My son is a bit of an odd duck. He had ADHD when he was younger (he is officially ‘cured’ through neurofeedback treatments but still has difficulty focusing when he isn’t interested in the topic at hand) and while he is bright, he is not always motivated in his ‘boring’ classes, leading to missed homework assignments, not hearing the teacher announce upcoming tests, etc. His CSU GPA is shaping up to be about 3.1-3.3 (he’s in junior year right now). However he got 1360 on the SATs, and is slated for the ACT in February (where I think he might do better, since he enjoys science and should do well on that part of the test).
We’ve been trying to think ‘out of the box’ for him, for a science/lab/practical-heavy program without too much GE/boring classes, and one which he can get into. We stumbled across CSU Maritime, without having heard of it before, but exploring their website and reading all of the information, my son is really interested. For me, I think the small size/small classes, the structure and the closeness with classmates will help in keeping him focused, plus it is heavy on practical/lab work, and there are internships every summer. He’s interested in the engineering technology programs.
It looks like my son would be at about the 25th percentile in the student body for GPA, but over 75th percentile for SAT, making his EI right on the border. Obviously we’re encouraging him to up his GPS this last semester of junior year, but outside of that, I was wondering about the experiences of anyone who applied/accepted/attended CSU Maritime.
As a side question, my son is taking the entire PLTW engineering series at his high school (all 4 years) and the last 2 courses qualify as honors/college level courses. Other than a possible GPA impact, does the school consider things like this? I know the Cal Polys really like the PLTW high school courses, but don’t give any preference for it (at least, not officially).
i know little about the school. My impression is that they offer a very narrow curriculum, so it is perfect - or it isn’t. Every schools web-site is full of marketing fluff so, I would encourage you to visit campus when school is in session, talk to some students, see if you can sit in on a class and garner your own opinion about the educational experience and how it fits his needs/wants.
With his stats, CPSLO is pretty unlikely. CPP, probably not for a STEM major. Most of the other CSUs would be happy to have him. He’d probably qualify for Chico’s honors program - which presents the GE material in smaller classes with more engaging curriculim. Check it out here: https://www.csuchico.edu/honors/index.shtml
Monterrey, Humboldt and Sonoma are also smaller CSUs that pride themselves on a more intimate student experience but offer a much broader curriculum than Maritime. .
Oregon Inst of Tech (an Oregon public with a cal-poly like mission) participates in WUE so, isn’t too expensive and is worth a look.
I’d tour all of those and see what he likes and doesn’t like. While you are there, it is really important to hang around for a meal before or after the tour, talk to students and ask them about their experience - what do they love/hate about the place.
Enjoy the process,it will be over before you know it.
@Mom2Engineers, my ADHD son was very interested in Cal Maritime. We toured there and also Great Lake Maritime in MI. My S just fell in love with everything about Cal Maritime but then we came upon the health exam info online that made it clear ADHD was a disqualifying condition for his desired major of Marine Transportation. When we contacted them for more info, we were told that while they can’t deny entry to a student because of ADHD, after entry to the program they would basically force them into a different major that didn’t involve eventual Coast Guard licensure. This was true for students who had any background of ADHD, even if not receiving treatment at the current time.
I am not sure what the current status is or if it would apply to your son in his major. I know that the military has eased up somewhat on ADHD restrictions in the last few years so perhaps Cal Maritime has as well. But I would definitely recommend that you check into the matter. If it all looks good, I think Cal Maritime is an outstanding choice for the right kid.
Thanks for the heads up! Officially, my son was never ‘diagnosed’ with ADHD, because I refused to give him meds (not knowing what they would do to a developing brain) so I never went to a ‘medical doctor’ But when he got the neurofeedback treatments, they did brain scans, and showed us how his brain was operating out of ‘normal ranges’. After the neurofeedback treatments, he was within ‘normal ranges’, and then same thing again a few years later (Neurofeedback is supposed to be a permanent solution, and it seems to have been for my son. But long story short: there is no ‘medical history’ of ADHD.
Regardless, he is actually interested in the engineering technology degree, and not interested in any Coast Guard certifications.
I appreciate you relating your experience. Do you know if I could find the ‘health exam information’ to check out the current status on this?
Okay, I just did a little research. The medical provider fills out on the form information regarding ADHD. My son was never diagnosed by the medical provider, so I think we’re covered there.
*The USCG Licensing Office ensures that all required Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping, (commonly referred to as STCW policies) established by the United States Coast Guard are implemented and executed by students in the Marine Engineering Technology, Marine Transportation, and Mechanical Engineering-License Track undergraduate programs. *
So it looks like with Facilities Engineering Technology (his major choice) he should be okay.
Thank you for your support, OneCalRent! We know SLO is out of reach, and CPP is likely out of reach too, with the possible exception of Industrial Engineering, which doesn’t interest him so much. We are actually looking at Oregon Tech, because of its polytechnic nature, and plan to attend one of their local information nights. We do also have a campus visit booked for CSU Maritime.
We’re also thinking about CSU Long Beach or Fullerton, since they have Engineering Technology-type program of the kind in which he is interested. But when he saw the information about CSUM, he was just so thrilled and excited. I want to see that continue and motivate him. We’ll see if he’s still thrilled after the campus visit.
Yes, he did, and he was accepted early decision on Friday the 13th! He is going into Facilities Engineering Technology. so there is no Coast Guard certification, so his past issues with ‘ADHD-like symptoms’ should not be an issue.
He has already accepted his offer and is very excited!
Congratulations! Your son’s experiences is so encouraging for my son who has similar GPA and SAT score range. My son is a Junior and he is also interested in Facility Engineering major. We will definitely apply to Cal Maritime in the upcoming application season. Thank you for sharing the story!
Make sure you visit the campus if at all possible. It is beautiful, and it will really give your son an idea of what it is like to attend the school. Also, I’m pretty sure my son got in because he worked really hard on his resume the previous summer. It clearly demonstrated that he was interested in the school and had both engineering and maritime ‘experience’. At the fall open house they told us that the resume is extremely useful in evaluating ‘borderline’ applicants. If the student has a 4.0 GPA and 1600 SATs, they get admitted no matter what. If they have a 2.0 GPA and 800 SATs, they get rejected no matter what. But if you are ‘in the middle’ they really pay attention to the resume.
Just to add to the story, my son’s doctor did put on his health form that he had ADHD-like symptoms. But since he is in Facilities Engineering Technology, which does NOT include Coast Guard licensing, it wasn’t an issue and he has been cleared.
Mom2Engineers, Thank you very much for the advice! We plan to visit the campus this summer, if open.
Could you elaborate a little bit on the resume portion? Is it an essay to show his interest in the college? Or is it more like professional resume showing credentials? Thank you in advance!