You only need a boat if you head south of the college down by Dolphin tanks etc.. There are 5-6 breaks basically on the PL Nazarene campus. You can walk down and surf all of them. South Garbage, SUBS, ABS, Newbreak and Chasm are all considered on the campus. No boat. Just a short walk down the cliff to access all 5. ANd all 9 breaks north of there on the cliffs are walkable too.
Agreed: I graduated from Towson Univeristy before I ever moved out to SD, but when we got here and moved to OB, my girlfriend (now fiance) went to City College downtown for a couple of years, bascially for free because we got residency. I mean, 5 classes a few years ago ran us like $250 a semester! UNREAL! And once you get your AA or transfer, you go to SDSU for like $2K a semester, maybe a bit less, or USD/UCSD if you got cash... But for sure, get your california residency, then do community college for a year or so. It is litterally almost free if you are in-state. Its insane. Free education basically, and SDSU is super cheap too. Just wear 3 condoms if you party at SDSU, all my buddies who graduated from there nick named it "STDSU" haha... But yeah, chicks for days and days out here.
currently at uncw...couldn't be happier. The waves aren't as good as up north, but the water is warmer, chicks are hotter, and the banks are an easy drive.
Don't study oceanography. I've heard the market is saturated with people with this degree. Don't study psychology either. If you want a degree you can do something with, study computer science, computer engineering, or something similar. Just my two cents.
Agree with above. With the way things are going in this country and with technology, the people who know a lot about computers are going to be making bank (already are). I wanted to do marine biology in school but when I found out what I would be making with a degree I went with business administration concentration finance. Nice and generic that way you can get a job almost anywhere!
I heard OBX is like a 5 hour drive from there, is that correct? And to the others, I have a Computer Science Degree from Toswon University (Class of 02) and I currently don't use it at all. I would NOT recommend that ANYONE get a computer science degree unless you REALLY love technology, and plan on being a student of technology for the rest of your life. Every 2 years or so, whatever knowledge you had in college is basically obsolete. You ahve to CONSTANTLY train if you are in teh technology industry, so yes, it can be lucrative, but it is NOT for the faint of heart. Its really technical, very scientific and requires constant upgrading and studying. While I agree that marine biology etc are over saturated, if thats what you love, thats what you love... Those tech and engineering degrees are for a certain tyoe of person... But hey what do I know. I have a BS in computer science, but no I manage a gigantic, very successful restaurant right on the water in San Diego. Couldn't be happier. I use my degree every now and again for web design projects and side jobs... But these days, a degree is a degree. The fact that you have a degree from any DECENT school will get you work in most cities. Everyone in my family works outside of their degrees. My brother runs a wing od EA sports and makes Video games in Northern Virginia. He has a Political Science Degree... My father works for NOAA, and he has a political science degree. My mother runs one the county board of education in Maryland, and her degree was something completely different... My thing is, just go to school, any school. Learn, work hard and graduate.
And to the guy who started this thread: My advice is this: It sounds like you are looking at schools all back on the east coast. So, with that being said, you really shouldn't have too much trouble finding time for studying and school. Lets all be honest, its not like you will even have the option to surf every day. So, you just do the school thing, and if conditions are good and it breaks waist high or something, go get out for an hour... But like I said, its not like you are moving to Costa Rica for school where you will be taunted by empty barrels everytime you look out the window... You should be much more worried about partying and chasing girls, because all of us that have been there will tell you that those are the real obsitcles at college. Its drinking too much, staying up too late and chasing tail... So, pick any school by the sea. You will love it and you will not be a slacker because of the surf... Yeah, if its great out, spend as much time as you can, just make sure you are always ontop of your school work, so when the opportunity presents itself, you can charge it... But like I said, there is only good surf every so often, so I wouldn;t worry about it...
Ill be attending UNCW in January, its pretty hard getting in. Like 58% acceptance or something so apply early and with a strong portfolio. I applied regular decision, top 20% of my class, NHS treasurer, environmental club, varsity soccer and all kinds of **** and barely made it into the Spring Admit. Keep that in mind, hopefully you get in. Surfed wrightsville during Danny and holy s*** that was fun.
kdh and 'town' are about 4.5 hours from wrightsville...hatteras is another 30-45 depending on the roads
where you go isn't as important as what you do when you get there. I went to Salisbury and lived on campus my first year. because of that my grades sucked. Mainly from way too much partying and not going to class (there was no attendance requirements). as soon as i moved to OC, my grades got much better since all i really did was surf and study. I allowed myself to go to parties only on weekends. major IS important too. a general BA can help you get a a job but you need much more luck out of school to succeed that way. a more specialized technical or medical related degree pretty much guarantees you a good job. Someone also said something in an earlier thread about there being a glut of marine biologists and I agree. pay attention to your field and check the job availability nationwide. I'm guessing that a lot of 'feel good' majors like marine biology and environmental science are way over staffed already. IMO nursing or another medical major is the way to go since they are always in demand and tend to be the better paying jobs near beach towns ( I assume you want to live at the beach when you get out of school).
Not to keep harping on the degree fields, but my brother in law got a B.A. in Theater Play Writting -- something that he loved. He graduated about two years ago and now lives in Brooklyn and just got a raise to 12 dollars an hour at the only theater he could get hired at. People have their different theories about college, I'm just saying, if you're going to spend 4 years of your life learning something, you may as well learn something that is a bit more of a trade where you can actually do something with it. Also, plenty of people have technical degrees and go into management and other avenues of business. Technology transcends any business you can think of these days, and if you are familiar with the technical aspect, you're half way there. Plus you make BANK! Trust me...
u know why Stocktons the best, I just won $750 off $100 and there was an open bar at Dusk in Caesars.
Stockton is an good school for the sciences (marine/environmental/biology). They have an excellent marine field station that is located in close proximity to Great Bay - great source for educational marine research. Also, RSC just started offering their first Masters in the sciences (professional science masters) this fall. Stockton is close to several beach towns that offer very cheap off-season housing. When I went attended (2000-2005), I lived at the beach each year. One year we scored a 3 bedroom winter rental (sept-may) for $600/month on the beach block. Needless to say we were on it all the time. I personally recommend brigantine b/c it is close to campus and you can work in AC on the weekends and make some good money. If you feel the need to leave the state, I really liked UNC Wilmington each time I visited (dont expect OBX-like surf though) and UCSD is probably hands down the best school in the country for surfing/education. Blacks is one of my favorite breaks all of Southern California and SD is a really fun city.
Prospective marine biologists should read this sobering article: http://blogs.payscale.com/salarystories/2007/04/name_dr_james_b.html
College of Charleston...Great city, great weather, decent waves at Folly Beach about a 15 minute drive
Stockton is a great EC surfers college. Hey, I went there! But seriously it's on the Parkway at exit 44. Head north to grab a sesh in LBI ( 25min) or Seaside( 45min) or go South for Ocean City (the real one) 20 min. Oh, and good ol' AC ghetto tubes are a mere 15min away.
Seriously? Folly Beach? If it weren't for the ridiculously hot women of South Carolina and Rt. 95 it would be a fly over state for sure!
U of Rhode Island. Good variety of wave types that pick up different swell angles. Ridiculously competitive marine bio/oceanography dept. I went there, studied environmental sciences and now work in the construction field as an Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) consultant, not exactly what i envisioned in college but hey it pays the bills and i like it. problem with URI: very costly now-a-days for out of state....and if ur from jersey you're gonna get lumped in with all the benny guido jersey heads that go there from north jersey.....but hey the surf is good!
Good luck getting into uncw. I made it into the 2010 spring semester there but decided to go to ecu in the fall instead of waiting until spring to go there. Now im transferring to hawaii after my first semester at ecu, should be a nice place to find a couple waves.
I totally understand the in-state thing for money reasons, but if you do the residency thing and transfer that fixes that issue. As far as UNC Wilmington, it is a beautiful school in a cool town. The downside is the drive is like 9-10 hours from the NJ area and the waves are not as consistant as probably your home town. My thinking is to take the 5.5 hour flight to San Diego, waves are good and the water never gets below 58-60 in January! NO BRAINER!
