<p>I have had a car since freshman year and it definitely has its pros and cons. For one, all of my jobs and internships have been off campus. I would not be able to juggle these if it weren’t for a car. The bus system is great, but too slow for what I need it for. Another plus is that I have special dietary needs so I didn’t have to rely on the bus to take me back and forth grocery shopping. My parents couldn’t come get me every time I needed to come home for doctors appointments so this was much more convenient. </p>
<p>On the negatives, it enabled me to come home too often when I was a freshman. The wear and tear (and gas!) is expensive. Yes, people ask for rides (though I don’t think it’s a huge deal- some might).</p>
<p>I have had my car all 4 years and I honestly, unless they need it for an off-campus job or internship, it’s really just a PITA.</p>
<p>her senior year? She’s 21 and you’re telling her she cant take her car? Unless of course it’s your car, in which case it’s up to you to say where it can go. </p>
<p>I took my car Freshman year and every year beyond that. I did not take it the first semester of freshman year because I wanted to get familiar with the area first and settled in. I used the car to make trips to walmart, or to go to friends houses who lived off campus. Used it to go grocery shopping and to get to work. Came home for several weekends when my summer job ran into the school year. </p>
<p>Not having a car for freshman year was a good thing, IMO. Neither had a job, so it Would have just been for convenience. #1D found people heading back to our city and shared gas or found someone to take her to the train (and she paid the gas). We saw that with freshmen, there was a lot of car-borrowing and needless drives home. </p>
<p>by Jr year, for #1D, a car was a benefit to us and her. I just miss visiting the wineries on the trips there and back.</p>
<p>Both my S’s had their trucks at college all four years. Both moved off campus after freshman year. Having their own transportation when they needed it was very convenient. Their colleges were three and four hours away from home.<br>
Both had these trucks since they were sixteen and were experienced drivers.
S1 had an off campus job and many other sch. related activities that required transportation. I would rather they be at the wheel than trying to catch rides w/ random friends. If they had left their trucks at home, parking four vehicles in our small driveway would have been a huge issue for DH and me.</p>
<p>One drawback my d has found on her particular campus is the need to move the car, depending on the restrictions imposed by a particular lot. When there’s a home football game, the area she used to regularly park in was restricted to people with game tickets, so she was up at 7 AM on a Saturday morning to move the car in order to avoid a ticket. When our middle d was in school, she budgeted one semester to have her own reserved spot (about $900 in 2008). The location wasn’t especially convenient, but at an urban campus, it was reassuring to know she’d always find somewhere to park.</p>
<p>As a student teacher, d3 needs a car to get back and forth to the schools where she’s assigned. One of which was actually an hour and 15 minutes away from her dorm and cost her a LOT in gas, even with carpooling. And the building that houses her classes is about 2.5 miles away from her dorm - walkable, but not exactly easily.</p>
<p>I think Bunsen’s suggestion of a Zipcar is a great one for students who don’t have regular commitments off campus.</p>
<p>She’s a senior? Is she still going to need your permission to have a car when she graduates? </p>
<p>If the car is in your name, you certainly have the right to say no but I really can’t see the point when she’s probably at least 21 and will be out of school soon.</p>
<p>I can see the concern about her driving to the weekend volunteer activities–but as someone pointed out, if she doesn’t have a car, isn’t she just going to be riding with another student doing the same thing? And frankly, people frequently drive for a few hours, have a busy weekend, then drive home. At some point, I would hope my kids are mature enough to pace themselves appropriately for that. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a 20 or 21 year old to be able to handle that. Heck, I could probably do it better 20 years ago than I can now. I had way more energy in my 20’s.</p>
<p>She may have people asking for rides. But the alternative is that she is the one asking for rides. So I’m not sure I see the logic in that argument. Certainly, if your kid seems like the type to become a pushover for all her carless friends, you can warn against that. And if you’re insuring it, you can have rules about other people borrowing/driving it. I never had a car in college and the only person I ever borrowed a car from was my BF (who worked almost full time and paid for his own insurance so his parents had nothing to do with that). I was occasionally the designated driver with friends in someone else’s car if we went out and were drinking–so I’d bear that in mind if I were going to make rules about other people driving the car. </p>
<p>My kids aren’t in college yet but unless they go somewhere with excellent transit I expect they will have cars at some point in college. S now had my old car (still in my name) and is already talking about wanting to bring it to college. He probably will not at first, if only because his sister will still be at home and presumably driving at that point–and as a busy HS student I think she will need it more than he will. And I don’t expect the car fairy to bring us a 4th car anytime soon, so…</p>
<p>We gave DS one of our old cars for his soph and junior years because he got a part-time programming job and it was too much of a hassle to use public transportation or bike, especially in bad weather. DD1 didn’t want a car at all even after going off-campus because the public transportation was OK, and she felt the car would be a liability because she would have been expected to ferry her friends around.</p>
<p>My D is at a large state school 12 hours from home. There is a small grocery store within walking distance and there are school shuttles that go to a local mall on weekends. There is also a bus system that runs through campus. So she could get to most places she wanted without too much difficulty. However, we let her take her car, even as a freshman. She was more comfortable going so far from home with a car. And there ARE places (like the golf course and the dentist’s office) that she can’t get to with University transportation. We trust her to have a car, we can afford for her to have the car at school, and it has turned out to be a big convenience for her. That said, I might not feel the same about sending her younger sister to school with a car - totally different kids.</p>
<p>Want to chime in that this decision is different for every kid and every school. D1 went to a school with lots of on-campus and nearby resources and great public transportation (including campus shuttles). Her senior year she joined Zipcar to do grocery shopping but barely got her money’s worth. A car would have been stupid - she would have been the first to say that.</p>
<p>We had the idea that we’d “never” send a car to college because of all of the “hassles.” However, D2’s school - similar to one described above - while having a great train to a big city has terrible shuttle service to amenities and few shopping/eating/entertainment options on campus. She was very frustrated freshman year, even with many friends with cars that she could get rides from. </p>
<p>We had a car here that the kids used when they were home (we live in the country, and it’s essential). Both H and I AND her older sister told her she should take it to school this year. Parking is easy (lots of commuters), no one is going to borrow it, and she is happy to give back the tons of rides she took last year. </p>
<p>She was surprised we even offered this idea, but now that she has a car at school, she is THRILLED. She feels so free - doesn’t use it a lot, but has the fun and spontaneity that she craved in college. She also got a job, which would have been impossible without a car. The circumstances of her campus and its location are just different. As for maturity, we think she is doing great with the car, and it’s an opportunity for her to prove to herself that she is grown up.</p>
<p>I also agree that by senior year of college, these guys are going to be making a whole lot of fully adult decisions, so limiting their options because it’s “too hard” doesn’t make sense. Anything they can do to build living an independent life is a great idea, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Also want to add - we do pay the basic essentials of the car: insurance and some gas (D has a huge scholarship, so we are more generous with extras than we’d be otherwise). She is very, very grateful, and we think it is adding to her natural urge to be more independent and mature.</p>
<p>This is our “less achieving” child, as a matter of fact - in many ways, college has given her opportunities to see herself as more capable and more independent than she thought she was, and the car has really added positively to that process. One thing she does is find freshmen who are lonely, bored and frustrated and take them out for some fun - midnight bagels and hot chocolate, shopping trips, etc., that are only possible there with a car.</p>
<p>I can see your D’s points. If she has been a responsible and reliable student all these first three years I think this is a good time to add this extra responsibility. What I would do is if the car and insurance aren’t already in her name, I would change them to her name. Change the insurance bill and all of the expenses to her name. If she is ready financially to pick up all of the expenses of the car and you feel she is responsible enough to handle it - which she should be by senior year of college -then this is a request I would go along with if it were my kid. If I would be funding the car - then the car would stay at home.</p>