Well, my son's hard work has paid off and he has received both an NROTC scholarship (Mechanical Eng.) to A&M starting Fall of '14 and also an appointment to the US Merchant Marine Academy. He has also received a nomination to Annapolis and is still waiting on an appointment there.

Truthfully, though, he rates A&M and King's Point above Annapolis with King's Point probably the highest right now. High points for the USMMA include the opportunity to continue swimming competitively as well as the heavier maritime training similar to what A&M has in Galveston. But he knows he would miss out on the opportunity to play Bass Horn in the FTAB at new Kyle Field as well as the unique spirit and network of Aggieland

For those with knowledge of the unique benefits of each of these choices, which avenue to a good military and engineering career would you recommend to him assuming he can read your response? He is definitely drawn to active duty in the Navy although it is not required after graduating from King's Point.

Simply put, you pick A&M to make yourself a better leader of men. All the other technical skills and knowledge will come with time, whichever route you go.

USMMA is a decent school for marine engineering, but it is not free like the other service academies. Further, it's not a DoD academy, so it's kind of like doing odd ROTC - the Navy, Army, and Coast Guard guys all take the same classes together.

The quarter system that they operate on give extremely limited flexibility to degree programs, and if you fail a course you get "set back" a year which means you go home to a community college for the rest of the academic year and re-apply (of sorts) for the following class year.

There is, of course, the question of whether USMMA will remain the entire 4 years he would be there that must be considered. It's constantly on the chopping block (even before the budget cuts) because it's mission is extraneous to the DoD (it's now owned by the Department of Transportation).

It's a nice place to visit, but the academic opportunities and ROTC style are a notch below A&M and several notches below USNA/USMA. I guess the most exciting part is that you get to spend 2x 3-month sections on a container ship floating across the Pacific with a bunch of longshoremen that don't speak english??

Source: sister went to USMMA. 1x LT that worked for me (Army) went to USMMA

And there is only one Aggie Band.

Interesting perspective, Mike. I had not heard that Kings Point was so embattled for funding and will do additional research on that.

Regarding it being free, however, everything I have seen and heard points to there being no cost, outside of purchasing a laptop and maybe some laundry expenses. Yes, they do not provide a monthly stipend but do pay while at sea. What part is not free and can you link a source for this? We have been told the 4 year value is over $200K.

He should play tuba in the FTAB - and don't look back.

The camaraderie, the opportunity, the education and the experience at A&M will payoff throughout his lifetime.

Forgot to add: it was completely shut down during the gov't shut down because every faculty is a gov't civilian, no active duty instructors. The accrediting agency was deciding whether to pull its accreditation, I don't know what the outcome of that was, but look for it to happen again on Feb 15

A&M - go to school with normal people.

[This message has been edited by Aggie@state.gov (edited 1/16/2014 12:24p).]

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A&M - go to school with normal people.

[This message has been edited by Aggie@state.gov (edited 1/16/2014 12:24p).]

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I second that. I spent the weekend at usmma my senior of high school. Talk about some real nerds.

First of all congrats to your son for working hard and getting his appointment. I know I was excited when I got mine. That being said I'll share with you my back story and let you know what my experiences were.

I was accepted to usmma and entered in the fall of 07. On a side note I also was accepted into tamu but chose usmma instead. At first it was exciting, difficult, and very rewarding. As the year went on however I soon began to realize that the education I was receiving was some what sub par (just my opinion). Constant talks of shutting down the school and sending us to other schools and/or releasing us from any obligation we might incur were constantly being thrown around. This sat very uneasy with me but I held onto the "promised guaranteed flight spots" that usmma supposedly had every year. Upon further investigation I discovered that you were no different than a regular ROTC student except with a more demanding schedule and a year out to sea and that these spots were far from guaranteed. I ultimately decided that leaving usmma was the right choice for me.

I finished my freshman year and was able to transfer without missing a semester to tamu and join the Aggie Band. It was by far the best decision I had ever made up until that point in my life. There were no experiences that I had at usmma that can even somewhat compare to being at tamu and in the ftab. It took me a year of paperwork once I got to A&M to finally get an nrotc scholarship but decided to take a PLC air contract instead.

I know a few people that were very happy with their experience at usmma but I also know more that hated it. The culture there is not what you would experience at A&M. If I had to give your son a recommendation I would chose A&M over usmma. There are so many more opportunities and being in the ftab was an experience of a lifetime. Not to mention getting your boots and what not.

That was just a humble opinion from someone who has done both. Ultimately A&M was by far the best option for me.

Good stuff, NCag. Thanks for sharing your experience with your first Texags post! I may show him this thread tonight. And remind him his name is the same as the stadium in which he would get to march.

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He should play tuba in the FTAB - and don't look back.

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We need to encourage the band to form a fish band or they will make it harder and harder to join, as the band is getting too big because attrition of fish is so low.

+1

There was a thread on this a few weeks ago. Bad bull turning away kids because the Aggie Band is 'too big'. Don't want some LA Music major types picking and choosing who gets to be an Aggie Bandsman. Serious bad bull.

A fish Band is the way to go.

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A fish Band is the way to go

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Drill, Yell practice, being able to march on Kyle Field were the only things that got me through fish year, with stepping onto Kyle Field as #1.

Are you suggesting a policy where you have to be a pHead to march at a game?

If he is considering going to active duty, and the opportunity presents itself, I absolutely advocate for A&M and a service academy. We all have worked with folks from various academies and schools, and any lack of leadership/social skills can be overcome after a few years. However, the quality of education and preparation is just too much to overcome comparing the organizations...that, and if he is ever planning on going to grad school, a service academy or A&M resume and network will do far more for his future. Just my two cents and maybe all it's worth.

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Are you suggesting a policy where you have to be a pHead to march at a game?

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I visited with Brewer before thanksgiving and he told me that very few freshman are marching at the current time. The upperclassmen will give up their spots for fish when they know the parents are attending the game, but as a standard fish are in the stands for halftime.

If his Navy ROTC scholarship is directly tied to his Mechanical Engineering track at A&M, ensure that he's got a backup plan. It's doable, but there are many folks who have struggled to retain military scholarships when they've dropped to a less difficult engineering, or into the liberal arts.

My opinions on the institutions:
Academically: TAMU > USNA > USMMA
Graduates: TAMU & USMMA > > > USNA
Pride for alma mater: TAMU > USMMA > USNA
Women: TAMU if this matters.

fish band would be a numbers thing. If the choice is turning away a kid because the FTAB is too big OR having a fish band and getting that kid into the Corps of Cadets and eventually onto Kyle Field I see this as a no brainer for Plan B.

Or the Aggie Band devolves into an extension of some Liberal Arts Music Department, i.e., only the All State musicians get in. Extremely bad precedent, slippery slope deal.

As per the OP's question. In over 30 years of wearing a uniform I met/interacted with dozens of Academy graduates, mostly all fine guys. I can count on my thumb the number who maintained a love/attraction for the place. To a man they never 'understood' why Aggies loved Texas A&M and Corps of Cadets. The phrase I heard over and over was something along the lines of "Well, I got paid to suck. And you guys did it for free?"

If your kid makes it thru the Aggie Band he will get a great education, life long network, respect within any military institution(s) he chooses, and damn good friends for the rest of his life.

Or he can be a number at some federal academy, subject to the ever evolving PC rules of the day. Choose well.



[This message has been edited by WBBQ74 (edited 1/17/2014 9:14a).]

Just a quick update for those who followed this thread. Kyle was wait listed for USNA so decided to let that one go. After several months of indecision between Aggieland and King's Point, it looks like A&M has now pulled ahead and he could be shutting it down in the next week or two. He even gave his mother permission to buy A&M decorations for his graduation party. His lean toward A&M probably wasn't reduced when his grandfather (Class of '57) bought a Manziel signed football at a benefit auction and promised it would go to him upon graduation from A&M.

His FTAB audition went well a couple of months ago so hopefully in the next couple of weeks he'll hear he made it in although, as others have pointed out, that probably won't guarantee he will march at every home game.

I knew he'd make the right choice.

A&M is a far better path than the USMMA if his desire is to be an ACDU Navy officer. Should he want to be a Merchant Marine officer, TAMU Galveston beats out USMMA as well. USNA will allow him a better fast track to Flag Officer; however, TAMU NROTC is not far behind! The camaraderie of being an Aggie, and especially a FTAB member far outweighs anything he can realize from the USNA. My time in the Corps when there was no NROTC program powered my thru to success in the USN...if he has the goal to succeed in the Navy, TAMU will serve him well without a doubt.
Lee72
CAPT USN (Ret)