My D is considering bringing a car her freshmen year to U of SC. Do most freshmen have cars or can she easliy manage without one?
I would say that she can manage without one however Columbia is not the best public transportation city, so most of her getting around would be on foot. Thankfully the campus area is pretty walkable - easy to walk uptown for Farmers market and to Vista for restaurants and nightlife. 5 Points also walkable and cute shops, etc (including grocery) but do not walk down there late at night.
Your D is likely to make friends with people who have cars for weekend trips, etc. My D did have car. We live in town and didn’t want her to have to make arrangements with us to still babysit or attend home church. Garages are expensive but that’s the best choice if you have a car. Be sure and look at parking maps if you are considering just a general student sticker since I’m not sure where that would be these days. Do NOT take a car because you want to drive across campus to class - you won’t find parking and again it is a walkable campus. There are some tricky back to back classes (from Swearingen to Humanities for example) but not bad.
Is she likely to use it to drive home for weekends and breaks? Might be worth it for her if avoids expense of getting her home another way.
Not sure this was clear answer…
Lots of good specifics from @scmom12. I can only add that my nephew didn’t take his car freshman year and never had problems getting a ride when needed. Moved off campus his second year and then brought his car.
The campus has a shuttle system as it is a BIG campus and depending your schedule, walking might not work (or when it is 18000 degrees outside). But a car is NOT necessary. Parking is not easy. The campus is surrounded by the city of Columbia. Best bet is a garage spot. But frankly I’d be hesitant to pay the rate before you determine the NEED for car.
This was one of our most-asked questions when we visited. Actually, nobody recommended a car unless living off campus or if you want to drive home a lot. The campus is walkable, and most places of interest are within walking distance also. If you do need to go to Target or Walmart, there’s normally someone in the dorm that is happy to take you, and they sometimes announce this to see if anyone wants to go.
My D is a first year, no car. She walks almost everywhere and uses Uber occasionally. Her roommate does have a car but seems to use it almost exclusively to go back and forth to her parents’ home on weekends (meaning it’s parked from Sunday through Thursday nights). Worth it for her as she goes home most weekends, but definitely not needed if living in a campus dorm.
Also, your auto insurance may be lower if your D doesn’t bring a car (depends on distance from your home and your insurer’s rules).
My S is a freshman also and no car; he gets around pretty easily. His roommate does have a car but that is also in a parking garage for most of the week… They make some trips on the weekend to Irmo/Harbison for errands. I do believe that the parking fees are expensive, so something to check out. Since we live out of state, my S is off our insurance (added him back for Christmas break), for a savings for Mom & Dad. The campus is laid out pretty well and there is the campus shuttle. My son also mentioned that there is a benefit for students to ride the public transit bus free (may only be freshman?).
D is a jr and still does not have car ! She lives in an off campus apt that is extremely close to campus and very walkable .She has friends from the east coast who will often drive her halfway home on breaks and then she just takes train .She has also taken Amtrak a few times from Columbia and when she flies just takes a shuttle to Charlotte or has also gotten rides with other friends also flying out of same airport . She would like to take a car for senior yr but hasn’t had issues for the last 3 yrs not having one .
We never let our kids take a car first year. One, it’s good for them 
and makes them appreciate it the next year. Two, everyone wants to borrow YOUR kid’s car! Second year is better.
Also agree on the shuttle to CLT - we bought ten passes for her on the Columbia-Charlotte Shuttle (for students) and couldn’t be more pleased with the service and communication.
And the shuttle is not just for students. I have friends that use it frequently to go to CLT. I’m sure they frequently fill up a whole van with students around breaks but it is not an exclusively student thing.
Every now and then you can find a good flight out of Columbia and there is usually a free shuttle to Columbia airport around breaks.
columbiacharlotteshuttle.com Call them - they’re incredibly nice and great at customer service, in our experience!
^^ agree with the above ! My d has used that shuttle service several times and my husband and son also used it for a parent weekend . We have had no issues at all and my d has flown at some really early times etc …they are very dependable .
Here’s a link to the campus shuttle info, gives an idea.
http://www.sc.edu/vmps/shuttle.html
For travel on campus, having a bike there seemed like a useful thing.