Best Colleges for Skiing?

I hear you, PT.  Note that I did say that everyone has a different idea of what life should be.  I think our daughter shares our ideology (she likes the Cool Aide), but who knows what turns she takes along the way!  

(Our blueprint?  Get a good degree from a connected school, do a 4-1 or 3-2 if you feel you really need your masters, get a good job, work hard, earn hard.....and eventually play hard and have the good things in life if all goes well.  Of course, life doesn't always go according to plan and our kid's generation will have it tough, but they saw mom and dad work it.)

Goreskimom wrote

Like it or not, the SAT and ACT are the great litmus test for schools.

I am generally a good test taker (I don't get nervous about them).  I am also signing up for a 2 day a week month long SAT prep course.  It ends 2 days before the SAT is administered at my school.  My dad said that if I take one of those prep courses and then take the test shortly after the conclusion of the course that I would do great on the SAT.  Not sure if I'm going to take the ACT.

Goreskimom wrote

I'm not sure if cost is a factor but Snodad might be happy to see you at the public schools on your list. They are more affordable than some of the others.

One thing my mom told me is that you're going to get more need based financial aid at state schools and more merit based scholarships at private schools.  She knew someone where their kid's top two choices were UVM (a state school) and Marist (a private school) and they had a residence established in Vermont so they were eligible for in-state tuition.  It wound up being cheaper to attend Marist because they gave more scholarships than UMV, even with in-state tuition at UVM.

There was a recent article in the Wall Street journal talking about the new changes in the Sat.  Thier advice don't take it in the first few rounds as it is very different in not a good way.  Also the prep books and courses don't yet know how to prep for it.

The advice seems to be to instead take the ACT especially if you are headed for a science or engineering major

I'm not going to go through the whole thread, but here is what I know about UVM as my son is now a sophomore there, and he is a rabid skier and loves it.

Freshmen don't need cars, and aren't supposed to have them.  That is actually OK, you will see why.  

Season passes are available through the ski club, and are very reasonable.  Buses leave at 8 and 9 every Saturday and Sunday until April, when they drop the Sunday bus.  

College if very busy, and even if you have a great schedule that looks like you will have time to ski, you might not due to study groups, upcoming tests or projects.  That being said, you will not be able to ski 75 days.  Especially taking into account that there is really no skiing the fall semester (final exams in Dec, and not so much snow until late Dec.)  

So what you need to do is to join Vermont Car Share.  Provided that you are 18, and have had a driver's license for 2 full years without any moving violations, you can reserve a Subaru with a ski rack on your smartphone.  These are conveniently located on campus and in other places around Burlington.  Use this when there is a powder day and you don't have too many classes.

My advice is to go to UVM, and don't get caught up on numbers.  As other writers have stated it is quality rather than quantity that matters.  Especially when your family will be paying $ 53,000 per year in tuition.  You also must take part in the other aspects of college life that shouldn't be misses like hockey games, parties, tinder, etc.

If you want to private message me, I can put you in touch with my son and you can visit.  Good luck!

evergreen wrote

So what you need to do is to join Vermont Car Share.  Provided that you are 18, and have had a driver's license for 2 full years without any moving violations, you can reserve a Subaru with a ski rack on your smartphone.  These are conveniently located on campus and in other places around Burlington.  Use this when there is a powder day and you don't have too many classes.

Never thought about this.  If I don't need to deal with the hassles of overnight parking that would be great.  I will be 18 come January 2017 and that's almost a full year before I need to join this.  I got my license this past July and will have had it for two years come July 2017.  I would only need a car for night skiing and weekend when there was no bus, or I wanted to be out on the mountain earlier than when the bus would get me there.  If I had any friends, I could probably get a full car together and we split the cost.  If I can get 4 people together we would each contribute 15 dollars, plus the driver pays 20.  That covers a full day rental of 65 dollars.

I'm still hitting 75 days though.  That's a hard requirement.  Also, what mountains does the club go to?  I'm hoping it's primarily Stowe cause they're the best in the east.

Great information, and a sweet offer at the end evergreen.

I'm already visiting UVM in 2 weeks.

Coach Z is right. Take the old SAT or the ACT. (January is the last time the old SAT will be offered) People are waiting to see how the new SAT shakes out.

UVM won't cost you 53k if you have decent Boards and Grades...
Go check out  Matt's school (Colby)..He seemed to find a good balance between skiing and school work..

Goreskimom wrote

Coach Z is right. Take the old SAT or the ACT. (January is the last time the old SAT will be offered) People are waiting to see how the new SAT shakes out.

I timed my SAT prep to not conflict with skiing at all.  I'm taking it in May and that's a done deal.  Will be taking the ACT, but I'm not sure when.

go to suny plattsburgh and get a season pass to WF. a student pass to WF is cheap.  when you blow off class to ski you are not costing the old man 50 grand when you fail out.

sig wrote

go to suny plattsburgh and get a season pass to WF. a student pass to WF is cheap.  when you blow off class to ski you are not costing the old man 50 grand when you fail out.

Truth.  But only works if you are a NYS resident.

I'm not going to fail out just because I want to ski a lot.  SUNY Plattsburg is on my list of schools to look into.  Plan is to keep my grades the same as they are now and ski as much as I do now.  Only things that would change is that I'd be in college instead of high school and skiing at different mountains.

I went Castleton State College near Rutland VT and averaged about 100 ski days a year while maintaining a 3.7+.  I skied primarily at Killington on the weekdays and Pico on weekends and Gore & Whiteface on winter break.  College ski passes were amazing back then, no idea what they cost now, and the school was relatively easy which also help me get a decent scholarship to keep the costs down for my parents who were incredibly generous and picked up the tab.  

I did eventually move out of the state to finish up school/MBA  and get a good job.  The downside is I don't get nearly that many days in any longer, however the path I have chosen should allow me to retire with some money in the bank and the ability to keep enjoying the good life.

Lot's of path's available to you, but you should certainly enjoy college life and get a few turns in as well.  

Coach Z wrote

Sno

College is your chance to change your social situation and make new friends.  College would totally suck if you do it as a loner as you miss out on so much.  Join a club, form a study group in your major, etc to meet people.  I think a fraternity could actually do wonders for you if you found the right one where you fit in.  Learning to get along and interact with 50 brothers would be great for you.  Frats are not all about drinking.  I feel I gained immensely from my fraternity experience that helped me socially and in the business world.

Are you an only child?  My son is I make a point of not letting him be a shy kid.  Fr. example when we go to the Cloudspin lounge after skiing  I give him some money and tell him to go find another kid to play air hockey with.  Been doing that since he was 5 or 6.  He now can go approach anyone and start a conversation.  I think only children benefit from being able to have an adult conversation better than other kids that also benefit them long term.

I'm an only child.  There are many benefits to it outside of school and huge consequences for it in school.  One thing would be the favoritism of someone if they had an older sibling that was a good student.  I can never have that advantage.  Many entire families are friends with each other because they have multiple kids who are friends with each other.  I hardly ever see any of my friends parents and the few friends I have (if I'm even close enough with them for them to be called friends) have never seen my parents.  That means their parents don't trust me and I can't try and set up anything outside of school, yet they always can without me being involved.  Believe me, there are few things that will make you feel worse than scrolling your Instagram or snapchat feet and seeing everyone hanging out with each other while you're looking at internet forums, or doing something else by yourself.  One of the reasons I'm on here so much is that I have few if any opportunities to talk to any real people, so I do so on the internet instead.  If I actually could reliably make friends and keep them, then I would not be on this forum nearly as much.

And you think we are real people? Oh boy...

JasonWx wrote

UVM won't cost you 53k if you have decent Boards and Grades...
Go check out  Matt's school (Colby)..He seemed to find a good balance between skiing and school work..

Or ski bum in Vt for a while establishing residency and take comm college classes in the fall

snoloco wrote

I'm not going to fail out just because I want to ski a lot.  SUNY Plattsburg is on my list of schools to look into.  Plan is to keep my grades the same as they are now and ski as much as I do now.  Only things that would change is that I'd be in college instead of high school and skiing at different mountains.

You love skiing so something to consider at Plattsburgh would be the the outdoor sports management program they have.  A friends son is in it and it's all about skiing and other outdoor recreation management.  He loves it and gets to ski a lot.  He is combining that with a business double major with a goal of going into the business side at a ski or outdoor gear company.

http://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/exp/

Sno, I think that it is clear by now that there is no flaming going on,despite Matt's knee jerk hate comment. The NYSB is interested in your well being as evidenced by all the thoughtful suggestions. Most of us on this blog probably would have benefitted from such advice when we were considering college. Your posts have demonstrated that you are an analytical and creative thinker which bodes well for your college days. These posts have provided you with additional information for helping you make a college selection. Pick the college for academic goals and then fit your skiing plans into that choice.