Considering Grad School: Gotta be on the water!

[TenaciousH]

Hey Cruisers!

I come here seeking advice since CF has been such a great resource, and I realize that my first standard for finding a decent graduate school revolves around whether or not the school is close enough to the water for me to live aboard my boat.

I'm 25 years old and looking for schools that offer either law, philosophy, or business schools. Even a good undergrad school is something I'll consider. I run two totally different businesses (one restaurant and one website that sells marine pumps of all kinds) and I have all intentions on starting another, so I figure getting an MBA or Law degree is something to consider. One of my undergrad majors was Philosophy, so I could see myself studying that as well.

The only schools I'd seriously consider, though, would have to be within a few miles (bike or scooter ride i guess) of a half decent anchorage or mooring field. They'd also have to be somewhere I could keep myself entertained, with at least a decent nightlife and social atmosphere, etc etc.

As of yet, Hodges University in Key West has attracted my attention, but thats nothing near as prestigious a university I believe I could get into.
a
What do you think? I seriously appreciate any advice, and Happy Cruising!

[roverhi]

UCSD in La Jolla, CA is a short distance by bike or scooter from San Diego or Mission Bay; the same is true for Berkeley with Berkeley Marina a mile or so away; U of Washington is right on the water with mooring available on Lake Union if you want to travel to the West Coast.

[Alchemist 66]

Can I ask why you want to go to grad school? Is it to increase your income potential, to have another degree for the sake of having another degree, to party, or just for intellectual stimulation?

From your post I gather you might want to increase income potential, so I'll risk offering some unsolicited advise. An advanced degree in philosophy should be pursued only if you have lots of extra time and money that you can throw away without any appreciable return, except for personal satisfaction. Unless you become a professor in philosophy, the investment in time and money is not really an investment.

Law school is a trap many people have fallen into in the last few years, with many regretting their decision. Because of the economic downturn, many students have gone to law school when they couldn't find jobs after college. However, because of the economic slowdown, they often leave school with over $100K in additional debt and no job. The only way to guarantee a job as a lawyer after graduating from law school is to either graduate near the top of your class, or to graduate from one of the top 8 law schools. If you plan to use your law education to help with your small businesses, that's a serious overkill. It's a lot cheaper occasionally hire a good lawyer than to spend 3 years and over $200K for a degree you'll hardly use.

If you plan to continue focusing on starting and running small businesses, then the most sensible degree is an MBA. However, that may also be an overkill. You don't need an MBA to start a small business. The tools you acquire in business school will help you run a business, but they are not necessary for most small businesses.

[Octopussy]

Annapolis has St. John's College. It follows a Great Books curriculum.. so your philosophy undergrad would work well.

And it's right down town, a quick walk from the Ego Alley dinghy dock!

Cheers,
S/V Octopussy

[k9medic]

I currently chair an undergraduate and graduate advisory board at a major state university and answer this type of question from time to time.

First, do you need it? I personally started grad school and then quickly figured out in my current career path that all I would be doing is spending money for a program that could not return the same downstream.

If you are "stuck" on grad school then why not consider an online program?
There are several very well established online grad programs that have both the academic standing as well as name recognition.

[Kalinowski]

My son will graduate from U of Hawai'i (Manoa) this May. He has lived aboard our yacht in Honolulu for the past 5 years. We visit several months a year for vacation and sailing. UH is a great school, in a great climate with great sailing, marinas close in, an excellent bus system, and great night life. It's cheaper to establish residency first.

[skipmac]

University of FL offers an online MBA program. Top public university in the state (ignore what anyone from FSU has to say on this subject )

A bit over an hour to any live aboard locations but since you won't need to go to campus daily wouldn't matter.

[MYTraveler]

Originally Posted by TenaciousH

As of yet, Hodges University in Key West has attracted my attention, but thats nothing near as prestigious a university I believe I could get into.
a
What do you think? I seriously appreciate any advice, and Happy Cruising!

If you are looking for prestige, it's not easy to get into, but there is a really good B-School on the Charles River, and within walking distance from there the same university has a law school (which is getting a bad name from some of its graduates -- like Obummer). And they offer a joint JD-MBA, like Mitt got.

[TacomaSailor]

Western Washington University in Bellingham Washington - my grad school alma mater.

Big Boat sailing in Bellingham Bay year round. The San Juan and Canadian Gulf Islands are only a few hours west. There are no year round anchorages or mooring fields in B'ham but the Squalicum marina is cheap. I lived aboard in the marina during grad school.

Great Lake Sailing on Lake Whatcom just 10 miles east. WWU has a very active sailing program on the Lake where they own a lot of waterfront and have a big cabin and boat house.

Year round (most years) snow skiing at Mt Baker (45 minutes east) or Whistler (90 minutes North)

Fantastic mountain and rock climbing all over the Pacific NW.

Exquisite road bike riding for thousands of miles on flat land and the Cascade mountains.

Even better mountain bike riding - actually some of the best in the world IF you like riding in the mud and big trees.

I lived there for eight years and thought it one of the nicest places for all the activities I described.

Many a day I skied in the morning, raced a sailboat in the afternoon, and bicycled to the bar at night.

My personal experience was with the WWU grad schools in psychology, education, and computer science and found them to be superb.

WWU has about 10,000 students and B'Ham about 82,000 residents. The university dominates the community and thus B'Ham has a rich social and cultural scene. There is a lot of live music and many great restaurants and bars.

We would live there again if it were not for the hundreds of days a year of cloudy cool weather. That was great when we lived during school and for five years after school - tbut now that we've lived in sunny Mexico for four years and San Diego for six years we just can't stand the cool clouds.

For those grad school naysayers - my graduate education, after a near worthless BA in psychology, allowed me to work in a new and developing field where I created many of the methods and procedures. That work allowed me to retire at age 50 and go sailing for the rest of my life.

[lesterbutch]

Alchemist66 asks a good question. I have graduate degrees and Iv'e often wondered why I bothered. A fact of life is that in the long run people with undergarduate degrees make more money and have an easier time finding work than people with advanced degrees. This of course relates to averages, some specialty degree holders do better. Also some jobs require advanced degrees within a number of years, (education for one).

[lesterbutch]

[QUOTE=lesterbutch;1799103]Alchemist66 asks a good question. I have graduate degrees and Iv'e often wondered why I bothered. A fact of life is that in the long run people with undergarduate degrees make more money and have an easier time finding work than people with advanced degrees. This of course relates to averages, some specialty degree holders do better. Also some jobs require advanced degrees within a number of years, (education for one). As to Tacomasailor, I didn't retire until I was 72, but I sailed 2-3 months a year for the 52 years that I worked! That equates to more than ten years of full time sailing, not bad!

[lesterbutch]

I hit edit and it ended up doubling up the reply? What did I do wrong?

[Franst8]

You can't beat UC Berkeley for the programs you are interested in and it's a short bike ride from the marina and incredibly fantastic sailing on SF Bay. I live on my boat here and it's a popular place for grad student liveaboards. Plenty of social life all around and San Francisco a short Bart ride away.
A good education is never a waste of time.
Good luck and enjoy being young.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by TenaciousH

Hey Cruisers!

I come here seeking advice since CF has been such a great resource, and I realize that my first standard for finding a decent graduate school revolves around whether or not the school is close enough to the water for me to live aboard my boat.

Good to have educational priorities

[letsgetsailing3]

Figure out what you want to study, and get into the best program related that that. When you're in grad school you probably won't have much time for sailing anyway. Then get established in a career or business in a location near the sailing you want to do.

You have to have your priorities, but be smart about it. Early in your career, your career has to be king. The ocean isn't going anywhere.