Tuition and Summer Cruise

[lid431]

Does anyone know the average tuition is in SUNY maritime? and does that include summer cruises?
I have seen different tuitions on various websites, not sure which one is accurate.

Thanks

[terminalvelocity16]

Your freshman year you will have to pay for uniforms and such, so expect around 25-30G. otherwise each semester works out to about $6,000 plus about $500 for books. and cruise counts as a 3rd semester, so we're talking about $20,000 a year for the other three. if you don't need to live on campus this figure is cut by about half. If you really want to get into it, I would plan for an additional $500 a year for uniform upkeep, general supplies, and various fee's for TWIC "Trasportation Workers Identification Card" (mandatory now) MMD "Merchant Mariners Documentation" (semi-mandatory) parking permits etc.

[lid431]

Cruise counts as a third semester, does that mean you get college credits while on cruise?
And just another question, I heard that maritime is really academically challenging, for engineering degrees, you have to take around 25 credits per semester.
Is that true?

[terminalvelocity16]

summer sea term is currently worth 6 credits each. that may change in the near future to a higher number. Yes, the academics are very challenging, most especially for engineers and naval architects. I don't need to take 25 credits a semester, but yes the numbers are very high. You probably need to be in the 19-22 credit a semester to stay on track. But most engineers don't graduate on time. Almost all of us need at least an additional semester. It really should be a 5 year program.

[lid431]

Thank you for spending your time answering these questions,
Is it still true that Suny Maritime offers 100 percent job placement?

[terminalvelocity16]

for the most part that is true. but there is a dirty little secret to why they can say they have 100% job placement. Job placement alone outside of Maritime is extremely good. has it suffered from the current economic downturn, of course. But there are still plenty of jobs out there for Maritime grads. The dirty little secret being, if you can't a job, you can always work on the schools training ship after you graduate.

[lid431]

I guess that is a good news to me lol, since I prefer to work shore side jobs. Thanks

[uberTurtle]

Maritime doesn't offer 100% job placement. The 100% is a historical percentage based on past years' performance. It is by no means a guarantee. That having been said, you have a wide range of job opportunities coming out.

In addition, there may be one or two people that return to work on the training ship immediately after graduating, but that again, is not the norm. It always mystified me to see a guy graduate in May and then turn around and teach in June on cruise.

[weski]

I was always annoyed that the school did not post the sea cruise costs - estimated or otherwise, so it was always a surprise and it went up considerably over the years from about $2,000 to $4,250 for 2009. That is a requirement if you plan on getting a license and are in the regiment. The fees (except for sea term) are posted at http://www.sunymaritime.edu/Business...stercosts.aspx. For those qualifying for instate tuition (NY and the whole east coast down to Alabama or so) all the tuition and fees ran about $14,500 plus $4250 = $18750 plus books ($500-$1,000) & misc. expenses. Still cheaper than many, but more than a local state school where you live at home. The tuition itself is only about $5k (plus SST = $9+k). Of course, the tuition jumps considerably (from $5k to $13k) if not instate.

At the same time, the alumni help (thanks gCaptain friends!) fund $2k scholarships for SST (good GPA required), and you can get Federal loans to cover just about all of it. And then there are also ROTC/MMR for more $$, with strings of course. Good luck!

Recently graduated son went to union hall and is now in Norfolk babysitting ships in port. School career office not terriby helpful.

[jnovak]

on an interesting note, they still charge you for summer cruise even if you cadet ship your 2/c year, it's not as much, but still like $500-1000 or something, supposedly for the "credits". When I cadet shipped someone brought it up, we were told a parent complained to the school about it, and the response they got was basically, "we can't fill the spot on the T/S, you still have to pay for it."

As far as "100% Job Placement", I swear I've seen that in conjunction with "guaranteed" in more than a few admissions dept publications while I was there '03-'07. At the very least it's written in such a context to be construed as fact, when it's not. On that same note, I can attest to a few classmates that didn't get jobs after graduating.

[Kevin]

http://www.sunymaritime.edu/Business...erSeaTerm.aspx

Is this what you are referring to? I saw this last night, I am surprised as I thought that was 'free' as well, or at least that is even what they made it sound like on the campus tour.

[jnovak]

wow, pretty sure it's gone up since i did it though, i don't remember the number being quite that big. yeah you'd think sailing on a commercial ship completely apart from the school would be free to you... the company is incuring all the costs to put you there, and nowadays is actually doing the school a favor by making room on the T/S. i dont see how they get away with charging a maintenance fee and tuition... for what?! and i'm sorry, but career services are just generally useless. you'll notice also that those 3 numbers dont add up to $1,750.... typical.

[Kevin]

My favorite part about the tour was when he hit on the going on a commercial ship for a cruise, he made it sound like everyone that does it walks away with a 100k/yr job after they graduate...guess I can hope! haha

[weski]

Part of the big jump in SST costs were the huge increases in diesel (bunker) oil in the past couple years - big bucks to move the TS Empire State - well over $million. Shortened the distance covered in the past 2 cruises considerably.

[uberTurtle]

MARAD normally pays for fuel......

[lid431]

I like to know what you guys think,
I will be majoring in electrical engineering or naval architecture, will the license really open up more jobs for those jobs?

[jnovak]

My favorite part about the tour was when he hit on the going on a commercial ship for a cruise, he made it sound like everyone that does it walks away with a 100k/yr job after they graduate...guess I can hope! haha

absolutely, if you want to sail after grad, do everything you can to get a cadet observer slot, keep your grades up, etc. I know they're sending more people out every year, but when I did it in 2005, they only took 18 deckies out of about 60 that applied. if you're not a screw up and get good recommendations, you have a pretty good in w/ that company when you get your license, if not a flat out job offer. I wouldn't say $100k, maybe if you're really lucky/good and get with Polar or someone, but still pretty good money regardless for a 22 year old straight out of college. Its also extremely good experience; theres nothing like actually being out there standing a real bridge watch, doing maintenance that actually matters, meeting schedules, working with all sorts of different people, etc. Don't get me wrong the TSES certainly has its advantages, but when it comes to actual experience that you can directly apply to the job you'll be doing possibly a day after you walk across the stage, that cadet observer time is invaluable.

[New3M]

MARAD normally pays for fuel......

MARAD doesn't pay for the fuel - the school does, and then tries to get reimbursed for it, which rarely happens. The '07 fuel cost was around $1.4 mil.

[silverbk]

In case anyone want to know these are the current costs for 2010-11 SST

Dear License Cadet,

The College Controller, has provided the following information regarding the costs of Summer Sea Term and Cadet Observer 2010.

Fee for either of the two 45 day Cruises:

Tuition/Board/ Maintenance 3,650.00
Transportation 550.00
Total $4,200.00

The Fee for the 90 day cruise:

Tuition/Board/ Maintenance 5,995.00
Total $5,995.00

The Fee for the Cadet Observer in lieu of Summer Sea Term:

Total $1,700.00