College for Kiteboarding

genek · Since 21 Jul 2006 2165 Posts East Po KGB

Also, some options in the San Francisco Bay Area or UC Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz has great wave kiting and surfing near by.

bulae99 · Since 12 Jul 2006 1691 Posts I give out bad advice.

bulae99 · Since 12 Jul 2006 1691 Posts I give out bad advice.

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1865 Posts XTreme Poster

Out of state tuition in the UC system is almost 50K/year; Princeton's cheaper.

Question 1: Do you want the live on campus college experience? If so, the CC will not give you that. CC's give you great instruction at bargain prices, but not the Animal House experience that many of us love to share stories about. What do you want?

Question 2: Do you want to take a year off, wait tables/etc, and live the kiting dream? If so--do it. Start college at 19. Move to California, for example, get your in-state requirement taken care of while working odd jobs and kite. Or maybe Brazil, or Hawaii, or...

Question 3: Do you just want to be super efficient about your degree--"Get 'er done." If so, nothing beats two years of CC, then transfer into 4-year for last two years. Both California and Oregon have exceptionally good CC programs. Orange County, Santa Clara County in California, along with Eugene and Portland in Oregon. Many others I am sure.

Question 4: Are you driven, want a bit of Degree Bling, and have grades/SAT's/and $? I would do Stanford. Great school, great location, lots of kiting.

Best of luck. Spend some time thinking about what you want.

Eric

bulae99 · Since 12 Jul 2006 1691 Posts I give out bad advice.

My dorm was 200 feet away from Abs, Newbs, Subs and Garbage...

http://www.pointloma.edu/ResidentialLife.htm

This is a religious school and a sister school of USC. The beauty of a private school is that there are often scholarships from private donors, job opportunities, and other sources of payment for school.
This college has incredible supports for student's who need extra attention to pass classes, like English.

Cheers,
Ron
Very Happy

jdogg · Since 13 May 2009 5 Posts Kook

www.questu.ca, new university right in squamish, can look out the classroom window and if the leaves are swaying, you're 5 minutes away from daily 20knots every sunny day of summer.

laplayanj · Since 22 Apr 2009 10 Posts

Thanks for all the reply's- I am the Dad not the prospective student. I am a UCSB alum(That's why I can spell) nobody had a kite way back then. Mom might be pissed if she saw this post.

I think recreation is as important as the grindstone, thats why we work hard so we can play hard. Kiting has been the best thing for my son and his buddies-keeps them busy, when there is no waves usually windy and their good at it. Also a great parent tool, threaten to take the kite away..cruel and unusual punishment.

WINDUDE · Since 10 Jun 2010 558 Posts GORGE! Addicted

now that I have read a few posts, I would also maybe recommend taking a year off before college! why not, I look back and wish maybe I did that too. Work/kite and save some dough

Gman · Since 11 Feb 2006 4911 Posts Portland Unstrapped

Sauve · Since 19 Mar 2009 97 Posts Hood River

alot of good ideas they all sound like fun

better ask yourself what you want out of college before you decide.
if you want to kite, kite. you dont need to go to college because you feel like its the default thing to do. if you have something you actually WANT to study then use that and kiting to narrow down your options. i went to college to study some bullshit i dont care about, looking back i wish i had studied something i love or not wasted all the damn money and time to get a degree that really doesnt mean anything. have fun and pursue your passions w passion!

and that renewable energy program looks awesome

DownStream · Since 18 Apr 2007 381 Posts Obsessed

UTB University of Texas Brownsville

-kite flats and waves on SPI all winter

-kiteboarding club with gear (no one yet qualified to use)

-free lessons en espanol daily

bulae99 · Since 12 Jul 2006 1691 Posts I give out bad advice.

LOL, it's really cool to see parent's with kids kiting together. My mind can't help but imagine just how cool it would be to have a parent teach, or encourage access to kiting. Life is good for the kids who have the parental units that can create access to this incredibly fun activity.
Wow, very cool.
Very Happy

scottnorby · Sun Aug 08, 10 2:40 pm

Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.
If you have a 4.02 GPA that is.

Good wind---good surf----good vibe---less expensive area.
Great schools.

Cuesta community college is the other option in that same area.

Lived there 3 years and it's got the magic.
Sort of not well known and kept under wraps.
You can still find surf with very few guys out but you get the weather of so cal.....just a bit cooler.
Shorts year round.

Cooler water but not cold.
LA is 2 hours away.
SD is 3 hours away.
And Santa Cruz / San Fran is 3 hours to the north.

Small town with big town options.

DMac · Since 14 Jun 2009 145 Posts Stoked

Strongly agree with Eric. Decide on your priorities before you spend Pop's $ and your time. If all you really want is kite, then take a year off, wait tables and live the dream. Then when you are ready for university and maybe later professional school you will be motivated and have a fire in your belly to study and succeed.
That said, I went to UCSC and kite access at Wadell is 30 min away. I grew up in SF Bay and UC Berkeley has kiting access 15 min away, but it's pretty urban. Cal Poly/SLO is probably the best balance in my opinion; excellent weather and more mellow overall vibe, good coast conditions 15min away.
Doing CC for 2 years first is a very good intermediate option.
Work hard, play hard.

kiteboard117 · Since 02 Mar 2005 450 Posts PDX McLovin

cant speak highly enough of the school I am at now. http://www.questu.ca/
Its brand new, so no reputation yet but 7 of the 9 classes I took last year were taught by ivy league profs. all classes 20people or less and most importantly 10minutes from some of the best flat-water i have ridden. Honestly before this year I didn't think there was any way I could get as exited about school as I have always been about kiting but this place does it for me.