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petsfed
Aug 4, 2003, 10:02 PM
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Registered: Sep 25, 2002
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Colorado is almost a good idea, but (and here's the key), School of Mines has always been expensive. In state tuition was 16 grand. Expect about one and a half that for out of state. CU Boulder costs an instate freshman about 9 grand, and once you move out of the dorms (second semester because of the housing issues they have) the cost of living in boulder is prohibitive for a college student. Out of state I think has nearly hit 15 grand. Colorado has very good (University level, the primary and secondary stuff didn't do me much good) schools, but the people who do the accounting and budgeting have their heads squarely up their own asses.
As you no doubt guessed, I like Wyoming. I pay about 8 grand a year as an out of state student. That's with food, housing, books and tuition. And there are tons of cheap apartments here.
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stretch
Aug 4, 2003, 10:15 PM
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In reply to: Colorado is almost a good idea, but (and here's the key), School of Mines has always been expensive. In state tuition was 16 grand. Expect about one and a half that for out of state.
Your a little off for instate, about 10 grand off http://www.mines.edu/admiss/grad/tuition.htm
The school is full of dorks though
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juju
Aug 4, 2003, 10:45 PM
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Registered: Jun 13, 2003
Posts: 9
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In reply to: Just curious, in working for NASA you almost have to have some kind of aviation experience to be an astronaught , right?
No, you don't have to have aviation experience. If you want to be a pilot for NASA, then yes, you do need the flying hours (I believe at least 1000 pilot in command hours), but there are also mission specialists who do not need any flying hours at all. Trenchdigger was right though, in order to get to NASA, you're going to need AT LEAST a Masters degree whether you want to be an astronaut pilot or mission specialist. From what I've read, most of the pilots at NASA do come from either the Air Force or Navy, but it's not required. I believe anyone with enough flying time is eligible to apply for the astronaut program, as long as he/she has all of the qualifications.
As for USAFA, if you went there, I highly doubt you'd have much, if any time to go climbing while you're there. If you do decide to go for the Air Force though, you could just go to an engineering college and do Air Force ROTC (which is what I'm currently doing). It only takes up a couple of hours a week, and if you get a scholarship through them, they pay for your school plus you get a monthly stipend and some book money each semester (which really comes in handy!). Feel free to email me (cloudchaser11@hotmail.com) if you have any other questions about ROTC.
I currently go to Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, IL which is about a 2.5-3 hour drive away from Devil's Lake in Wisconsin. It's not the greatest place to be, and isn't the closest to a good climbing area, but 2.5 hours isn't toooo bad. Good luck in whatever you decide to do. Hopefully I'll see ya at NASA too one day, because I'm also an aspiring astronaut :)
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alpinerockfiend
Aug 4, 2003, 11:16 PM
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Registered: Feb 3, 2003
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Montana State University (where I'm attending) in Bozeman, MT, has an excellent engineering program. It has **** granite and gneiss trad cragging within a 30 minute drive, and a 1 hr., 15 min. drive from ***** cragging at the Homestake Pass area near Butte. Like a City of Rocks/Needles combo.
Not to mention the world class ice routes of hyalite canyon! Excellent skiing within 30 minutes as well. Take it from me: I had high standards coming from Jackson.
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bumpkin
Aug 5, 2003, 1:57 PM
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Just want to say that the odd few posts that recommended eastern schools are way off-base. There's lots of good reasons to go live in the east, and there is climbing but if you're going to school for climbing, forget about it. Finally do NOT go to MIT, or even think of it. People are basically miserable here and the climbers are even more so because 80 - 100 hour weeks leave very little time to drive 2 hrs to some scrappy pile of schist (Rumney) or 3+ to hit nice granite (Cathedral). New Hampshire climbing is pretty cool but it is not Colorado or California. Having said that, I have heard amazing things about Dartmouth in terms of students getting out backcountry skiing and climbing a lot.
My vote: University of Utah in SLC. My buddy did Master's and PhD there, skiied 50+ days a year, climbed and mountain biked like a fiend and still got done in good time and with a solid enough record to get a faculty job at U. of British Colombia, itself a very good choice for the skiing/climbing minded. (though if we're talking Canadian schools, U Calgary would turn you into a pretty serious ice climber and alpinist in a way no lower 48 school could).
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climber_dave
Aug 5, 2003, 2:40 PM
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Registered: Jul 26, 2003
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University of New York at New Paltz is a short drive to the Gunks. A decent sort of hippy-activist atmosphere and lots of climbers. I went there for a few years. Not a bad school, especially if you lean towards the arts.
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piton
Aug 5, 2003, 2:54 PM
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i received a great education for the money at the U. of Wyoming. but it doesn't matter really where you go, it's the effort you put into your schooling. Grad school on the other hand is different.
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hasbeen
Aug 5, 2003, 3:56 PM
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Registered: May 17, 2003
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Don't know why I like this subject so much--wait, yes I do! It's because I live in hell.
Yes, I agree, U of Utah is the single best place and grad school is far more important than undergrad.
Go to Utah. Climb. Ski. Trail run. Mtn bike. And order Long Island Ice Teas at bars because a loophole in the state law means these can actually contain a lot of alcohol. If you order standard drinks it would be monitarily efficient to drive to Wyoming to get drunk.
Have fun--maybe I should just go back to school also...
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wc
Aug 7, 2003, 11:52 PM
Post #34 of 52
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Registered: May 20, 2003
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In reply to: Yes, I agree, U of Utah is the single best place and grad school is far more important than undergrad.
I climbed in Utah for quite some time, got my BS and MS in Geology from the U of U, and I am EXTREMELY happy to be out of there. Sure the climbing is alright but you best be willing to put the miles on your car because the worthy crags are:
1) LCC bouldering and trad: 30 min from the U
2) Logan sport climbing: 1.5 hours from the U
3) Joes bouldering: 2.5 hours
4) Ibex bouldering: 3+ hours
5) Maple sport climbing: 1.863 hours
6) AF choss grappeling: 45 min
Those are really the only quality areas that are worthy of "day" trips. There are other good areas 4-6 hours away but...
Personally, I like SoCal better right now... except for the smog... but SLC has worse smog in the winters!
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xanx
Aug 8, 2003, 12:11 AM
Post #35 of 52
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Dartmouth. nuff said. Lyme is like right there, Rumney like 1h.... plus Pawtuckaway and lots of stuff like 3+ hours away.
oh yeah and it is kinda a good school too :wink:
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michell_e
Aug 8, 2003, 12:49 AM
Post #36 of 52
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Registered: Jul 22, 2002
Posts: 49
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Move to Canada, go to University of British Columbia in Vancouver. There's:
Rock: world class granite in squamish amazing single and multipitch crack and really good sport, beautiful forest full of more boulders than you could imagine,
Mountains: world famous downhill mountain biking, lifetimes of hiking, great resort and backcountry skiing and boarding ( with fantastic student rates )
Water stuff: amazing scuba diving, a "spot of the gods" for white water kayaking, as well as many lesser, but still wonderful spots, enough ocean kayaking to keep you busy for a lifetime, ice climbing close enough for weekend trips, lets see, what else, sailing and windsurfing club at the uni has fantastic student programs, there is surfing within a couple hours' drive.
City: Super cool city, low crime rate, really good *green stuff*, awesome multicultural scene, great food, and your US$$ will go soooooooo far, you won't have to worry about some awful student loan.
University: The university is on a peninsula surrounded three sides with ocean, has acres and acres of forested park with giant evergreens and supercool (and safe) trails you can run through on your way to campus, plus, we have a nude beach :P www.ubc.ca
man, vancouver has got to be the most beautiful city to live in in the whole world... :D and I HAVE travelled...
maybe I should take this all back... don't want too many people to come up here and crowd me out.
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climbalon
Aug 8, 2003, 1:08 AM
Post #37 of 52
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Registered: Apr 24, 2003
Posts: 101
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Hey, i wanted to know how far yosemite is from stanford or berekely or if there are any other climbing places near there. Hopefully if i keep the grades up i'll get in... Also are there any places in or near montreal?
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michell_e
Aug 8, 2003, 1:21 AM
Post #38 of 52
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Registered: Jul 22, 2002
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McGill
is an international university whose main language of instruction is English. Located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, McGill comprises 22 faculties and professional schools offering over 300 programs at the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels. www.mcgill.ca
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moabbeth
Aug 8, 2003, 1:23 AM
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Registered: Oct 22, 2002
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If you want to work for NASA one day, then you should strongly consider Cal Tech in Pasadena. They manage the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, it's NASA's lead center for robotic exploration of the solar system. So you'd literally be working with NASA while still in college, and it would sure beat the structured life of the Air Force :wink: !
And from Pasadena you can drive up the Angeles Forest Hwy to boulder at Horse Flats or climb at Williamson for the time that you're not in class (under an hour away). Not to mention within a few hours you also have meccas like Joshua Tree and Tahquitz/Suicide. And Yosemite is only 5 hours away.
I'll even make it easy for you:
http://www.caltech.edu/
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crack_head
Aug 8, 2003, 1:33 AM
Post #40 of 52
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Registered: Dec 23, 2002
Posts: 210
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hey does neone go to university of colorado at boulder? i really wanna go there!!!
ne info would be GREATLY appreciated
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collegekid
Aug 8, 2003, 3:42 AM
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Registered: Jul 7, 2002
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UCSB is within 1.5 hours of by far the BEST bouldering in southern california. (and socal has lots of good bouldering) If you enjoy bouldering on a mountain peak with a view of the ocean, then lizard's mouth/brickyard (20 mins from ucsb) is the place to go. How about a mountain top covered in pine trees, with over 300 quality sandstone boulder problems, also with a veiw of the ocean....pine mountain, about 1.5 hrs from ucsb. Swimming hole is pretty close too. If i were to re-think my college decision, i would go to ucsb. It is essentially right in the middle of california's best bouldering spots.
Southern California is definitely the place to go if you want to get into engineering, and climb at the same time.
Right now i'm interning at Edwards AFB out in the desert (commuting from valencia, 1.5 hrs). Lots of r + d goes on out there. The place is really accomodating to interns, too. It's where the titan and atlas rockets were tested, along with X-33 (which got canned).
As far as caltech goes, that's the place to be for engineering. And if you aren't in the top .5% of graduating seniors, there's a community college (pasadena city college), conveniently located less than a mile from caltech. Supposedly it's sort of a back door to getting an internship at jpl.
If you want great climbing, great education, and the center of the aerospace industry all in the same place, then you should go to school in socal.
Any questions? pm me.
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ganjachu
Aug 8, 2003, 4:13 AM
Post #42 of 52
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Registered: Jul 14, 2003
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Also look at Western in Gunnison, CO or another small community college in Durango. I just had some friends move out there and they like it a lot. Oh ya I don't know if they are any good a engineering, so you will have to check that out yourself.
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moabbeth
Aug 8, 2003, 4:20 AM
Post #43 of 52
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Registered: Oct 22, 2002
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Western State?? Also known as Wasted State :lol: :lol: !! Yeah, Gunnison would be a great place to go to college and climb but I don't think he's gonna be scoring big gigs at NASA going there. He will however have a great time partying and climbing for 4 years :wink: .
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reno
Aug 8, 2003, 4:59 AM
Post #44 of 52
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Registered: Oct 30, 2001
Posts: 18283
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Rensselaer Poly Tech in Troy, NY. Gunks, 'Daks, and lots of winter/ice climbing.
They've got a hell of a hockey team, too.
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climbalon
Aug 8, 2003, 5:03 AM
Post #45 of 52
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Registered: Apr 24, 2003
Posts: 101
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Any climbing near McGill and also any place near berkely or stanford
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wc
Aug 8, 2003, 8:58 PM
Post #46 of 52
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Registered: May 20, 2003
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In reply to: Dartmouth. nuff said. Lyme is like right there, Rumney like 1h.... plus Pawtuckaway and lots of stuff like 3+ hours away. oh yeah and it is kinda a good school too :wink:
Just a word of caution... Darmouth is back east... nuff said.
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boulderfanatic
Aug 8, 2003, 9:20 PM
Post #47 of 52
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Registered: Sep 22, 2001
Posts: 25
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I have one other good suggestion.
VIRGINIA TECH (Virginia Polytechnic + State University)
25,000 students with over 5,000 students in engineering. Almost every engineering discipline is represented.
THough we have no climbing GYM there is great year round climbing available. Many big areas are weekend destinations. With multiple local boulder areas available for an afternoons drive (<40 mins). Most of our rock is sandstone and Granite (North Carolina). You can go buildering on every building at Tech as well as hit up the handful of local woodies. There is a local climbing gym at Radford University 25 mins away.
We are 1.5 hours from: The NEW River Gorge + Summersville lake.
2-4 hours from: the Chattanooga areas, the awesome BOONE bouldering, and all other big NC areas such as Looking Glass, Rumbling Bald, Stone Mountain. Alabama's beautiful slopers are ~5 hours.... ECT.
Though we lack the multitude of powerful climbers, there are plenty of climbers around.
Side note: Good off-day fun includes appalachain Trail, mountain biking, kayaking ect.
-Jay
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amicussaxi
Aug 8, 2003, 9:22 PM
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Registered: Dec 24, 2002
Posts: 10
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Don't know what coast you are looking to be on; I'm an undergrad studying astrophysics at Penn State. It's an awesome college... the town, state college, consists almost entirely of the huge college, there is so much to do. Climbing is fairly good, various places you can go with in an hour drive. Knowing that I have to go to grad school i'm trying to enjoy college and climb as much as I can before then! If you find yourself interested you may contact me with any specific questions about the college/area, i'll either answer them or point you to someone who can.
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clymber
Aug 8, 2003, 9:24 PM
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Registered: Feb 8, 2002
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my gf does a CO OP with NASA in Houston... shes a EE major and goes to Penn State..not the huge climbing mecca you are looking for but make sure when you do decide goto the career fairs thats how she got her CO OP there
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rockprodigy
Aug 8, 2003, 9:45 PM
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Registered: Sep 10, 2002
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I can't believe you guys are seriously discussing USAFA as a climbing school...you're nuts!!
I went there, and man...knowing what I know now....
Basically, I didn't climb at all for the first two years. The last two, I climbed my ass off...I went every weekend my last year, but you're not allowed to leave "campus" during the week until your "senior" year...so no weekday climbing (actually there are some chossy granite boulders you can walk to from the dorms, but no roped stuff). Actually, that's not totally true...you can sneak out, but if you get caught...there goes your weekends for the next two months.
It is well located for climbing, but like I said, weekends only. I got edjumicated real good, but not in the climbing arts. And now, I work for the worlds largest beauracracy that can force me to move to Ohio or Iraq at the drop of a hat.
However, I get 30 days of paid vacation a year, and right now they're paying me my full salary to go to Grad School full time. In fact, I start at the U of Utah next week...getting ready to buy my season pass to Alta at the college student rate. So, you can see where I would go, if I had it to do again....err...I mean, go to CU Boulder...it rocks!!
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