Check out U Richmond, Davidson and Wake Forest. All are very easy to get around without a car.
" I suspect that uber is also available in that area." Waterville, ME? Really? It may be true but that would surprise me. Maybe Uber is spread to more remote areas?
Actually @doschicos , it has spread to some rural areas (because I have used it in some of them!) but my insider sources in Waterville confirm that you are right. Portland, yes. Waterville no.
When we visited Whitman we were able to walk downtown easily -basically Main Street is right by the campus. We parked the car, toured, grabbed some dinner downtown, etc. without using the car. There is a Safeway adjacent to the campus as well. The students we know who go there do not have cars and seem just fine. You don’t need a car there.
I’m not familiar with the other colleges so I can’t compare. One kid I know at Puget Sound complained alot about needing a car and got one first semester of freshman year, but I’m not sure if it was really necessary or something this kid just wanted really badly.
My student spent freshman year at Wooster without a car and had no problem. Restaurants and drug stores all in easy walking distance and the campus shuttle runs regularly to the box stores (Walmart, etc) farther from campus. Many students also have cars so usually it’s easy to get rides. Significant other is a senior with no driver’s license and has never had an issue, if that helps!
You know what’s better than having a car on campus? Definitely friends with cars. 
Back again on this, @doschicos! Uber does list Waterville as a city in which it has service! I guess all that’s needed is people who are willing to drive, and there’s a decent size population there. I will inform my “source” accordingly!
I requested a pickup at Colby with my Uber account. I was informed that service is not available in the area.
First time I’ve heard Waterville referred to as a city. 
Lol! It’s Maine, and it’s all relative, I guess!
I think we are done in terms of considering new possibilities for applications and I don’t think Dickinson has the course/major study areas he’s looking for, but thanks for the input! Whitman is actually a reach for my S overall, but I think it would be hard to say no if they accepted him. Yes, I really do have reservations about Colby overall–lots of student comments about the isolation feeding an alcohol problem on campus that appears to go beyond the occasional good-spirited indulgence. Of the schools that have already accepted, Lawrence is the front-runner if we can work out the financials and it seems like Appleton would be fine for a student without a car.
“I’m not familiar with the other colleges so I can’t compare. One kid I know at Puget Sound complained alot about needing a car and got one first semester of freshman year, but I’m not sure if it was really necessary or something this kid just wanted really badly.”
Agreed. The Tacoma waterfront, which is the closest thing to UPS, is too far for a casual walk. An ambitious walk, yes; casual, no. Beyond that, while very nice, UPS is surrounded by a residential area. There is a strip mall with a Walmart anchor about 1/2 mile to the east of campus, and there’s a Starbucks and a Jimmy Johns, etc. But that’s about it.
Yes, I’d agree. No car needed at Whitman - main street is right there. Definitely need a car at UPS if you want to get off campus.
@Basbleu ,
If Whitman is a reach for your son, then Colby is very unlikely and so are Reed and L&C. Each will be a tad steeper admissions climb.
I live in the PNW and know the small private colleges here pretty well. The way to think about them in terms of a selectivity pecking order would be:
Reed
Whitman/L&C
UPS/Willamette/Whitworth
Pacific Lutheran/Linfield
George Fox/Pacific
It’s hard to judge what a reach is for him because his SAT score is lopsided, with his verbal score being very much within range for a top LAC. He’s not attached to Colby at all and not interested in Reed or L & C. His apps are already in…was simply looking for input on the campus/community pedestrian activity, not his likelihood of acceptance.
^it came up in a few posts; that’s why I mentioned it.
I have a child at Earlham - there is a grocery store practically on campus. One thing I would add though is that at many LAC schools (depending on the major) there are many opportunities to get off campus. My child has flown to WDC for a class, traveled in vans all over, done canoeing in Florida… I imagine many LACs to have similar opportunities. One of the many differences from when I went to school.
UPS is very walkable, a lot of the student have bikes. It’s about 1.6 miles to old town which has restaurants and shops and I am sure grocery/pharmacy. My son has applied there and will not have a car, we aren’t at all concerned.