Paintball+College=??

[Sinnet]

well, i'm in my junior year of h.s. now, and really starting to get in to paintball (just played 1st tournament, about to play 2nd). People are starting to ask me where I want to go to college (I have no clue, just starting to think about it) and I got to thinking... i've seen a lot of people selling their paintball guns to pay for college... I'd hate to hafta quit for 4 years.

I'm not rich by any means (I'd guess i'll be in some kind of debt after finishing college), and I was just wondering if college and paintball can coexist peacefully for someone without a lot of money. I don't think i'd ever sell my mag... but someone explain to me how i'd find the money to play every now and then at a U/college.

thanks

[dcmander]

Good question I was also wondering this! I'm a junior too man. Class of 04' rocks!

I can't see anyone doing tournaments in college enless he/she is sponsored. But I don't think I'd ever sell my mag and I think you could play once a month or so.

[cphilip]

Well the University I work for has a Paintball Club. We have our own field, tanks and rentals. We have dealers prices from Paintball Inc and quite a few other places. SO we can offer low cost paintball to all the students Faculty and Staff. We charge $25 a semester for dues and that is the field fee or $35 a year. Air is at cost. No more than say 10 a semester for that. We can go out and play a day of paintball for less than 50 bucks easy. Half that if you take it easy on paint and only use a half a case! We even see some paint for as low as 25 a case frequently. We play a lot of hopper ball to accomplish this lower use of paint. We are seeing sponsors for the Club team for things like NCPA and even now one wanting them to take a team down to World Cup for X ball. It can be done. If you want to know I work for Clemson University. Time Magazines #1 College of the year and recently listed as one of the top 20 "best value" Universities in the US. We are located in South Carolina. We can play year round but the winter when school is in session is the best time to play.

[Sinnet]

thanks a lot cphillip!

that's really cool... i spent the last half hour reading about clemson without even considering paintball! Looks like a nice school... not too expensive, not too close, not too far away... :)

[DaosBeoulve]

I'm not rich by any means. I go to a $37,000 a year college and have right at $25000 worth of grants a year and the rest I handle with loans. I'm a RA this year so I can't work anywhere except the whole RA bit (and it doesn't pay). I work my butt off during the summer to have money for when I'm at college, and though I'm almost always very careful with it, I splurge and play with the paintball club here almost everytime they go out and play. Yeah, it's expensive and I have to kinda decide sometimes whether I want to play or have some extra money for the next couple of weeks if something comes up, but it's not impossible.

Plus, the club here has a deal with a local field so we don't have to pay field fees, get 15% off paint, and the University actually gives us a free day of paintball a year that they pay for. Cool stuff=)

[Allen]

Me have no money- I played the Tippmann challenge last weekend, and I now have $27 to my name. Stupid MSU taking all my money. That money is going towards food and the Taproot cd when it comes out- I don't know how I will continue to play paintball.

[dcmander]

Originally posted by Allen
...That money is going towards food and the Taproot cd when it comes out- I don't know how I will continue to play paintball.

I love Taproot. Last time I saw them was at a Linkin Park concert 2 or 3 years ago.. O man it was awesome.

When does the new CD come out?

[ntn4502]

I'm a freshman in college, but I doubt I would ever sell my mag, even though there is not one person that plays up here. Grants don't hurt any either

[Dern]

Well... You don't have to sell the gun I suppose, but you most likely will have to conserve more. Just don't play tournies and shoot less paint, or sell your gun and get a pump so you can get really good during college while not shooting much paint or air.

[raehl]

College is actually the cheapest place to play paintball short of a sponsorred team.

Most clubs practice at something like $5/head plus near-cost or at-cost paint (The NCPA has a few standing deals for any club that has a place to shoot it), rec outings are always at a discount.

Events are anywhere from free to $20/person, uncluding air, plus paint that runs from $35-$65/case.

So yeah, if there was ever a place to play paintball, college is it.

Hit up the website (www.college-paintball.com) or check out college X-Ball at world cup.

- Chris

*fixed your link for you Chris - cphilip

[UTLadiesMan]

Work when you don't have school, homework, or paintball. :) Oh, and forget dating. ;)

Actually, just start working now. Work summers and weekends, and save your pennies for college. You'll need it for a lot more than just paintball, so it's good to have a stash.

[XR4]

$15 at term or $25 membership for the whole year. Members pay no field fees, diablo blaze $50/case, free air and CO2, free rentals, and access to whole sale accounts. Even if you've got no equippment, after you're a member all you need to buy is paint. If you can find it cheaper, fine. Open play is BYOP.

We've got our own speed ball and woods fields, 15 full sets of rental gear and hold two tournaments anually. For our fall 3 man we'll be playing on the Air Gun ultimate air field (thanks Skirts.)

Also, you can take the paintball class for your PE credit. MTU is the only school in the country offering paintball for credit. Look for an upcoming article in PB2X on the class.

Our club is totally self-sufficient. We don't use a commercial field, we built our fields on University property ourselves. We buy the paint directly from the source, we stock the air and CO2, we staff the events, and any profits go back into the club to buy gear.

Check out the website, www.sos.mtu.edu/paintball

Lates,
XR

[Sinnet]

thanks for the input everyone, raehl especially, that was quite reassuring :). XR4, sounds like an awesome program you have there, i'll have to check out Michigan Tech :)

[Allen]

The new Taproot CD comes out on the 15th of October.

[Automaggin2]

I'm a junior to. I'm probably going to drexel, its nice and close. there is no way i will sell my gun to school , especially since i plan on playin in school.

and a question for dcmander, why? why did you sell your sonic bush? why!

[shartley]

Yes Chris brings up some great points and info (Phil too! ;))…. All I would like to say is that if you kids think playing paintball and going to College is tough, wait until you join the REAL world. ;)

Try paying a mortgage, multiple car payments, insurance, working 80 hours a week, having children (I have 4), and all the other bills that come with normal living (as well as running a business if you have one), and you will look back at your College “problems” as some of the easiest times in your life. ;)

Paintball is not an inexpensive sport, and I always smile when this reality sinks in. There are ways to make it more affordable (and some of those have already been mentioned) or make it easier to actually find time to play. I built my own field to take care of some of these problems. Get creative! :D Take what Phil and Chris wrote and use it to its fullest.

Also keep in mind that sometimes you have to make a choice, and set priorities. When we get older we realize that sometimes our FUN has to be put on the back burner. And unless you make a living off Paintball, it is only a “game” and recreation…. no matter how many “tournaments” you play in.

Good luck in finding the right balance. And keep in mind that if paintball has to be put on hold for a bit, it is not the end of the world.

[Dr.StockClass]

The way I've been able to afford playing throughout school is by playing stock class. Yes, with all the semis. I only use about 3-400 balls and one fill on my 3.5 ounce tank in an entire day. I save money and greatly improve my non-gun based game at the same time.

Wow, XR4. My hat off to you, your club and your school for being open minded enough to recognize paintball as a legit sport/class. A real example for the rest of the country and the all the overly conservative schools and their administration.

[sniper1rfa]

wow.

im kinda glad im only a sophmore, gotta give a little more time for these things to develop, so i can be a happy person in college. :D

nice phantom Dr. SC

[Dr.StockClass]

Thanks snipe, shes my baby.

[yeahthatsme]

if you want some cheap but not terrible paint check out paintballgear.com and go to the nelson paint. the hotspot is only 34 a case and i've shot some and its not bad. the fill is watery though.

[Ironmag]

Hehehe....well I started playing Paintball earlier this year and now I am a Senior at The University of Texas. I went and got myself an awesome gun recently. By no means is UT (the real one is in Texas) cheap, about $15,000 a year for me, but I was able to save up and get my E-Mag. I always had friends that played paintball but now that I got into it, it's really awesome. Just have a side job that will support your paintball habit and get scholarships, grants and loans if you have to so that you can pay for college.

[Fred]

Well...

I pay about 9k per semester... and I commute to college.

this is my 4th year.

I manage to play... maybe once, twice at the most, per term... including christmas break. I typically save up 30-40 bucks in change/singles leftover from filling my gas tank... and then go play.

i also play Pump, so I can play the whole day when I go... and still have paint left over for next time (Coolers rule!).

during the summer I work like crazy to make enough to pay for school, but this term I'm working part time because next term I plan on studying abroad in Italy... which costs 7-8 grand on top of my normal tuition.... :eek:


My Advice to incoming college students:

Apply for EVERY STINKING SCHOLARSHIP AND GRANT THAT YOU CAN! Forget loans, debt sucks. take them if you absolutely have to, but otherwise stear clear of them

Credit cards are evil. Do NOT get one... especially if you play lots of paintball and have a habit of buying expensive gear...


Paintball in college is possible, it helps a lot if your school has a club or team, but you gotta have priorities...

if you don't get the education to get a good career later on... you won't be playing much paintball...

---Fred

[Sinnet]

hey fred, thanks for the words of wisdom...

at what point would you suggest I start really looking at specific grants/scholarships? (I just started my junior year)

[Dr.StockClass]

NOW! Start asap. There are many that are for seniors only so dig up as many as you can handle now and by the time you get around to writing all the essays and signing up it'll be senior year. I can't tell you how many intelligent friends I have that had the stuff to make it through school, but couldn't stay in because of money issues. Get going now to give yourself enough time to be prepared, money wise, when school rolls around.

Oh, and something my counselor said that is totally true:
Junior year grades get you into your school of choice.
Senior year grades keep you there.

And as I'm finding out at my level, grades are ALL that matter as far as graduate and professional schools go.

Work hard and play hard too. But remember that working hard is what allows you to play hard. Good Luck bro.

[demonguy8]

just thought I would nudge in here and leave my $.02 ;)

ILLinois state university!!!!!!!!!

a whopping $5! a semester to jion. and we have discounts on paint and all that other fun stuff...

We are actually hosting the first college tourney of the season tommarrow morning at Realms of Ruin in Custer Park Illinois... Ill post the results of it on the forums when i get back... :cool:

[zads27]

Scholarships and grants take care of most of my tuition..

I usually don't have much time to play, which has the added bonus.. by the time I do get to play, I can afford it ;)

I have my ulitmate speedball rig (search if you wanna see it), but only play 3-4 games of speedball each time I go.. rest of the time, I play with my SC phantom. Saves paint, air $$.

What I do, is work like crazy at a job during your summer, so I have money for school in the other 3 seasons. Concentrate on your studies, then your work, then when you have extra time available, THEN go and play (or party, as college life would have it).

I sound like a public service announcement, but remember what you're in college for. To learn. Don't let that take second priority to almost anything. If it means you have to sell your paintball marker to have tuition money.. well.. would you prefer to be a paintball junkie on the street, "please sir.. could you spare some change? I need to buy balls"

Then you can get a good job, make good money.. THEN you can buy even more toys (cars[me], paintball, what have you.)

We never stop buying our toys. They just get bigger and more expensive :) Invest in your future.

[Collegeboy]

I am kind of lucky, I get my college for free, plus I get paid to go to college. But my problem is TIME. Saturdays are for football and sundays are for studying for the test and all on Monday. So until football season is over I am pretty much done with paintball.

[dcmander]

Originally posted by Fred
Credit cards are evil. Do NOT get one... especially if you play lots of paintball and have a habit of buying expensive gear...

That's why I got a debit card. This way, you have to check your account each time you want to buy something. I use internet banking and I check my checking account daily. It's a real nice method. I don't trust myself with a credit card :) I like to procrastinate.

[Fred]

Debit is my friend... but you still have to use it wisely.

I love my debit card... its so much nicer to carry that around in Detroit than cash...

---Fred

[DryIce]

i go to UMD (university of MD)and this is our first year of having an official school sponsored paintballclub... since it is an official club.. the club is not allowed to charge for you to be a member. The university is going to pay for a lot of the stuff for the students including some paint, transportation to the field and various other things... from what ive been told from the clubs leader... the only thing you really have to pay for is the rental of the gun (if you dont have one).. There are also plans for us to have a 5 man team in thenear future... but as of now all my time is being consumed by various things.. and I havent really had anytime for paintball at all

[Troy]

College and paintball can coexist. Apply for grants and what not to help with the cost of school. If you are good and lucky enough you may be able to get on a sponsorred team.

What ever you do remember school comes first or you will end up like me... a 24 year old freshmen.

If you have to take a test early because of a tournament tell the professor you have to work. They all seem to laugh when I tell them I can't be there because of a paintball tournament.

Good luck.

[Devil]

I'm a fresh-wo-man in college and I live on my own...been out of my parents house since June...plus I pay everything...my car payment,insurance, food, clothes, phone bill, rent...all of it...also, I'm only a waitress...(although I'm looking for a new job) ... the thing is, that you do have to watch your $$, but you should be able to handle it... I just went to the GA:AO meet at GApaintball2.0 ... it was expensive as crap! I spent over $200 bucks and I didn't even buy my paint($80 a case...too much) so yeah I have to work a few extra hours and get off my lazy butt...but they can co-exist!

[Sinnet]

thanks for the advice troy, devil...


devil- welcome to AO! Our awful male-to-female ratio is... still getting worse, probably, but good to know there are some paintballing girls out there! :D

[143Paul]

Never tell yourself you can't afford something...always ask yourself How you can afford it.

I paid for paintball through collage by working at the paintball field on the weekends. They were kind enough to pay me in credit and gave me a discount on gear.

Field owners are always in need of knowledable people to work for them. And if you do your best for them they will reward you nicely.

Good luck.

[temps]

Simple.
Just Say no to School! :D

j/k What ever you do don't let school get in the way of paintball!! wait I think I worded that wrong.. EDIT: What ever you don don't let paintball get in the way of school. Keep your prioritys straight! No you won't be able to play in every tourny and play two times a week any more BUT you don't have to stop playing.

Oh and if you ever get withdrawl simpotms from not being able to play paintball you can always fall back onto life's second best thing, PIE!

[AutoMaggot]

My college costs $33,000 a year, also rated as one of the top 20 best-value colleges in the country... anyhoo... I still play every weekend, and I was picked up by a local team. The key to affording it is SAVING ALL SUMMER LONG, or finding an on campus workstudy/job.

However, the only crappy part is bringing my Freeflow... I have to hide it in my car :(

[einhander619]

sophomore here, I live off campus, but I had an ongoing war with my RA over my RT last year. Living in a house has sucked my splurge budget dry and I had to sell my RT to finance the house and my other passion, snowboarding. I got a job in order to have enought to play over the summer, but that's not easy being a full time engineering student! It also doesn't help that my school is a typical close-minded catholic joint that won't recognize paintball as an a club worthy activity. (We've got a cheese club, for god's sake!) If you've got the drive, go for it. College will test your love for the game, though, be sure of that.