<p>Some people do surf on Lake Michigan (my bro. lives on the MI side--some beautiful beaches there--nowhere near Northwestern, though).</p>
<p>Best ocean: only Hawaii--U. of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific U., or Chaminade.</p>
<p>College of the Atlantic is in beautiful Bar Harbor, Maine.</p>
<p>College of the Atlantic.... hmm I look into that one.... thanks everyone</p>
<p>UNC-Wilmington - NC
Salisbury State Univ - MD - well close at least
College of Charleston - SC
The Citadel - SC
Eckerd - FL - bring your boat if ya got one</p>
<p>Univ of Rhode Island - has a surf club :)</p>
<p>There's a bunch of 'near/on ocean' schools :)</p>
<p>CHILLIN - BTW - which ocean is your preference???</p>
<p>Pacific...... but i was really looking for Universities that you can actually see the water from... like right up on the coastline</p>
<p>It's funny how many people think "near" the ocean is the same as "on" the ocean. Crossing a major highway, like at Pepperdine, hardly compares to walking to the edge of the campus.</p>
<p>To my knowledge, there is only ONE campus that literally sits ON the ocean, UCSB. UCSB has almost 2 miles of very nice beach at the south and west edge of its campus. In addition, Isla Vista, it's "extended dorm", sits on the beach too. </p>
<p>I don't think there are many other campuses in the US where you'll see students parking surf boards in the back of classrooms, or see top faculty (like National Academy member Tom Bruice, back in my days there) walking in wetsuit, board in hand, with some students down to the beach.</p>
<p>The Ocean is overrated. Familiarity breeds contempt.</p>
<p>mike,</p>
<p>You are not far off base. I went to UCSB for grad school, working in a lab maybe 100 feet from the beach. How often do you think I went TO the beach? Looked at it a lot, though.</p>
<p>Do they have campus tsunami drills?</p>
<p>hahah ^ lol over that one</p>
<p>U Dub
U of British Columbia</p>
<p>Umassdad: Not debating that having to cross the PCH isn't the same as not having to cross it, but it's hardly a "major highway" where it passes between Pepperdine and the beach. More like two lanes in each direction with a bunch of traffic lights and crosswalks.</p>
<p>idad, </p>
<p>No, the channel islands buffer the campus. Besides, it faces south, not west. Point Conception gets all the bad stuff. Oh, and the campus is on a high bluff. (ha ha, thought you got us on that one?)</p>
<p>Earthquakes, that's a real problem. There was a moderate one while I was attending, but I was out of town in Seattle. I walked by a newspaper rack the day after and saw the headline "major earthquake rocks S.B." and thought it was a practical joke. It was not. 1/3 of the books in the library were on the floor. Buildings had cracks. They glued my building back together (no, I am not kidding. Epoxy.)</p>
<p>The funniest was my thesis advisor. He was driving to campus in his MGB. He thought the jolt was his car acting up again and was in the parking lot under the car when everyone ran out of the lab building.</p>
<p>Melbourne University
<a href="http://www.study-australia.com/images/Melbourne%20Map%20without%20Swinburne.jpg%5B/url%5D">http://www.study-australia.com/images/Melbourne%20Map%20without%20Swinburne.jpg</a></p>
<p>IDAD lol - hey my kiddo has hurricane drills - in a way -a few times a year - has been evac'd twice and she is 100 miles inland!!</p>
<p>cheers-</p>
<p>I'm at melbourne uni - while not right on the beach (about 45 minute tram ride away) it's a great place to come. </p>
<p>Also, if you spend a semester here, you'll have time to travel to some of the most amazing beaches in the world.</p>
<p>St. Mary's College of Maryland is RIGHT on the Chesapeake. </p>
<p>University of Washington in Seattle....Western Washington U, Seattle Pacific U, University of Alaska, University of Hawaii, U of San Diego, University of San Francisco, California State U-Humboldt, Oregon State U (about an hour from the Oregon coast but they have a great Marine Science program)......</p>
<p>jenskate--you bloody beauty! pm me if you are travelling...</p>
<p>Melbourne--3 years for a bachelor's degree chillin'.....</p>
<p>UCSB..............Can hear the surf from the dorms. The student "ghetto" Isla Vista (that's Island View) starts on Del Playa street (the Beach). Students can surf before going to class......... UCSB , as part of the U of Cal systerm is a world class university with Nobel prize winning profs, in a beautiful location. Moderately large U; Moderately priced for instate, not sure about OOS these days. Competitive to get in to because it is popular, but not nearly as hard as UCLA and Berkeley. I was there during the "post bank burning years" so I know it has changed, but it was an amazing place to go to school....Back then you only needed to bring 4 things with you....we called them the 4 B's: A backpack, bathing suit, bicycle and Birkenstocks. Pepperdine also has a view of the ocean, from a hill across the Pacific Coast Hwy from the beach. Malibu is trendy and expensive. Pepperdine is definitely a religiously-affiliated school.</p>