My College is still a top ten school

My San Diego State still holds a top ten position ranked by a national magazine! see article

Playboy names University of Miami top U.S. party school

Fri Apr 17, 2:00 pm ET
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Playboy magazine on Friday named the University of Miami as the top party school in the United States based on five criteria that included a nod to brainpower.

The adult magazine, which has only occasionally published the party college list in the past but will now turn it into an annual feature, ranked the schools on campus life, sports, sex and academics, or "brains," as Playboy put it.

As a last criteria, Playboy included "bikini" which combined weather, guy-to-girl ratio and cheerleaders.

But absent from the credentials were college bars and parties that exist on the fringe of campus life.

"In order to make the list, you had to be a school where fun happens, so we threw that out and went to other criteria," said Playboy Assistant Editor Rocky Rakovic.

Rakovic also said it was hard to quantify just exactly what made a good bar scene from campus to campus, because each location had its specific attributes.

"You can't say keg party at Arizona State is much better than bar crawl at (University of) Wisconsin," he explained.

On the subject of brainpower, Rakovic said that criteria was important because, after all, "you are in college for a reason, to get an education."

Judging the intelligence of U.S. university students turned into a rather scientific equation, too, using things like grade point averages, freshman retention and Princeton academic reviews, then giving them a numerical weight and averaging results.

The one surprise, Rakovic said, could be the No. 6 school University of Wisconsin because the "bikini" ranking favored schools with warm weather climates.

Playboy began ranking party colleges 20 years ago. The full list is in the magazine's May issue and on the Internet at www.playboy.com/partyschools09.

The top 10 party schools are below in order of rank:

1) University of Miami

2) University of Texas (Austin)

3) San Diego State University

4) University of Florida

5) University of Arizona

6) University of Wisconsin (Madison)

7) University of Georgia

8) Louisiana State University

9) University of Iowa

10) West Virginia University

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

The paradigm has shifted though. UC San Diego is the school to go to according to Surfer. Even so, SDSU requires a 3.7 GPA. Do I want my kids going to SDSU........hate to say it but do as I say not as I do.......Answer

NO

Surfline just in 'top ten surfing colleges'

Surfline just ranked the top ten surf colleges: Link to the whole story is here

1. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT SAN DIEGO


Photo: Jeremiah Klein

PROXIMITY AND ACCESS TO SURF: As long as you can handle a hike and don't have an incurable pointbreak fetish, you can ditch your car for a bike as long as you live on campus. UCSD is set back a few hundred yards from the cliffs overlooking Blacks Beach, widely regarded as one of the best sand-bottom A-frames in California.

SURF CLASS(ES): Mission Bay Aquatic Center (858-488-1000), a UCSD affiliate, will get you on board.

SURF TEAM: Coached by FCS Marketing head Tyler Callaway. Check this link: http://recadmin.ucsd.edu/sports/teams/surfing/.

SURFING PROFESSORS: Who says surfers are a bunch of dummies? UCSD has enough surfing MENSA candidates to clog up the lineup at Windansea, including: Ed Hutchins, Beacons local, Professor of Cognitive Science, MacArthur Fellowship recipient and president of the UCSD Surf Club in 1968; Jim Hollan, Professor of Cognitive Science; the late Paul Saltman, former Professor of Biology and college provost; David Sandwell, Professor of Geophysics; Greg Mitchel, Associate Research Biologist; Ralph Keeling, Associate Professor of Geochemistry; Sam Iacobellis, Assistant Research Meteorologist.

SURFING ALUMNI: There's at least one in every yearbook, but here's a short list: Ricky Grigg, big-wave pioneer and Professor of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii; Rusty Preisendorfer, founder of Rusty Surfboards and Clothing; Tom O'Keefe, founder of Red X Fin Systems; Isabelle Tihanyi, founder of Surf Divas surf school; Mark Massara, Sierra Club figurehead; Bolton Colburn, current chief curator of the Laguna Art Museum; the late Chris Bystrom, surf filmmaker; Rob Gilley and John Bilderback, premier surf photographers; Benicio Del Toro (OK, he doesn't surf, but the dude won an Oscar, for Pete's sake); Geoff Rashe, shaper of M-10 surfboards in Santa Cruz; Charles Golden, PhD graduate in Marine Geophysics and current golf club designer at Taylormade/Adidas; Scott Bass, online editor at Surfermag.com; Allen Johnson; Garth Engelhorn; Holly Beck (former NSSA national champ); Loryn Wilson; Zach Plopper; Edward Graham.

CURRENT RIPPERS: Marty Wienstien, Lauren Sweeney.

HOW HARD TO GET IN: Comparable to a 6-foot triple-up behind the boil at Big Rock: good luck. Average high school GPA: 3.98; Average SAT: 1256.

KNOWN CURRICULUM: Everything that is right-brained. Biochemistry, Biology, pre-med... if you're an aspiring numbers person, you'll fit into the equation.

ANIMAL HOUSE/PARTY FACTOR: Compared to its crazy sister, San Diego State, UCSD is all highwaters, pocket protectors and Coke-bottle glasses.

MALE/FEMALE RATIO: 49/51

COST (in-state/out-of-state): $8,062/$20,600.

EXTRA CREDIT: "It's kind of weird," says Allen Johnson, who transferred from Florida Institute of Technology and graduated from UCSD in 1990. "But the fact that Blacks is right there almost improves your work ethic. If you miss a good swell because of your studies, you always know that a good day of surf is right around the corner."

DEMERITS: Due to the workload, missing that "good day of surf" easily can turn into weeks, months... even semesters. Remember: when in doubt, paddle out. There's always summer school.

ADDRESS/CONTACT: 9500 Gilman Drive 0021, La Jolla, CA 92093-0021; Phone: 858-534-4831; www.ucsd.edu or e-mail at admissionsinfo@ucsd.edu

Other top surfing colleges in the San Diego area include Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego State, Mira Costa College, and Cal State San Marcos.

So the gaunlet is out there for my surf kids. Might as well go for the best. There will be as close to a pro surf career as they will get.

College is fun....you can surf, have fun and all while being able to show up at family functions with your status-'going to a top school'.

Of course when I went to SDSU it was rated number 3 by a national magazine (Playboy's top party schools). Now SDSU is a bit different. My friends son tried to get in and here are the stats; 58,000 applicants for 6800 slots. Average GPA 3.81. When I got in to SDSU I was down in San Diego for the late part of summer and did not want to go home. Wandered into the admissions office and there I was a student. Everyone else in my family went to UCLA. Me not a chance. The average GPA for UCLA is over a 4.1.

But I agree with Surfline UC San Diego is a good goal which will be carot/stick/threats/etc for my kids.

The Drinking Will Continue Until the Economy Improves

With St. Patrick's day approaching I had some drinking thoughts.

First check out the award winning Guinness Ad


Kinda cool in an anglo saxon gladiator way.....

So my best College drinking buddy Todd just friended me with the Facebook thing. That is cool and makes me want to go to an 80's happy hour with my power suit and expense report (sans hang over)

Right after college I was the Guinness Rep and most popular college friend in the universe. Todd and I would live for Friday night happy hours throughout those days. See my college jobs post for the very important drinking information.

One summer day while going to SDSU with my minor in Pub Consumption, I got invited to a surf contest at Stone Steps. This was not your polictially correct contest.

It was packed with people hammered. The deal was you had to drink a quarter 'bucket of beer' before each heat and as you progressed the quarter seemed to get bigger. I think I made it through 5 heats. (I was preparing for a professional career).


This was my first foray to Leucadia before moving here in 1993 and my last until then. It was fun and funny. I want to say it was 81 when I was invited. And found myself a very poor quality surfer after some beers.

I found some pictures on line.

Now, I tell you of holding close my new wetsuit, like a long lost love.

Here I am in line like a White Trash Warrior waiting to stampede the Walmart security guard.

The line started about 9am for Surfride to open this morning. They had a 20% off Wetsuit sale today only. There were about 20 other people in line. There was a kid in front of me who was in high school waiting for his pyscho 2 wetsuit like me. He had been saving for 6 months which was pretty forward thinking for a 10th grader.


Well I was just as stoked as the kid next to me. I quickly took it home and tried it on again, pet it, looked at it and took this picture of it: Oh yea


"Life is too short to have a bad wetsuit" is was Bob Wise of Wise Surfboards in San Francisco told me when I was on my Winter Break from San Diego State back in 1980. I just received my student loan for $2500 and Bob wanted about a hundred of it...here is the math to convert the money in real dollars today:

$2500 x ((1980 bad music - new thrusters on the market) + (Beer money - price of Olympia Beer(B=Olympia))/ College + Tuition $250 per semester (no kidding) (C=Fun) x future chance of graduation - job at Safeway(Future F= better get employed when graduate)) + Plus real world needs (beer money $27, Food Semester Card $75, new board $190., new wetsuit, $100) + Responsibilities (R=0) Total real dollars today =$1,764,009.03

Well I was rich at the time of course and Bob was right Life is too short for a bad wetsuit. Thank you Mary, Nick, Christie and Mary.