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Wild Bill was bad but "Rocket Reed" was worse for fluids!
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<p>Rocket Ried indeed takes the award for being the undisputed king of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. I am pleased as punch never to have had him. I had those two I mentioned and Machine-Gun McCoy for Differential Equations. While he was an abrasive character, I found him to be a great prof. I got a B.</p>
<p>Concerning my major, I began in Ocean Engineering and (after the run-in described above) changed to General Engineering. The change has been very useful these past 11 years in industry.</p>
<p>I regret that I know nothing about exchange programs with service academies in other countries.</p>
<p>I have never, EVER, beaten 64 posts in 24 hours. I can't type that fast. ;)</p>
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I had Wild Bill Lee for dynamics. He was a real terror.
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<p>Short Story on Wild Bill:</p>
<p>A Mid takes an exam in Statics and actually scores a perfect paper.....</p>
<p>BUT....HE FORGETS TO ADD THE LITTLE ARROWS OVER THE VARIABLES TO DENOTE THEM AS VECTORS. Minus one point for each infraction. </p>
<p>Kid ended up with a NEGATIVE 6 for a grade. No, I'm not kidding. :eek:</p>
<p>And yet, when my final exam crossed his desk, he quite literally saved my neck. He was also a quiet, gentle man who seriously knew his stuff. He was just a nightmare with a red pen. Talk about being conflicted on how to think of someone!</p>
<p>BTW, stories about Rocket Reid are much, MUCH worse.</p>
<p>I do not recall any trecherous professors in Physics. Mine was a joke: 60% of your grade was given to you as an A. Thing is, if you walked into the final with, say, a B, and failed the final, you got a D no matter what the numbers came out to. You want to know why I remember that? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I do remember physics being.......tricky. Not so much difficult as tricky. The fact I didn't study much didn't help. </p>
<p>One thing I believe the Academic Dean should look at, however, is the amount of repetition some Mids get. For instance, I took Strengths of Materials in some form no fewer than four times (and that doesn't count the retake I took because I failed the first time through). Same with things like Statics and Dynamics. </p>
<p>I had Rocket Reed for Fluid Dynamics Second Class Year (Ocean Engineering Major). As us engineering majors know, you very rarely ever get complex engineering problems exactly correct on exams. Most of us passed by getting enough partial credit for the exam questions by showing our work (equations, et al.) in trying to determine the answer for the question. Rocket one time gave a mid term exam that only had 5 complex problems on it, it was in mulitple choice format (so we had to pick answer A,B,C,or D as the answer for each question), and he didn't want to see, and thus didn't give any credit for, our work in trying to determine the answer. I think the whole class ended up with Ds and Fs. My company mate ended up flunking the course. Took it next semester with a different prof. and got an A. Miserable experience!</p>
<p>The exam that I mentioned above (Strengths under Wild Bill) was structured such that you had to present all your work and then put your answer inside a provided small box.</p>
<p>If the answer inside that box was at all wrong, including units, you got NO CREDIT. If the answer was right, but your work wasn't, you got NO CREDIT. </p>
<p>Yeah...... studying engineering at USNA was often such a joy. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Well in response to the OP, I, a current c/o 2011 applicant, appreciate the support parents give on this forum. First of all, my parents are wonderful, but they have 2 other kids and a family to worry about, so aren't as devoted to USNA as some of the parents on this forum. It's nice to read about other parents' experiences with their current mids. It's kind of funny, because sometimes I feel like I am the only candidate on this forum though! No problem though.</p>
<p>Mines thinking Division II Math and Science. Thinks he wants to stay away from the whole engineering thing now. Went to USNA intrigued with Naval Arch. Thought those wave pool were pretty slick!</p>
<p>Dash 9 There are others out there and in the spring more will join in, at least they did last year. :)</p>
<p>My major was Naval Architecture. There were 10 of us who actually graduated with a BSNA; the rest dropped to General Engineering. I never had the pleasure of taking Fluids with "Rocket Reed." The Rocket was not allowed to teach Fluids to Naval Architecture majors because he would have killed the program.</p>
<p>Though not asked, I was a Political Science major (and proud of it) with a concentration in US politics and law (vs. international relations). I majored in it b/c I really liked the subject matter. As an Intel officer, I didn't miss not having an engineering or other technical major. </p>
<p>However, I'm really, really glad I majored in Poly Sci at USNA rather than at a civilian school. Why? Because of all the science and engineering courses I did have to take. Yes, they're an easier track than the engineers take. But, no matter your major, you still had to pass Calc, Diffy Qs, physics, EE, Naval Systems Engineering, Naval Architecture (nothing like GA took), and a couple more engineering classes that I'm repressing. :) Having this "technical" background balanced with a strong humanities background/interest has made me a better and more creative thinker. </p>
<p>My opinion, for what it's worth (which is what you're paying for it), is that generally you should major in what interests you. You have enough "misery" at USNA and enough mandatory classes regardless of your major. Classes in your major shouldn't add to that misery. Of course, if you're planning on being a submariner or an astronaut or going into some other technical field either in the military or as a civilian, stick with the technical majors.</p>
<p>Sure, you get ragged on if you're a "bull major" (humanities). But for me, it was the right decision and one that I've never regretted.</p>
<p>My husband wanted to know if any of the alumni's on the board had 1.0 Boatman for English. He did have Rocket Reed and just about had a heart attack when I asked about him...bad memories linger on.</p>
<p>1.0 Boatman? Never heard of him. :confused.</p>
<p>Indeed, Reid (or Reed, or ***hole, or whatever you call him) was the pinacle of impossible professors.</p>
<p>I cannot agree more with USNA1985 when she says that the best thing to study at USNA is what interests you the most. USNA is tough enough as it is without making yourself something you hate just because you think it will help you later. As an officer, it most likely won't, and beyond service you most likely won't be doing something you hate anyway. Study what you like and make the best of it.</p>
<p>Sorry. Hit the wrong key. That was supposed to be a smiley. ;)</p>
<p>Concerning the "gouge system". Gouge is not a system. It is the info you get from inside sources. For example, my navigation professor (a LCDR SWO) would give EI sessions the night before the exams. His EI sessions were standing-room-only because the sample problems he gave you were FROM THE EXAM, which he was holding in his hand! THAT is the definition of getting the gouge, and as those of us who have spent a single semester at USNA can tell you, an ounce of gouge is worth a ton of knowledge.</p>
<p>Some might call this cheating. If a professor gives out help with a wink and a nod, it's taking advantage of a tactical advantage. It's not like the Mids broke in and stole the exam (as some dim bulbs in my class did the night before the EE final. JERKS!).</p>
<p>Gouge is not reliable unless the source(s) are solid, and the transmission medium (the guy with the gouge) is reliable. Many a mean prank has been played by Mids with the "gouge", when what they were really going is GOUGING their classmates. Not a good thing to do, BTW.</p>
<p>Oh, and just so you are thoroughly gouged on the gouge, the word "gouge" is often pronounced "GOO-hay". </p>