My son did a week at Purdue STEP. Loved it. Cemented his interest in engineering.
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As you know, The U feels smaller than the number of students would suggest. Ditto Cal Poly.
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University of Arizona. Tucson has year round mountain biking and rock climbing. My family members who attend U Arizona mountain bike (and camp and backpack) regularly in Tucson, and just last weekend rented equipment from the university and went boulderiing.
Also anything in southern Utah, western Colorado, as others have said.
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D’s roommate was on the mountain biking team at Utah, went to NCAA championships etc. Very easy to practice all year round right from campus going up Emigration Canyon (except on a handful of snow days). Agree you can’t beat the outdoor lifestyle at the U. She’s now at Mines in Colorado for her PhD which also seems to have good mountain biking.
D and all her friends obsessed about rock climbing, both at the gym and in Cottonwood Canyon. Again lots close to campus plus many places to visit within a few hours drive. They would often go down to southern Utah for weekend climbing in the winter.
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We live in Colorado, and my son races on his high school mountain biking team. We know three kids who were former racers and are now attending Mines. They ride on the Club team there, and the trail systems right out their back door are spectacular. Also a short distance to some of the best skiing in the country. Mines is a smaller/ midsized public, so maybe it would be a good fit. Also check out Colorado College. It’s very outdoor-oriented, and the bike trails around Colorado Springs are fantastic.
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as @gumbymom notes, my son is a recent Ft Lewis grad (psychology). He received a partial a scholarship for the MtB team. He had a GREAT experience - would be happy to answer any questions. Durango has a phenomenal MTB culture. My son also raced as an elite/pro in a bunch of USA cycling events all over the country - even represented USA in a recent World Cup race in Austria. He worked really hard, (4 hrs a day most days) and was ranked in the top 20 in the country for a couple of years both XCO and STXC. He is now home making some money and picking between a couple of Chiropractic colleges as his next step.
If your kid wants to see how far he can go in the MTB world, there is no place like Ft lewis. The Wue discount is also nice. There are hundreds of miles of trails they can bike to from campus.
They do get some snow so, year round would be a stretch.
Expect some time on rollers and or a road bike. He would go to Moab and Scottsdale when there was snow on the ground for long stretches.
Reach out to the coaches, visit the school, meet and go for a ride with some of the team and he’ll be hooked.
My other son is a Chico grad - he was not really into biking. They do have a club team. SLO, UCSC, Humboldt and UNR seem to have the biggest club teams that would come to the CA based collegiate races.
A few links that might help.
This is the governing body - not NCAA. Varsity means some scholarships and full time coaches and staff. Club means they are student driven.
Collegiate cycling FAQs
FT Lewis Cycling team info, scholarships, etc. The camps are really cool.
Again, happy to answer a PM or any specific questions via the thread.
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Take a look at UNC- Asheville. It is a LAC that offers Engineering. I know that the Asheville area has become a mecca for competitive mountain biking.
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UNC Asheville only has mechatronics engineering.
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In looking at some of the wonderful resources that @NCalRent provided, another small, ABET-accredited school popped up: Clarkson. Clarkson has about 2900 undergrads and is a true STEM school, with life sciences and engineering among its programs. And according to the Mountain Bike Club’s info page, there are more than 40 acres of trails on campus. This gets you small, ABET-accredited, and mountain biking…but not all year.
U. of Denver (5900 undergrads) is probably further from the MTB trails, but still seems to have an active community.
Of the schools that offer varsity biking, only Fort Lewis and Liberty have ABET-accredited programs in engineering. In the bike team rankings, however, Liberty did not have any points for mountain biking, so that may not be a place your son would like to consider.
So it’s really a matter of what trade-offs your son would like to make with respect to the college experience.
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I can’t believe I left this out… this is my son’s youtube channel - not many subscribers but, he’s set up a first person vlog of his races, training and the like - your son might find them useful/amusing in picking the right path.
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Wow— thank you so much, everyone! So many schools here that we hadn’t thought of. I can’t wait to look into them. We had already heard good things about Colorado College and U of C Boulder, as well as possibly Williams, Cornell, and Pomona as reach schools with a major outdoor orientation (though, of course, 2 of them come with winters too). Various UC’s were also on our radar, and University of Washington, U of Oregon, and Utah— though of course they don’t have the “small” part. I agree that something on his list (mtn biking/outdoor, small, STEM) will have to give— I’ll start talking w him about which things he’s feeling most flexible about. Again, many, many thanks!
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You might want to look at Whitman College in Walla Walla WA. It’s a small LAC, only has a 3/2 Engineering program though. The kids there are VERY outdoorsy, many are into rock climbing. They have a fantastic climbing gym, and my son has also been climbing outdoors in Smith Rocks a number of times. Not sure about mountain biking, but they have a very popular Outdoor Program.
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He has to make a big decision, prioritize cycling or engineering. Once he decides that, then it’s easier to prioritize schools.
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According to this site, Hamilton has a 10-mile network of accessible bike trails literally on its campus:
To be careful, you may want to check whether or not the allowed uses of these trails have remained the same since the time of the article.
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For rock climbing near Hamilton, Moss Island seems excellent. It has been described as an outdoor gym and includes a variety of very challenging climbs:
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I am from Colorado, so I am biased, but I agree withe everyone in this thread when I say that Colorado School of Mines, CU Boulder, and Colorado College would all be good options. I am often jealous of my friends back home who go to those schools because they are always doing something outdoors, whether it be skiing, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, backpacking… you name it. I can only get my mountain fix when I go back on breaks.
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New Mexico Tech. Small engineering college well known to grad schools.
https://www.nmt.edu/academicaffairs/outdoors/outdoor_rec.php
Some really world class climbing near Soccer. Both Ds are serious recreational climbers and they’ve met climbers who have come from all over the world to climb in the canyons and national forests near NMTech.
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Thank you all! My son has refined his interests, so I’ll post a new thread— he’s now looking for colleges where he can study chemistry and biology, but also apply it in the field— which will get him outside! He’s moving away from a focus on mountain biking opportunities during college (Though they would be a bonus!), and more toward this idea.
If you know of any programs that combine a thorough study of chemistry and biology with opportunities for field work and a focus on ecology (through this lens of hard sciences), we’d love any info!
Probably will get a ot of the same responses.
Carleton. Outstanding Biology and Chemistry departments as well as outstanding Geology. Adjacent Arb with river, lots of outdoor research opportunities. Outdoorsy kids–biking, hiking, cross country skiing, canoeing, camping. Also gets a lot of good athletes who end up playing ultimate frisbee–multiple teams that contend at Nationals each year.
St. Olaf. Same town in Minnesota as Carleton, and many of the same advantages, but easier admit rate. Can cross register for classes at Carleton. Outstanding music department. Terrific food.
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