<p>My daughter is deciding between UCSB and UCI. Is a car a must? She will not have one during her four years at school.
Thanx</p>
<p>Speaking as a student at UCI, cars are a must within the four years of college. The first year (and maybe second) does not hold much need for a car since the dorms provide housing and food for the students. However once a student starts migrating into apartments dorm food will be unavailable and the ability to drive to the nearest Albertsons is a must. Putting the pain of not having a car for four years can really inhibit and degrade the quality of life of a student. Students without cars cannot eventually participate in activities, attend events, volunteer at a hospital, or work at in an internship. Of course the need for a car varies with the student. I strongly disagree with parents depriving their children of cars in college when they are needed so please don't take away that privilege!</p>
<p>actually, just for everyday necessities, it's not really a must. Since there are a lot of apartments that are within walking distance to albertson/ralph. And for most club activities, they usually carpool to the events. However, if you want to volunteer at hospital, get internship, get off-campus job, then car is a must.</p>
<p>am sending a S to Chapman who'll be working at internships and jobs</p>
<p>have now heard from more than l0 people the necessity of a car. </p>
<p>So, crumple, I'm convinced. </p>
<p>but: Finances are tight, very much so. How else, however, can he earn without the means to get there. And he has some skills that could get him better than the usual oncampus jobs (EMT and Hebrew teacher), so I want him to be able to pursue. </p>
<p>So we can plan for it, rough and dirty estimate -- what does a used car cost out in California that doesn't cough down a highway? Need not be prestige but also not taped together with duct tape, like Matt Damon's gift car in "Good Will Hunting"</p>
<p>Im sure if you look hard enough you can find a car for like 3-4k... This would be a mid 90s car with around 100-150k miles, which is by no means extremely beat to death. If you are looking for something around late 90s early 00s, expect to spend around 6-7k + for a car with 80k miles.</p>
<p>hell yes. a car is very important.
you can't walk to the beach or the malls. and yes i even drive to alberston's which is only a street away.. but who would want to lug a case of water bottles back?</p>
<p>freshgirlmom:</p>
<p>a car is important, but if you can find friends or a roommate who has a car and doesn't mind driving so long as you help with gas somewhat it shouldn't be a problem. I am a local from a city that is like 10-15 min away from uci, and i have no need for a car. no my friends all have cars, so when they go out to eat i tag along with them. i also know other people who can drop me off at home when i want to go, but i wouldn't say that it is really really necessary. Now if you are from up North, or Far Down south like SD, then having a car is economical so that you aren't stuck on campus all the time. Me being local means i don't need a car, since my parents can come pick me up and what not. I agree that dorm food isn't the best, and food from close by places gets boring so you need a change every once in awhile, but you usually go in a group as it is, and someone is bound to have a car. That is at least during your freshman year. But i think that later on, it may be wise to get a car as your daughter progresses up through the years to being a sophmore and junior.</p>
<p>i think it is necessary to have a car, i mean, what if she has an emergency what is she going to do, go on bus? &what if its at night, do you really want yr daughter walking alone at night? i guess she could ask her friends for rides ...a couple of times, more than a couple of times it gets really annoying i think.. plus if yr asking someone for a ride yr kind of obliged to hang out with them for a while b/c otherwise it seems that you're using them for rides which you are.. &you have to do stuff at their own pace ... anyways the point is, she could be wasting time which could have gone to better use like studying....</p>
<p>what pol123 says is very true in that respect, but try out one quarter at the college and see how it is going and all parking issues and if it is really necessary for a car and all the issues surrounding a car. It is true that if you go with someone that you have to go by their schedule, and their agenda, and you may end up losing more time than you plan for because you went with someone. But there shouldn't be a reason that you have to be studying alll the time, because that is just a waste of time, you need to study efficiently and effectively, not just all the time. Plus if you are always studying, you will miss out on the whole dorm life college experience.</p>
<p>well, of course im not suggesting that she's going to be study ALL the time, but in the instances where you really do have to study, like maybe you fell behind in yr work or if you have midterms or something. when i said "could be wasting time which could have gone to better use like studying", studying was just an example, there could be other things you could do.</p>
<p>Considering the situation, a car for the first (and maybe second) year is not necessarily needed. It's manageable. However, in the future, a car can be necessary.</p>
<p>I agree with jas0n</p>
<p>what if you're a freshman and plan to live in the arroyo vista houses? do we need a car?</p>
<p>You can live without a car at arroyo. You have to do a lot of walks to Albertson's with a backpack though. There's no food provided at AV.</p>