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Summary
United States Coast Guard Academy is a public institution that was founded in 1931. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,045, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 110 acres. It utilizes a semester-based academic calendar. United States Coast Guard Academy's ranking in the 2013 edition of Best Colleges is Regional Colleges (North), 2. Its in-state tuition and fees are $0 (2012-13); out-of-state tuition and fees are $0 (2012-13).
The United States Coast Guard Academy is a military service academy located in New London, Conn., overlooking the Thames River. A practice observed at most U.S. service academies, Coast Guard students are referred to as cadets, indicating their position as military trainees. Incoming cadets are required to participate in Swab Summer, a seven-week military training program. Student life is highly regimented at Coast Guard, with military training, study periods, and athletic activities all built in to the daily schedule. Coast Guard’s intercollegiate athletic teams compete primarily in NCAA Division III sports. Music groups such as the Glee Club, Gospel Choir, and NiteCaps Jazz Band are popular among students.
Unlike the other service academies, admission to the Coast Guard Academy is based purely on merit—a congressional nomination is not required. Academics are divided into five departments: engineering, humanities, management, mathematics, and science. Coast Guard also offers unique courses through its Strategic Intelligence and Homeland Security department, such as Detection of Radioactive Materials and Polar Operations Homeland Security. After completing their third year, cadets spend the summer working aboard one of the Coast Guard’s cutters. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, a training ship docked at the Academy, was originally used by Nazi Germany and is one of the only commissioned sailing ships in U.S. government service.
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The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is located on the west bank of the Thames River in the New England shoreline town of New London, Conn. In 1876, the Revenue Cutter Service (predecessor to the U.S. Coast Guard) established a program of instruction aboard the topsail schooner Dobbin. The program was relocated to New London in 1910 with a move to the historic Fort Trumbull site, and the city has been home to the institution ever since. From the outside, the Academy is a small New England campus with more than 100-acres of rolling hills, Georgian-style brick buildings and a fleet of small boats dotting the piers along the waterfront. From the inside, it is an institution like no other. It is the center of leadership training and the single accession point for all officers in the U.S. Coast Guard, the smallest armed service in the United States. As one of the smallest of the five federal service academies, the institution graduates and commissions more than 200 Ensigns each year. According to its mission statement, the Academy is, committed to strengthening the nation's future by educating, developing, training, and inspiring leaders of character who are ethically, intellectually, professionally, and physically prepared to serve their country and humanity, and who are strong in their resolve to build on the long military and maritime heritage and proud accomplishments of the United States Coast Guard. Every Coast Guard cadet completes core studies in sciences and liberal arts, selecting one of eight majors offered and specializing in one of 13 programs of study. Training aboard the Barque Eagle, a 295-foot tall ship, has been part of the cadet experience here for more than 60 years. The decks of a sailing ship are still considered the best place to experience the power and majesty of the ocean first-hand. As the ocean is both the workplace and the key resource Academy students will be charged to protect, the experience is vital in developing them into effective and confident leaders. Athletics also forms an integral part of the training program, with 23 intercollegiate sports offerings. The Academy is highly committed to ensuring that the representation of the cadets and faculty is reflective of the nation it serves. Diversity is vital to mission readiness and excellence, but academic success is still the primary consideration in the institution's admissions process. Significant progress has been made to improve minority recruiting at the Academy with the incoming class of 2014 made up of 24% Underrepresented Minorities (URM), an increase from the previous year's incoming class which included 15% URM. The Academy has been recognized as one of the top institutions of higher learning according to popular college rankings, including the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges publication. It was ranked #1 in the Baccalaureate Colleges (North) category in the 2011 edition Best Colleges issue, earning a perfect overall score of 100, and ranked among the top twenty Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs whose highest degree offered is a bachelor's or master's. "The connectivity of all of our academic majors to the day-to-day operations of the Coast Guard offers a unique venue for our cadets to make their academy experience come to life," adds Kurt Colella, Dean of Academics at the Academy. "Whether it's studying the organizational challenges of the tragic earthquake in Haiti, or assisting with the mitigation of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a Coast Guard Academy education is real, relevant and at the forefront of serving those in need." |
General Information
| School type | public, coed college |
| Year founded | 1931 |
| Religious affiliation | N/A |
| Academic calendar | semester |
| Setting | suburban |
| 2011 Endowment | $0 |
Applying
When applying to United States Coast Guard Academy, it's important to note the application deadline is February 1, and the early action deadline is November 1. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due March 15. It is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 16.1 percent and an early acceptance rate of 19.3 percent.
For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.
| Selectivity | more selective |
| Fall 2011 acceptance rate | 16.1% |
| Application deadline | February 1 |
| SAT/ACT scores must be received by | March 15 |
Academic Life
The student-faculty ratio at United States Coast Guard Academy is 8:1, and the school has 66.0 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The most popular majors at United States Coast Guard Academy include: Engineering; Political Science and Government, General; Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography; Business Administration and Management, General; and Mathematics and Statistics, Other. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 88.5 percent.
Student Life
United States Coast Guard Academy has a total undergraduate enrollment of 1,045, with a gender distribution of 69.7 percent male students and 30.3 percent female students. United States Coast Guard Academy is part of the NCAA III athletic conference.
| Total enrollment | 1,045 |
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| Undergraduate men who are members of a fraternity | N/A |
| Undergraduate women who are members of a sorority | N/A |
| Collegiate athletic association | NCAA III |
Campus Info & Services
United States Coast Guard Academy offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, health service, and health insurance. United States Coast Guard Academy also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols and lighted pathways/sidewalks. Of the students at United States Coast Guard Academy, 20 percent have cars on campus. Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at United States Coast Guard Academy.
| Students who have cars on campus | 20% |
| Health insurance offered | Yes |
| Students required to own/lease a computer | Yes |
More About Campus Info & Services
Paying for School
Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.
| In-state tuition and fees | $0 (2012-13) |
| Out-of-state tuition and fees | $0 (2012-13) |
| Room and board | N/A |
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* Overview details based on 2011 data
