I have an F-150. Am I allowed to “own it” and use it during the 1st year? I read on the website that on-campus reserved parking is for 2nd year students and upwards, but assuming that I have an off campus parking space, would it still be fine to keep it and use it by university rules?
Schools don’t care whether or not you have a car, they just don’t want it in their parking lots without a permit.
Finding a free parking place close to campus can be a challenging during school hours. I don’t have hard data but my guess is that most students do not need a car for their daily activities. If you want to go to downtown Chicago, there are plenty of choices for public transport. And good luck finding a free parking space in the Loop.
You can pay for a parking space in a private parking lot near the campus, it might be very costly.
Or you can get on the parking waitlist:
https://safety-security.uchicago.edu/services/permit_parking/
I am sure the private parking is much more than the university parking permit.
Bringing an F-150 to O-week! Having wheels of any sort is unusual for a 1st year, but cruising around in a pickup in Saab and Subaru-infested Hyde Park is making a statement. That’s transgressive, that’s what an old Chicago prof called “conspicuous consumption” (though not quite in his sense of that phrase). However, if you have to think about the cost of parking this thing, best to leave it back at the ranch.
We saw an F-150 or two during Move-In. One with PA plates and a cigarette-smokin’ proud UChicago Mom who got out of the cab. I think I saw a gun rack. This is when you know UChicago is simply more diverse in the student population than other “elites”.
IMO, a car will have more downside than up for a student. You’ll be really busy and keeping a car maintained much less dealing with parking, snow and ice, breakdowns and possibly accidents and petty theft will be distractions you may not be able to afford in terms of time. Public transportation and Ubers are readily available for off campus excursions. The campus itself is small enough that many students don’t even bother with bikes. Living in or as near a city as UChicago is so different than in a suburb where a car is truly convenient.
OP if you can afford a personal parking place somewhere safe, then it would be feasible to bring a car, or even a full sized truck like an F-150, I suppose. If you have to park on the streets, forget it. Even if you have a parking space, I don’t know how much you’d use the car (truck). Most of your friends will be using public transport or simply walking and biking.
If you decide to bring the vehicle, driving an F-150 around Hyde Park’s crowded streets will be no fun. In fact I don’t think driving an F-150 anywhere in or around Chicagoland would be fun; I’ve done a lot of it (driving around Chicago) with a mid-sized SUV so I know. You might have some fun with the vehicle if you head way north, say, Southern Wisconsin.
Driving an F-150 around Chicago won’t be so bad - might be an advantage. My relatives live in Chicago and own two full-sized SUV’s. You can get them through the tight streets, even the one-ways with parking on both curbs. My own suburban was majorly an advantage because most other drivers simply don’t want to mess with that.
Street parking, on the other hand, will be a problem. And paid parking is expensive, just like any other high-real-estate area.
30 years ago I could sit at my desk in I-House during late-night studying and hear the car break-ins going on along Dorchester. I had a car at the time and why I wasn’t worried is beyond me. My Honda Accord Hatchback was never broken into nor had the windows smashed. My husband’s Olds Calais was another story. Boy, those thugs loved that car.
Not sure it’s quite the same today but HP is in an urban area and those with wheels will face pretty typical, contemporary urban problems. Just an FYI. Oh - and your friends will want you to drive them everywhere.
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@JBStillFlying There has been a series of car thefts/break in in HP lately.
http://hpherald.com/2018/02/12/car-thefts-break-ins-concern-community/
Yet without a doubt I still think HP nowadays is much safer than during our time from mid 1980’s to early 1990’s. That period pretty much was the worst decade in HP.
That said, I would strongly advise OP to leave his F-150 at home.
Thanks for your replies everyone! I was just worried that there was an explicit ban on 1st year students owning cars. With regards to bringing it or not, I’ve lived in a European city for 2 years, and it was supposed to be “1st class public transit” or whatever but it turned out to be (as I expected) horrible and I could barely go anywhere. So I’m more or less fully set on bringing the truck then. Also I plan on visiting some friends at UMichigan (and I’m not setting in a Greyhound bus for 3 hours) and some other people downstate, so the truck will be very useful.
Also someone mentioned that the streets were narrow; I learned how to drive in Beirut, Lebanon, so I really doubt that Chicago is even remotely a challenge compared to that city. But thanks for the warning though 
Transvaal good luck to you. You’ll be fine.
@Transvaal I like your spirit, man! Shake ‘em up in ol’ HP.
Given your travel plans, your truck would make sense. And if it turns out to be a hassle, you will have at least three opportunities during the academic year to leave it at home. You will definitely appreciate being able to haul out all your stuff at Move-In. BJ RGG and I House are the closest dorms to the Midway and lots of parking.
BTW, not sure if you are used to cold weather but, in addition to whatever the current anti-theft device is available, you will want to purchase a portable jump-starter. You can buy a Clore Automotive brand on Amazon for about $75. Keep it charged in your room and use it whenever your battery happens to be dead. If your battery is new, that won’t be as much an issue but you should have one on hand anyway. Also, drive the truck at least once a day in cold weather to keep the battery charged.
I used to live in this neighborhood and I can safely say that parking an F150 in Chicago is not going to be any teeny tiny kind of fun. A SmartCar MAYbe, not a pickup. Chicago has excellent public transport, try it before you bring a truck to the city.
If you don’t pay for a parking spot somewhere you need to check on your truck every day even if it is not parked close to campus. The City of Chicago has frequent street cleaning, snow removal, street closures, etc with very little notice where you will get ticketed and/or towed.