Car freshman year ?

<p>Daughter heading to Elon this fall as a freshman. She will be 500 miles from home. When talking to students during
campus visits, many of the students commented that they did not have a car. I am of the mind that a freshman with a car might be a potential distraction. I would like the thoughts of others as I do not expect my daughter to need to come home, and if she did we would likely fly her home. I am sure she would have a car later in her college career but as a freshman I am somewhat concerned.</p>

<p>My D is a senior and we live 800 miles from campus. She did not have a car freshman year - if I recall correctly the college discourages or prohibits freshmen from having cars on campus (I could be wrong about that, but it’s worth checking). </p>

<p>Elon’s BioBus is free and runs to the shopping areas Wednesdays through Sundays. My D found the BioBus usable but “inconvenient.” (<a href=“https://org.elon.edu/transit/biobus/busSchedule.html”>https://org.elon.edu/transit/biobus/busSchedule.html&lt;/a&gt; - scroll down to the University Drive Line for shopping area routes) So we also signed her up for a ZipCar account. That worked well as long as you keep in mind that you must sign up to use the ZipCar in advance and you must get it back at the time you signed up to return it. Both are good lessons for 18 year olds.</p>

<p>My impression is that a majority of upperclassmen at Elon do have cars, and it is a relatively car-oriented place. Your daughter will probably have no problem finding a car to borrow or getting a ride from a friend if she has a real need. </p>

<p>On the whole I’d say Elon is easily survivable without a car, by using the BioBus or ZipCar, but most kids prefer cars and many kids have them. Having your daughter wait until at least her sophomore year would be a good lesson in using the bus and/or planning ahead. As I recall, very few freshmen will have cars so she will not be a member of a disenfranchised minority!</p>

<p>Son is about to graduate as a senior and still does not have a car. To be honest he has friends with cars for those times when he wanted to venture out and about off the bus route. </p>

<p>Why do you think a freshman with a car is a potential distraction? If she really needs a car for effective learning then there is no point telling her “A car will distract you dear”, on the other hand if she stays on campus and has to visit home only on vacations, then maybe a car wouldn’t help her much except for the parties and clubbing. Well the best approach will be that you talk to her, ask her if a car is a vital necessity for her success, If not then flight tickets will be better… </p>

<p>Our daughter did not have a car freshman year. They took the biobus into town and there are some friends with cars who drove when they wanted to go out to eat or something. For the most part it wasn’t an issue, although she did run into problems getting to the chiropractor and to her observation hours at a local school for one of her classes. She will probably have to have one next year if she decides to major in education because so much of the clinical time is spent off campus at schools.</p>

<p>Most students really don’t need a car freshman year, and not having one helps them have campus as their main focus of activity. It would be tough for upper class education majors to function without a car, but in other majors kids do fine with or without a car. I would send her without a car freshman year and then make a judgement call sophomore year. This is a very car-oriented part of the country, but with the BioBus, other students with car, and the Enterprise car share program (which replaced Zipcars on campus) most students can manage without a car.</p>

<p>My son is finishing sophomore year without a car and it has not been an issue. As others have said, enough students have cars that he has always been able to find a ride to any off campus activities. Also, parking in some areas of campus is difficult, so having a car can be a hassle.</p>

<p>Love having my car-we’ve gotten to do so many more things…I brought mine 2nd semester (had to qualify grades for my parents) but I love it. I highly recommend it as BioBus is highly annoying.</p>

<p>We started out by saying no car first year, but relented for the second semester when our daughter needed a car to get to an internship in town. That being said, I don’t think a car is really necessary to have a good time at Elon.</p>

<p>Daughter who graduated last year went all four years without a car and son - current freshman - does not have a car either. We live in Connecticut, so both kids would fly home, share a ride all the way home, or get a ride to D.C. or NYC then take Amtrak. Friends on campus with cars were happy to drive them locally as my kids would always chip in for gas!</p>

<p>D did not have a car freshman year however it was limiting. Biobus is ok but not always reliable. It takes a minimum of 2 hours to run to Target and back using biobus. She has relied on friends and has rented cars (when she needed to go to Apple store in Greensboro to get her computer fixed) but in retrospect I would have let her take her car second semester. Depending on your perspective, Elon is located in a fairly rural location (very beautiful campus) with very limited public transportation…all depends on what you are used to. Doable, yes. Easy, not so much.</p>