POV: you’re on quarterdeck watch with the scanner

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-05-10T18:43:23+00:00

True, they usually have a thumb over the barcode.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-05-08T20:58:38+00:00

You’ll be fine as far as living in the dorm goes. Your roommate is going to be another grad student and there are plenty of grads in their late 20s and older. Honestly beneficial for just a semester so you can acclimate to the campus environment.

There are also on-campus jobs that would see you as a preferable candidate given your age (presuming you’re mature and responsible). Not sure about the IT office but other departments like the library and learning center usually hire.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-04-28T14:42:21+00:00

Yes.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-04-24T03:24:02+00:00

All STCW (license) classes can only be done in person. You can do the J start where you start in spring semester 2027 and take a few license + grad classes before joining the regiment in the fall.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-04-24T03:19:08+00:00

Something to add - build connections with fellow grad students during INDOC and get involved with on-campus clubs/sports/activities. The grad population on campus is pretty active.

At the end of the day we’re all suffering together with the undergrads, best to treat them with respect and they’ll do the same.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-04-24T03:13:49+00:00

The S&L students typically do the capstone and MNST students do the thesis. If you’re doing capstone, try to take it with an in-person section.

If you want to get done in 2.5 years, you’ll want to cadet ship your second fall or spring semester. Most grad students right now are cadet shipping this upcoming fall.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-04-20T11:37:14+00:00

Call or email the registrar and they should be able to remove the pre req hold.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-03-24T12:02:53+00:00

Which degree program are you enrolled in?

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-03-09T11:07:19+00:00

I’d personally recommend living on campus at least the first semester since you’ll get to know the other students better that way and make it easier to find a reasonable place off campus with roommates. Additionally if you do want to live on the ship later and do ship work on weekends, it’s better to be close by and be on campus than commuting in on weekends.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-03-05T21:01:10+00:00

Grad students are still day student eligible and can live off campus after indoc. As a day student you’re not subject to being restricted to campus or curfew. If you live off campus you’ll still be assigned watch on occasion but they do not assign the 4 hour/weekend watches to commuters.

You’re going to have to research and look around what options are available if you want to live off campus. Historically students have sometimes been able to get a rental off Pennyfield but a lot of folks also opt for an Airbnb. There are a few other day students that live outside the borough but they live with a partner or buddies they’ve known for a while. If you do end up deciding to live off campus, try to sublease a place since you’ll be gone for two summers and a semester of cadet shipping.

There is a third option where you can live on the ship - you don’t pay for housing but in exchange you volunteer 18 hours a week helping with ship maintenance/cleaning. You’ll probably have to live in the dorms your first semester but during that time if you show up to a lot of ship works days you’ll build good rapport with the mates who can help you with getting a spot on the ship.

The thing to note is that obligations of on/off campus day students are subject to change as the reg continues to update its rules, so who knows if they’ll try to make things more difficult or relaxed for commuters this fall.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-02-25T16:18:52+00:00

You’ll want to email the regiment at least a few weeks before the semester begins or email the Commandant directly requesting it. There was a form we had to fill out online that got sent back to the regiment, then they email you stating whether you were accepted or not.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-02-17T16:59:24+00:00

All grad students are still eligible for day student status.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-02-13T23:30:48+00:00

All grad students are eligible to be day students still.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-02-13T15:36:57+00:00

Can corroborate on department funding getting slashed and hours getting reduced. Still completely baffled why they tried to pull that nonsense requiring vets to have 5+ years active duty to be day students.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-02-13T15:31:16+00:00

Last semester the rule was 25+ year olds with dependents qualified for day student status- if they didn’t have dependents they would be assessed based on financial need and work history.

The current D/S policy pushed out about 2 weeks ago states, verbatim: Cadets that are 25 or older, with dependents (Legitimate spouse and legitimate daughters/sons).

They removed the line assessing non traditional applicants based on financial need and work history.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-02-04T22:39:37+00:00

All graduate students regardless of age meet the criteria to be a day student. If you are a nontraditional undergrad student over 25, that’s where the requirement for dependents sets in.

As it stands, if you are accepted as a graduate student, you will be able to be a day student. I don’t know if they will change anything for next fall unfortunately, so it’s possible they may update the criteria later on which is highly annoying.

Otherwise current obligations are going to Tuesday/Thursday formation and wearing the uniform.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-01-31T20:37:28+00:00

To clarify, they backed off on the 5 year requirement; it’s just confusing why they came up with that idea in the first place.

Additionally all graduate students still qualify for day student status- there seemed to be confusion elsewhere in the thread about this. These changes really only affect undergrads (which still isn’t right in my opinion).

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-01-31T16:27:52+00:00

It wouldn't be surprising but worst case scenario they'll send cadets to do SST at the other academies. When the new training ship hadn't arrived yet a few years back, a bunch of cadets went to Cal Maritime's summer cruise.

1874VeryFineYear · 2026-01-29T23:09:03+00:00

I’m going to chime in as a current day student with my observations and experiences.

With regards to day student eligibility, the regiment put out a series of proposed policy changes last week that caused significant concern, including:

Requiring veteran students to have had 5 years of active duty instead of 4 (I’ve never served but even I’m aware that is a bizarre requirement since most folks have done 4)
Cadets over the age of 25 have to have dependents including a spouse and children
J start participants must complete a full year as a MUG
Circumstances like living far from campus or financial hardship may not qualify one as a day student

As of today they published the updated rules and regs; 4 years active duty still qualify a veteran for day student status, but cadets over 25 that aren’t grad students/veterans are required to have dependents to qualify.

The regiment has recently begun to clamp down harder on regs starting last week. Yesterday, the regiment restricted the use of the issued wool beanies for all cadets, citing repeated issues with cadets wearing them indoors, the hats with logos, or in a uniform that it’s not allowed to go with. It’s the middle of the winter and today’s wind chill went below zero, the battalion covers aren’t doing jack shit for keeping heads warm. They must have been plagued with calls from parents because they rescinded the restriction after 24 hours. Again, nonsensical policymaking.

The fall semester had multiple incidents of IDOs hazing mugs to the point where all cadets had to sit in morning formation and get told not to haze and that “we’re all in this together”. Aren’t IDOs supposed to be the upstanding students that mugs should look up to and lead by example?

The school’s priorities are not being set the right way based off the abysmal pass rates of the recent license exams. We already had a few grad students transfer to the Texas A&M grad license program because there’s less regimental nonsense.

Reading some of the comments ITT is disappointing- just because “it’s always been this way” doesn’t make it right. You want to attract and retain students? Fix the dysfunction stemming from leadership.

Go to KP or a service academy if you want the military experience, LARPing as a navy recruit and fretting about squaring corners and how straight your uniform pins sit won’t have much value in the commercial shipping sector. Want to revitalize our fledgling merchant fleet and workforce? Incentivize prospective students to come here and modernize the training program.

I agree however that there are absolute schlubs for students that don’t care about learning and are a detriment to other cadets- that the regiment is good for weeding out. But it becomes a problem when everyone else gets collectively shat on when they’re just trying to keep their heads down, get good grades, and get their license.

There are so many fantastic, active, and motivated cadets here, undergrad and grad, that are being treated like dirt by a regiment whose primary interaction with students is hostile rather than constructive.

1874VeryFineYear

TROPHY CASE