College and footbag

david · Post by **david** » 09 Mar 2005 18:32

hey,

im a junior in high school and im really starting to search for potential colleges. i have no clue what i want to do with my life, but i have solid grades and im pretty versatile. i was wondering where other my age kids plan on going to college, becuase wherever i go, i want there to be a sick shred scene. i was thinking RIT becuase they have a sick technology reputation, and a sick shred scene. Or pennstate becuase its in-state, + bevier and nate pipenburg. I know it sounds silly to take shred into account of college, but wherever i go i think ill be undeclared, so i dont have any clue what specific college i should go to. i know that penn state is a college that tons of kids in bethlehem go to and they are undeclared, and penn state has so many programs they canf all into any of them easily. I like technology, so i thought RIT might be good too. this is basically a huge rambling post, but if anyone has ideas, id LOVE to hear them. thanks.

-david clavens

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 09 Mar 2005 18:58

I don`t think it`s a bad idea at all to take into account a shred scene when picking a college.

Frankly, unless you are going to the very top echelon of undergraduate schools in the country (Ivy league, Stanford), your undergrad won`t make that much of a difference in terms of your future employment, or chances of good graduate schools. And if you want to do well in college, staying mentally happy is very very important. Footbag is obviously your passion, and a big part of your life. So I think its a very good idea to pick a school near a good shred scene, so you can stay mentally balanced for your studies.

Personally, I wish I had investigated West Coast schools more when I was in High School. I only applied to one West Coast school, and when I was put on the waitlist there, i decided I`d rather just go to an East Coast school which had accepted me. I spent the next 4 years in almost complete isolation from footbag, only getting to play with other people when I returned to NYC (3 hour drive).

So yeah, footbag should be a factor in your college decision-making.

PS- keep in mind that even if the school you go to has no footbag scene, you could start one up. That has happened more than a few times. When I came to Japan, there was no real scene to speak of, but now its blossomed. Also keep in mind that college kids can often be open to new hobbies, so you can always recruit people to play with you. I know Sunil got into footbag by seeing people play on campus at college.

mosher · Post by **mosher** » 09 Mar 2005 20:01

I agree with your choice of factoring in footbag during your decision process. Being happy where you are learning is so important and since footbag is such a big part of the happiness in your life it should be high on your priority list.

I am glad to hear you are interested in continuing your education.

Posi-Cole · Post by **Posi-Cole** » 09 Mar 2005 20:01

Come to Acadia!

Of course.. I'll be gone by the time you get here ... But ... graduate high school this year... Come to Acadia next year.. teach me how to rule at footbag!

We'll hang a lot.

Do it.

Seriously.

Senor Grommet · Post by **Senor Grommet** » 09 Mar 2005 21:59

Well, David:

I too faced this decision when I decided to move to Arizona

In two years of living here, Ive shredded with others on 4 occasions. Pretty abysmal I know, but what the hey. For me it was a choice between shredding in Chicago with the CIC (my fav footbag crew) and schooling at northwestern university (a reputable school for my prgm), or shredding solo in AZ (another reputable school for my prgm)./ In the end i chose Arizona because of the atmosphere, the people with whom I felt most comfortable were here (faculty and students), and it was semi-close to my CA home. I chose education over footbag. It has payed off. And my footbag hasn't suffered at all. In fact, I believe i am progressing faster here that I would be if i were shredding with others. Anyway tho, don't be afraid to make a hard decision. College is about expanding your mind-learning how to learn. If you love footbag, you'll continue playing whether you've got anyone around to shred with or not. Consider footbag opportunity whilst choosing colleges, but it is disservice to yourself to choose your college solely, or mostly, on its shred scene.

C-Fan · Post by **C-Fan** » 09 Mar 2005 22:03

david wrote: i have no clue what i want to do with my life, wherever i go i think ill be undeclared, so i dont have any clue what specific college i should go to.

So far all the advice in this thread is good. Keep in mind that Mirken knew what he wanted to do, so in his case it probably made sense to choose a school with a strong program in his desired field. After reading David`s post, it seemed like he wasn`t as constricted academically, since he doesn`t know what he wants to major in.

HG · Post by HG » 10 Mar 2005 04:02

Word David.

I also get great grades, so whatever college you go to, i will go to.

its that simple

junkyardjew · Post by **junkyardjew** » 10 Mar 2005 07:01

junkyardjew · Post by **junkyardjew** » 10 Mar 2005 07:42

habitat · Post by **habitat** » 10 Mar 2005 09:20

Im a senior this year and I graduate in a couple months. I have decided in the past 2 weeks that I want to go to college. I wish I would have planned earlier like you are right now.

My grades are shit, and I don't think I can afford anything else but CC. But I hope to find more people through college and start a huge scene right here in Spokane, conforming sucks

I would rather make my own club then join another, it's just better for footbag, globally

Iain · Post by **Iain** » 10 Mar 2005 11:52

community college is great for the 1st two years. u take the exact same classes but for tons cheaper. Thats what i'm gonna do for my first two years of college. It allows me to procrastinate more

Laroche · Post by **Laroche** » 10 Mar 2005 12:01

Fuck school and win the lottery, thats what I'M doing!

ericksonj · Post by **ericksonj** » 10 Mar 2005 12:19

You could study booze and pot here at the University of Oregon and get the lucky honor of shredding with yours truly and nasty nate every day.

slapdash21 · Post by **slapdash21** » 10 Mar 2005 12:42

Laroche wrote:Fuck school and win the lottery, thats what I'M doing!

sometimes i want to just buy like a hundred or so lottery tickets in one go (obviously when im old enough to do so) and see if it works. i think i would only try it once, if at all.
on another note. i do say fuck school. my grades arent EVEN worthy to be called shit, and no real college would accept me, but there are so many other options that are ignored. it seems everyone thinks you can only survive by going to college. if you get a basic government job (post office, mass transit bus driver, to name a couple...there are tons of examples that i cant think of) the pay is really reasonable, from what i hear, and of course you get good benefits, because they are civil jobs.
or, any kind of hands-on trade, like plumbing, construction, etc, require minimal training and pay HUGE. you can become an apprentice out of high school, while getting night school so you can advance in the company and get even more cashola. master plumbers make like over 100 dollars an hour, and honestly dont do that much.
i would MUCH rather not go to college and start off with a job right away. college will often leave you in pretty bad debt, and you wind up getting a job that may not pay more than someone could get a couple months/years out of high school. also, jobs that require college education seem to depend more on the economy. people are ALWAYS gonna need plumbers and construction workers, but less people with college-education type jobs can hold onto their position when the economy is on a downturn.
just my opinion.

habitat · Post by **habitat** » 10 Mar 2005 13:22

ericksonj wrote:You could study booze and pot here at the University of Oregon and get the lucky honor of shredding with yours truly and nasty nate every day.

and I so wish I could samename

Just call me hagesy · Post by **Just call me hagesy** » 10 Mar 2005 13:41

I don't have any ideas, but i think it is cool that you are taking footbag into account when making a decision.

Anyways good luck with whatever choice you make.

BainbridgeShred · Post by **BainbridgeShred** » 10 Mar 2005 15:29

My grades are shit, and I don't think I can afford anything else but CC. But I hope to find more people through college and start a huge scene right here in Spokane, conforming sucks I would rather make my own club then join another, it's just better for footbag, globally

Hey dude, me and Sam are both going to be going to Seattle Central Community College next Fall (A program that lets you earn both highschool and college credits) so you should come here. It was ranked one of (If not the best possibly) the best community colleges in the country.

pips · Post by **pips** » 11 Mar 2005 22:41

I wouldn't necessarily pick a college that has a good footbag scene. I mean, yeah, footbag scenes are a plus, but pick somewhere where it will challenge your mind some and get you somewhere in the future. Or I dunno, this is my first year in college, and I am not at the greatest school in the world...it is a state school but should practically be a community one. I am not really taking college super-seriously yet; not until I get into grad school (I am geared toward forensics by the way). So maybe I am getting to saying that yeah, knock yourself out and find a good footbag-scened school, or even do what I am thinking of doing and try to start one yourself if it is possible, but make sure you keep your grades up enough to graduate and go to grad school if you are. I feel bad to say this, but don't let footbag mess up your future...especially when you have the potential (intelligence/ good grades) to get a great job. That's my opinion, I guess.

Senor Grommet · Post by **Senor Grommet** » 11 Mar 2005 22:51

the first intelligent post in a while

(hehe, j/k)

Really tho, why post random dribble in a thread someone created to get meaningful advice? its a waste of his and your own time (and mine). Soprry to be harsh.

I did like that cartoon tho.

Back on topic. What Ken said is tru about me. I knew exactly what I wanted so it made sense that I chose the academic path over the footbag path. For you David, Im not so sure. Do you have the grades to get into poor, average, good, or great colleges? If it is the latter two, I would seriously weigh education over footbag. I mean, it would be ideal to pick a univ. that has great academics and a shred scene, but i bet that is rare. You'll always be able to travel to other places to play footbag, even if it is a 5 hr drive or so. That makes an awesome weekend road trip! I take that trip to LA every couple months or so, and I love it. Just more to think about.

I think the bottom line is, you probably wont regret either decision you make unless you find out that the footbag school tha you chose sucks ass and wont prepare you for life or higher thought/future life experiences. As long as that doesn't happen, you're fine.

KronoKicker · Post by **KronoKicker** » 11 Mar 2005 23:12

Dave already talked to me about RIT, but for anyone else out there.

RIT academically is incredible, you can't really ask for a better tech. school.

Shred scene is really starting to grow in Rochester, beginning of last year there was maybe 3 people who played at least somewhat seriously. Now there is 6 of us that play seriously, and at least 5 others that play quite a bit.

Socially RIT is not the best, but Rochester isn't that bad. Just need to put a small effort in to find out what's going on in the city and find what you like to do.

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College and footbag

College and footbag

Re: College and footbag