Maine Maritime Academy

This school sucks, the only thing of value is the coast guard license at the end. This diploma is useless. Most of the engineering students cheat by looking at tests from the years before as the instructors rarely change the material. The freshman cruise is a complete waste of time. Freshman pay thousands of dollars to sweep the deck, wipe oil off the main engine, and wash dishes. This school mostly just teaches to the coast guard exam which can be done for a fraction of the cost by using LAPWARE for license preparation. If it wasn't a US Government requirement to waste at least 3 years at this school to get a license then this academy wouldn't exist at all. I am shocked that the coast guard accredits this institution and credits 1.5 days for every sea day we get. We are training to be merchant sailors and don't ever do cargo opperations. The real training takes place onboard actual merchant vessels. When I sit in class I contemplate the human potential being wasted as I watch the glazed over faces struggling to keep their eyes open as we suffer a hypothermic death by power point.

As a member of the regiment you will mostly stand around and do nothing. From what I have observed most students find the regiment silly and valueless. Its main purpose appears to be to offer navy rotc students, most of whom failed to get into the naval academy and/or kings point, an opportunity to haze incoming freshman. Much of what is done to freshman is nothing less than pointless instutionalized harassment. The regimental staff are not sailors and know nothing about shipping. From what I can see most of them are former military with very little private sector experience. They lack diversity in leadership skills and are dillusional about the effectiveness of the program. Students that get a license after attending here do well because the barriers to entry limit competition for employment. This results in high salaries. The regiment and school takes credit for this when they have little to do with the future success of thier graduates.

I view the administration as dishonest. They hide the true cost of attendance by keeping their tuition artificially low then slamming students with outrageous fees for just about everything. To be a member of the regiment it costs $7500 a year. This doesn't cover uniforms which will average about $700 a year. The admissions department lies to students by telling them graduation in 3 years is possible when its not due to the changes in departments' prerequisites. I would not feel comfortable publicly criticizing this academy as it would likely result in dismissal. If you are considering coming to maine maritime I would look elsewhere. If you are engine you can get a license, tuition free, in 3 years, no regiment, by going to the AMO school. If you are Deck go to a cheap college to knock out gen eds and prerequisites then transfer to a maritime academy. From talking around, I here California is the most accommodating for transfer students. Final note- if your college degree doesn't come with a government license then you are wasting your time and money.

1st Year Female -- Class 2019

Collaboration/Competitive: A+, Education Quality: F