<p>I'll be freshman next year. Is it necessery to have a car for social life? Honestly right now and junior year not having car was defently a problem for me.</p>
<p>It depends on how good the public transportation system is. I made the mistake of not bringing one to my first college. When I found out there were no local buses to take me to the mall, I suddenly had a ton of boring weekends/off days/nights...the mall has been my favorite place to be since I was born and not having access to one killed me.</p>
<p>When I went to the bowling alley once, I had to get a ride from another guy, who seriously did not know how to drive. This was true of 99% of the people at Mount Union. Normally I don't accept rides from anyone unless it's a close friend, but I had to in this case. Ever since that incident I have insisted on driving myself no matter how much people yell at me for always going the speed limit and looking both ways. (My grandfather was a key teacher with my driving, which may explain why I'm really careful...plus my car doesn't have airbags)</p>
<p>Looking back on it, it was probably better I didn't bring the car there since it would have been smashed by some other bozo...but if I had brought it there, chances are I would have been happier.</p>
<p>Now that I'm at home I sort of need one to commute...but even if I got a bus to my school, I'd still want it because I like to run around during the day (I'll go to the mall between classes, for example). And it's absolutely necessary for a social life--a bus can't take you to everything and taxis cost too much.</p>
<p>But yeah, definitely check on the bus schedule if it's important that you get off campus and don't want/have a car.</p>
<p>I have alwys thought High School kids shouldn't be allowed to drive, and this is exactly why. The driving age should be at least 18 and that's even young, these children just aren't mature enough.</p>
<p>"Ever since that incident I have insisted on driving myself no matter how much people yell at me for always going the speed limit and looking both ways."</p>
<p>Get yelled at for looking both ways? these people should have their license revoked until they grow up</p>
<p>Anyways, the question is car extremly important for college like UC Davis?</p>
<p>Or like Santa Cruz and so on</p>
<p>My friends who are in college, all of whom brought cars, said that people who don't bring cars complain about it, especially on campuses that are not easy to walk. When you go for your campus tour, that is definitely a big thing you should check out and ask around about. Keep in mind that a campus/town may seem "walkable" when you are just going from one academic building to another, but you have to consider things off campus like the grocery store, post office, mall, etc. because you aren't always going to be able to bum a ride, and you don't want to tick new acquaintances off by always bumming a ride. On the other hand, I have had many friends tell me that they made a lot of friends because they had a car. Whether these friends started out entirely sincere is anyone's guess, but having a car is a conversation starter, an ice breaker, and something to bring to the table, so to speak. Still, when I went for my campus visit at Mizzou, I noticed that a great number of students had bikes, which is a nice change from walking. It will definitely get you to faraway places like the mall more quickly, and riding a bike helps you avoid the Freshman 15 more than walking. So if you don't want to bring a car, or you can't, then consider investing a good-quality bike. Most dorms have bike rack things you can lock your bike to.</p>
<p>I don't know anything about the schools in question, but you mainly have to evaluate how easy it will be to get from the campus to any places you might be interested in going without a car - student shuttles, public transportation, walking, etc. I have my car with me at school but I find that I never actually drive it except to go visit my parents once every 2 months or so, and it's a bit of a hassle to find safe parking for it. But then I live in a large city and I can either walk or take public transportation anywhere, people rarely need to drive. It's different if you're going to a school that's roughly in the middle of nowhere and you need a car to get to anywhere.</p>
<p>everything, I presume you also think that high schoolers shouldn't have jobs as well, then, and that they shoujld probably also limit their activities and social lives, right? Unless you seriously think their parents want to spend all day carting them around.</p>
<p>"verything, I presume you also think that high schoolers shouldn't have jobs as well, then, and that they shoujld probably also limit their activities and social lives, right? Unless you seriously think their parents want to spend all day carting them around."</p>
<p>No, I just don't think most 16 year olds are mature enough to drive.</p>
<p>That's nice, but it still doesn't address the issue of how they're going to get around, get jobs and everything. Most 20-year-olds that I know aren't terribly mature either, don't pay a lot of attention when they're driving, fiddle with the radio, and so on, so I guess they shouldn't drive either.</p>
<p>My son is bringing his car to college next (freshman) year. He has been driving for nearly two years, has had a lot of freeway experience, has driven during long vacation trips and has been responsible driving other kids to school on a regular basis. He'll being going to college in our home state, and having a car will allow him to come home when necessary, and will also give him a lot of freedom at school.
My daughter attends college out of state and has no car. Because of the layout of the school and the location close to shops, theater and restaurants, a car is unnecessary. In fact, it would be a liability that she would rarely use.
So much depends on the college itself, the location and ease of getting around verses the pain of dealing with vehicle, as well as the experience of the student.</p>
<p>I'm not sure about UC Davis, but it might be a good idea to bring a car to UC Santa Cruz. I don't believe the campus is close to the beach/boardwalk. And it's always nice to have a car if you want to drive to Monterey, San Jose, San Fransisco, et c. ...</p>