worth it for a relatively small differential in income. Quality of life matters.
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Quality of life for 4-5 years or lifetime of quality you choose? That’s how we understand it turns out.
 
DTT!FSA! said:
But they would have to attend Kings Point.

Kind of like saying that a prison inmate found to have been incorrectly convicted will get a big compensatory payday after the conviction is overturned and they get released. :p

Not sure that it is worth it for a relatively small differential in income. Quality of life matters.
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Bduett said:
Quality of life for 4-5 years or lifetime of quality you choose? That’s how we understand it
Bduett said:
Quality of life for 4-5 years or lifetime of quality you choose? That’s how we understand it t
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DTT!FSA! said:
But they would have to attend Kings Point.

Kind of like saying that a prison inmate found to have been incorrectly convicted will get a big compensatory payday after the conviction is overturned and they get released. :p

Not sure that it is worth it for a relatively small differential in income. Quality of life matters.
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Prison? Quality of Life? Hows that? Its a service academy like the rest. Only difference is the midshipmen at KP have a choice of Active duty or working in the private sector.

Small differential in income? An Ensign/2nd Lt makes $3900/month base pay. A 3rd mate/3rd Engineer makes $18k/month. Do the math thats more than 4 new officers at the other academies combined.
 
KPEngnr90 said:
Prison? Quality of Life? Hows that? Its a service academy like the rest. Only difference is the midshipmen at KP have a choice of Active duty or working in the private sector.

Small differential in income? An Ensign/2nd Lt makes $3900/month base pay. A 3rd mate/3rd Engineer makes $18k/month. Do the math thats more than 4 new officers at the other academies combined.
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Maybe I wasn’t clear, I agree KP is worth it. Your giving up 4-5 years for a lifetime of good quality of life.
 
Not knocking KP, even though my tongue in cheek comment was perhaps excessively over the top. If its mission and culture match a candidate's vision, then it is an excellent choice. It does present unique opportunities not afforded elsewhere. However, the argument that someone should go there just for the $$$, as @KPEngnr90 has repeatedly posted, is not necessarily convincing, The reported earnings at career midpoint seem to indicate that graduates of the other service academies do just fine in comparison.

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KPEngnr90 said:
Question? The two academies have two completely different missions? What are your kids career goals? USMMA produces seagoing officers and AFA produces Air Force officers. Why would you apply to 2 academies on almost opposite sides of the spectrum?
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If your goal is to commission in the AF and you don't get USAFA, USMMA is an option to obtain said goal.
 
KPEngnr90 said:
Prison? Quality of Life? Hows that? Its a service academy like the rest. Only difference is the midshipmen at KP have a choice of Active duty or working in the private sector.

Small differential in income? An Ensign/2nd Lt makes $3900/month base pay. A 3rd mate/3rd Engineer makes $18k/month. Do the math thats more than 4 new officers at the other academies combined.
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DTT!FSA! said:
Not knocking KP, even though my tongue in cheek comment was perhaps excessively over the top. If its mission and culture match a candidate's visio
DTT!FSA! said:
Not knocking KP, even though my tongue in cheek comment was perhaps excessively over the top. If its mission and culture match a candidate's vision, then it is an excellent choice. It does present unique opportunities not afforded elsewhere. However, the argument that someone should go there just for the $$$, as @KPEngnr90 has repeatedly posted, is not necessarily convincing, The reported earnings at career midpoint seem to indicate that graduates of the other service academies do just fine
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n, then it is an excellent choice. It does present unique opportunities not afforded elsewhere. However, the argument that someone should go there just for the $$$, as @KPEngnr90 has repeatedly posted, is not necessarily convincing, The reported earnings at career midpoint seem to indicate that graduates of the other service academies do just fine in comparison.

​

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DTT!FSA! said:

www.payscale.com

Best Universities and Colleges | Payscale

Want to find out which colleges produce the highest-paid graduates? Use Payscale to research colleges and find out where the highest-paid graduates go.
www.payscale.com www.payscale.com
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What this doesn't take into account is the amount of money grads would have made collectively by the midpoint of their career. For instance at KP when you graduate sail as a 3rd Officer you're at anywhere between $120k-160K/year right off the bat. At the 2 yr mark you've probably upgraded your license to 2nd mate/2nd Engineer and your at $160-180k depending on the shipping line. At the 5yr mark your sailing as Chief Mate or 1st engineer and well over $200k. And at yr 7-10 your a Chief Engineer or a Sea Captain well over $250k. Yes you top out as Captain or Chief Engineer if you continue to sail for a career but your peers from the other academies are nowhere close to you in terms of overall pay at the 5 and even 10 yr mark. I imagine the pay equals out when you become an 05 or 06 but the KP or State maritime academy grad has been at that high level of salary for many years while the pay from an 01 to an 06 in the armed services has had to gradually increase for many years to finally catch up. Its not unheard of to sail for 10-12 yrs and be independently wealthy in your early 30's.
 
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