Planning WAY ahead but just pondering things. I went to A&M and went weeks without using my car. Heck sometimes I didn’t even know where I had parked it lol!
Does the school have shuttles and such to Target, grocery stores, etc? Or are all of those in walking distance?
Yes, there are shuttles. Look at the Crimson Ride routes here: http://crimsonride.ua.edu/maps/
Yes, some stores are within walking distance. Here’s a campus map - the ‘strip’ is on the far left of this map, on the edge of campus, by Campus Drive West. https://ua.edu/map/
NO, you do not need a car. My son went 3 years without a car (2 of those were on-campus, and 1 was off). He still doesn’t absolutely ‘need’ it - it’s just nice to have.
You can get by on campus without a car. There are shuttles to Target and Midtown Village on the weekend. There is a Publix and a number of restaurants on the Strip that are within walking distance of campus. There are plenty of kids with cars that your student might be able to get a ride from. There are Zip cars. I know kids who’ve survived for four years at UA without a car.
That said, my daughter has had her car on campus since freshman year, and she and we are glad she does. She can get where she wants to go when she wants to go without relying on anyone else. She’s been able to do things like rent kayaks from the Rec Center and go kayaking. She’s able to get to the golf courses and disk golf courses off campus. After freshman year move-in, she’s moved herself in and out. If she needs to go to a doctor or dentist, or pick up a prescription, I don’t have to worry about her getting there (she’s not the type to impose on a friend for a ride). She can drive herself to and from the airport if she is flying home or elsewhere for a break. So while it’s not a necessity, it’s really nice to have a car. My daughter didn’t use her car every day when she lived on campus, but she used it at least a few times a week. She’s used it daily since moving off-campus, even though her complex has a shuttle and is within walking distance.
Hopefully my son will start driving before then. 
@SouthFloridaMom9 …for REAL!! Same here at this house although she is starting a new job this week so has incentive to step up her game. She is almost finished with drivers ed. She is clearly indifferent about driving. What is the deal with this generation? Lots of her friends are the same way. No one seems to be in a hurry to drive anymore!
@carachel2 I think some of today’s kids are concerned with their carbon footprint and choose to use alternates to driving. Others have always had access to public transportation or private transportation. (Mom & Dad transport). 
Kids today apparently aren’t as keen to get driver’s licenses, but it’s hard to live in some areas of the country (like AL) without one. That being said, certainly (barring health or job requirements) a freshman at UA doesn’t NEED a car, even though having one is probably a nice luxury for most.
UA does have Zipcars available for rental, and most students have friends they can hitch a ride with to shop or whatever when the bus isn’t appealing.
Amazon Prime (through which you can order pretty much anything) is probably a better value than a car for most families.
http://www.zipcar.com/universities/university-of-alabama
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/12/131217-four-theories-why-teens-drive-less-today/
I guess my son was an exception because he definitely wanted to get his license as soon as he could and loves to drive.
He’s had his car on campus since freshman year, but for him it was primarily so he could get home for breaks. Since we aren’t convenient to an airport and there are no direct flights, he can drive home in just slightly longer than it would take to fly and much more affordably. But as a freshman the car really wasn’t necessary and I’m certain that there were weeks when he never drove at all. If we’d lived close enough for me to pick him up for breaks or far enough that flying made sense, then I would have questioned sending his car.
Once he moved off campus his second year, I’m very glad he had it. Even though he usually bikes to campus for classes, I’m glad he has his car for shopping or just going out and isn’t reliant on others.
After an accident this past summer, he had no car for nearly a month until we were able to replace it. Although he did survive without his car, it was difficult for him to rely on others when he needed to get somewhere.
Thought my DS was the only one with an aversion towards driving. He avoids it! He’s a freshman and doesn’t need a car. Plenty of walking, shuttles and friends with cars. He’s even taking a mentoring class in Northport and I was very worried but he knows multiple people in the class and has always found a ride. I told him even if you get stuck and need a taxi you will not miss class! Hasn’t happened yet.
Next year he’s off campus. Not a lot of room for upperclassmen on campus. His chosen complex is 2 miles away but it does have a shuttle. We’ll see how that goes.
Of course it is possible to get around without a car, but those without cars either don’t have reason to venture too far away from campus or they have friends who have cars or they are not shy about about begging for rides from classmates. So, really, they often use cars - just not their own. There are shuttles, but limited. Students can connect to the Tuscaloosa public buses, but those don’t run very late, but you can definitely catch a bus on campus to the terminal and then ride all the way to Walmart in Skyland and back, if you have the time and patience. Take an astronomy class and be ready to find a ride to Moundville for a mandatory class, for example. There are many classes and service-learning opportunities that require transportation far off campus. So, just be ready to depend on someone else’s car to get there (and please offer to help with gas.)
The Zipcar program is great. My son used it weekly his second semester of his freshman year for a service learning opp that had him driving all over Alabama. A student is eligible to sign up only if he/she has had a drivers license for two years by the time of signup. But it is a great option, and even though my son now has a car, we keep his membership active as a backup.
Through the week, he does not need to drive much, but on weekends, he can go shop at Aldi or Sams or any place other than the much more expensive Publix. And he now drives back and forth to Florida on holidays, so no more plane tickets. He plans to live off campus next year, and preferably out a ways from the university, so he will have to have a vehicle. But for freshmen, definitely try out that first year, or first semester, even, without a car and see if it works for you.