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A Guide To Surf
Colleges
| First an article in Surfer, most
recently reprinted in my book, The Surfer's Guide to Florida, this college
guide has connected many a surfer with many a surf school!
For most high school surfers the thought of abandoning
home breaks, school chums and mom's cooking for college is nothing short
of horrifying. But college doesn't have to be a land-locked purgatory somewhere
between High School and The Real World. In fact, it is possible to turn
your Higher Education into a 4-year surf trip funded entirely (and this
is the best part) by your well-meaning parents. The trick is finding the
right school before Mom, Dad and your friendly guidance counselor send you
packing to Kansas U. Start your research with this list of four-year colleges,
chosen for their location, year-round surf opportunities and atmosphere. |
FLORIDA
Flagler College
St. Augustine. Private.
BA degrees.
530 men, 700 women
Yearly tuition: $4,750
Admissions: (904) 829-6481
Board shorts and slaps are to Flagler what tweeds and penny loafers are
to Harvard. Boasting historic Spanish architecture, the Flagler campus looks
like a scene out of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean. Campus is just over
the bridge from Anastasia Island, a choice spot for off-campus living and
location of several above average surf breaks, including Middles in the
Anastasia State Recreation Area. Has an active and often excellent surf
team.
Florida Atlantic University
Boca Raton. Public.
Bachelors, Masters and Phd degrees.
2,400 men, 2,800 women
Yearly Tuition: In-state: $1,550, Out: $4,139
Admissions: (407) 367-2498
Campus is a mile from Boca Raton Beach which is a little far south for the
most consistent Florida surf, but there are workable spots on NE swells
and S wind swells. Has a top rated ocean engineering program, resident surfers
are currently engineering a sixty-foot tsunami to hit the east coast in
late Spring.
Florida Institute of Technology
Melbourne. Private.
BS degrees, MS and PhD programs
1,900 men 600 women
Yearly Tuition: $12,300
Admissions: (800) 888-4348
If you can compute wave heights using algebraic equations and know how to
balance study time with surf time, this is the school for you. Ten minutes
from the Indialantic beaches and thirty minutes from Sebastian Inlet. Marine
Biology is the most popular major.
University of Central Florida
Orlando. Public.
Bachelor and Masters degrees.
5,100 men, 5700 women
Yearly tuition: In-state: $1,500 Out: $4,200
Admissions: (407) 823-3000
Forty-five minutes inland from Cocoa Beach, but has large, close-knit and
high-scoring surf team. So maybe if driving is your second love. . .
University of North Florida
Jacksonville. Public.
Bachelor and Masters degrees.
1,300 men, 1,500 women
Yearly tuition: In-state: $1,450, Out: $4,200.
Admissions: (904) 646-2624
Smack dab in the middle of a wildlife refuge and yet close to a thriving
metropolis. About ten minutes from Mayport Poles and Jacksonville Pier.
Has a budding surf team.
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
Daytona Beach. Private.
Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees.
3,500 men, 450 women
Yearly tuition: $7,000
Admissions: (904) 226-6100
The only fully accredited aviation and aerospace oriented private university
in the world also happens to be right in Daytona Beach. If you like blasting
airs and surfing the skies, this could be your next home --- as long as
you're not too depressed by the lopsided men to women ratio.
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville. Private.
Bachelors and Masters degrees.
1000 men, 820 women
Yearly tuition: $9320
Admissions: (904) 744-3850
Another quiet, sylvan campus less than a half an hour from both Jacksonville
and the Jacksonville Beaches. Mayport Poles and Jax Pier are just short
drives away.
Stetson University
DeLand. Private.
Bachelors, Masters and JD degrees.
900 men, 1085 women
Yearly tuition: $12,000
Admissions: (904) 822-7100
Stetson has a strong business program, so if you study hard both on this
small town campus and at your local surfing destination, (Daytona Beach
is thirty minutes away), you should be able to figure out a way to make
a million off all the spring breakers in Daytona by the end of four years.
University of West Florida
Pensacola. Public.
Bachelor and Masters degrees.
1,600 men, 2,300 women
Yearly tuition: In-state: $1,450, Out: $4,100
Admissions: (904) 474-2230
Located on a 1000 acre nature preserve, this campus is close to the Panhandle's
hard breaking, if a little wave hungry, surf spots.
Ringling School of Art and Design
Sarasota. 3 year Private art college.
BFA degrees.
345 men, 270 women
Yearly tuition: $9,665
Admissions: (813) 359-7523
Yes, this Gulf Coast three-year art school was named after the same guy
with the circus, but this isn't any clown academy. If you enjoy airbrushing
boards and designing T-shirts maybe a little more than you actually like
surfing, this might be the spot. Waves aren't plentiful, but they can be
found.
HAWAII
Brigham Young University
Laie. Private.
AA, AS, BA, BS degrees.
703 full-time men, 902 women.
Tuition: $1,530 Mormons, $2,290 other.
For that peculiar blend of North Shore hellman and Latter-day Saint, a fifteen
minute car ride from Pipeline. Campus is alcohol-free, but maybe living
the clean life isn't a bad idea for a haole freshman facing his first North
Shore winter.
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu. Private.
AA, BA degrees.
4,865m 5,667w.
$1,328 in-state, $3,778 out.
No club.
Largest Hawaiian university, two miles from Diamond Head and Waikiki and
a forty-five minute drive from North Shore. Smaller Hilo campus also offers
AS and BS degrees, and sits minutes from Hilo Bay and Banyan.
Hawaii Pacific University
Honolulu. Private.
AS, BA, BS degrees.
1,892m 1,248w.
Tuition: $4,800.
No club.
Alamoana and Waikiki are minutes away; North Shore a thirty minute drive.
Classes are small and personal; freshman Chad Gayton says teachers will
warn you when your time in the water is affecting your place in their grade
book.
CALIFORNIA
Humboldt State University
Arcata. Public.
BA, BS degrees.
2,947m 2,533w.
$903 in-state fees, $6,573 out.
No club.
About four miles from huge North California surf. Bring a big gun, trade
your neon 2/3 for a black 4mm and work on attaining that mellow, granola-munching
North California attitude.
Pepperdine University
Malibu. Affiliated with Church of Christ.
BA, BS, BFA degrees.
1,029m 1,273w.
Tuition: $14,310.
Malibu beach in summer, Zuma in winter. Long point break, long rides, long
history, long time working off that tuition fee, but how else could you
afford to live in Malibu?
Point Loma
San Diego. Private. Affiliated with Church of the Nazarene.
BA degrees.
739m 949w.
Tuition: $6798.
Affectionately known as "The Surf Camp", a hundred yards from
Abs and an half hour from Black's Beach. No booze, smoking, cussing, or
dancing (leads to S-E-X), but what they don't know won't hurt 'em.
University of California at San Diego
La Jolla. Public.
BA, BS degrees.
7,596m 6,728w.
$1,734 in-state, $7,650 out.
Surf Club has the key to Black's Beach. Host of the Beer Open, where finalists
from each heat chug two or three brews before advancing. Winner usually
washes in with the next tide.
University of California at Santa Barbara
Public.
BA, BS, BFA degrees.
8,263m 8,590w.
$1,578 in-state fees, $7,377 out.
All-around Killer Location, favorite spots include Sands (if you don't mind
a little natural tar seepage) Campus Point, El Capitain, and Rincon. Many
students live at Isla Vista, a partier's paradise town and the prototype
for the surf community of the twenty-first century.
University of California at Santa Cruz
Public.
BA, BS degrees.
3,947m 4781w.
$1,812 in-state, $9,540 out.
No club.
Close to famed spots like Cowells, Pleasure Point and Steamer Lane, which
offer consistent, if chilly, year 'round surf. Emphasis is on soul, not
competition, but how could a school with the Banana Slug for a mascot be
anything but mellow. At Santa Cruz even the sharks are vegetarians.
OTHER SPOTS
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Wilmington. Public.
BA, BS degrees.
2,569m, 3,287w.
$1,068 in-state, $5,440 out.
Wrightsville Beach is five minutes away or paddle out to Masenboro, an undeveloped
barrier island where a good Northeaster guarantees overhead, glassy barrels.
Hatteras is about a five hour drive.
University of Rhode Island
Kingston. Public.
AS, BA, BS degrees.
4,596m 5,042w.
$2,747 in-state, $7,251 out.
Sure, it gets cold, but New Englanders are a hardy breed and classic Narragansett
Town Beach is only a ten minute drive from campus. Alma Mater of perhaps
the most infamous New England longboarder and surf shop owner Pete Panagiotis,
alias "Peter Pan".
SUGGESTIONS FROM SOME PAGE VISITORS:
From: Rodney
U. Of Hawaii is the ultimate surf college. The
best surf, great tuition, warm water, no wetsuits, no great whiteys, and
a good vibe. A surfer who wants to feel the power, speed, and beauty of
the Hawaiian experience needs to apply soon. I suggest that a surfer go
to the islands and settle in for a year to obtain in-state tuition then
attend. Get a drivers license, rental contract, voting certificate, and
a job to prove residency. Physical oceanography, international business,
engineering and the sciences are good bets for employment after graduation.
good luck to all. I did it and I thrived on the power, adrenaline, and the
beauty of Hawaii. Plus got a degree in meteorology.
FROM: Christian del Rosario
You are forgetting one of the best located surf schools on the entire east
coast. Salve Regina in Newport (Rhode Island) among the "cottages"
on the cliff walk. I had some friends who went there and they scored! Their
first year there was the infamous fall of '89. You can't beat being able
to check Ruggles and the Corner from your classroom or if you are real lucky,
from your dorm.
FROM: Tom Allen
Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia is fairly popular among surfers.
It's next door to Virginia Beach and only about 1.5 hours from the Outer
Banks and 2.5 hours from Hatteras.
FROM: April Corley
You forgot to mention the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. We may
not get waves as good as CA, but we are certainly comparable to many FL
breaks. Check us out.
FROM: Abraham John
What about Westmont College in Santa Barbara? Hammond's Reef, Rincon, The
Ranch...
FROM: emelende
Stetson university now has a surf club and a surf team. It is located 24
miles from New Smyrna Beach. There are numerous breaks in that area which
include Poles, Bethune, Flagler Ave. and Ponce Inlet.
FROM: Marc Boutet
Maine may be cold YEAR ROUND. but it keeps the kooks to a minimum- check
out FORTUNES ROCKS 1 mile from University of New England, storms bring
great surf, if you have a thick suit( it gets up to around 62 in summer
and down to about 35 in the winter, but we still grin and "bear"
it!)
FROM: Ryan Murray
I have one more for you to add..Daytona Beach Community College. Myself,
with the help of many others have just recently organized the 1st DBCC surf
club. I am the president of the club, and our first meeting is Oct. 22.
I am very interested in the other schools who have clubs/teams because we
possibly could have one of the best teams around our area. The reason I
say this is I already know of at least 25 people who are interested in the
club/team, with at least 15 being very good surfers from around this area.
I know many of the top rated people from the New Smyrna Beach and Daytona
area, and most go to DBCC. I along with all the others would be interested
in contacting all of the other schools, and begin to possibly meet with
them. Our school is good because of the fact that they give us money to
burn and a Greyhound bus to use also.
FROM: Macaulay S Renner
I feel you left out a key school, Monmouth University. Located in West long
Branch, NJ, the campus is only 1 mile from the beach. Sandy Hook, a great
point break is 10 minutes north and my home break,(the best in the East)
the Manasquan Inlet is only 15 minutes south. All along the shore there
are decent spots to find waves. One just has to be hardcore and loyal. Just
thought I'd let you know. See ya in the water.
FROM: Steve at Apple Computers
Did you forget about UC, SantaCruz. Steamers is five minutes away! I'm originally
from Jupiter,FL; but the surf in CA is always consistent (not big but consistent).
Pretty cool web page!
FROM: fjaner
the Aguadilla campus and the Mayaguez campus of the University of Puerto
Rico, on the northwestern part of the island, are close to some of the best
surfing in the Atlantic Ocean. In Aguadilla you can see from one of the
classrooms a spot where a major ASP event was held some time ago, Mayaguez
is a half hour drive from classic triple overhead waves and its engineering
program is NASA-caliber. you may have to learn Spanish, but the nice influence
of colonialism makes all books be in English.
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