<p>My son will be attending USC out of state from Maryland- it's about an 8 hour drive. We do have a car that is primarily for his use. He is going out of state knowing that his car is not going with him. I am concerned about partying and driving (at the same time) and it seems to me that every place he would need to go is within walking or bus distance. We will fly him home for holidays, and we will drive down once a month or so to see him for a weekend afternoon or maybe have him take the train here for a weekend once a month- depending on his needs (homesick and wanting to see High School friends vs. how well he is adjusting.) </p>
<p>I was thinking that he would bring his car for sophomore thru senior year, depending on grades and maturity. He already has a scholarship where he must maintain a 3.2 or else he loses his scholarship and we cannot afford to pay out of state so he would then have to come back to Maryland to attend school. </p>
<p>I recently read that most freshman on campus have a car- and to be honest, I don't remember where I read it- but this is making me rethink my plans. </p>
<p>Can someone (Maybe AU Girl?) let me know if the campus is easy or hard to navigate without a car? Am a right to worry about drinking and driving (he is usually a good kid, but you never know), vandalism, theft, etc? Fee wise I can swing him taking the car....I am concerned about safety and happiness. </p>
<p>If he does have a car, will he always end up being the designated driver? Will other students hassle him for rides all the time? </p>
<p>Well, from a parents perspective you don’t need a car to get around campus…there are campus shuttle and parking is not where you can just go park by a building so you don’t have to walk (doubt this is what you mean). You can walk to grocery, CVS, and entertainment areas…D and her friends walk to Vista when weather’s nice, just impress on him that being out really late in these areas is risky. There is some sort of student cab service from 5 Points up to a certain hour for rides home, but some students will have to tell you how that works. For a freshman who is on a meal plan, he really should be able to walk everywhere. I didn’t have a car there until jr year but that was eons ago. He will make friends that can do runs to grocery or target. Actually during orientation week lots of student organizations (mostly religious but open to all) have shuttles to walmart and target. As far as being designated driver, that depends on your son. D has no problem saying no to stuff like that but if you think S might be persuaded then he definitely can live without it. Don’t know if he is interested in frat and if being a pledge puts pressure on you to be ‘safe driver’…maybe guy on forum can answer that? </p>
<p>As far as getting home, he will probably meet others that are looking to share rides home. Train is a pain only because it comes through here after midnight but it is doable.</p>
<p>My son will also be attending from MD and won’t be bringing his car. Flights from Columbia to DC aren’t bad if purchased well in advance and he should be able to access anything he needs Freshman year without a car.</p>
<p>My son is attending from NC (half the distance- 4 hrs) but he is not bringing his car either. No one else drives it so it will just sit there idle in the garage I guess. I actually heard most freshmen don’t have cars but I can’t recall where I read that either.</p>
<p>Plenty of students will have cars. Freshman year it isn’t that big of a deal to not have one, but after, your children probably will want one. (Then again, they’ll probably be off campus.)</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore and I don’t have a car and it’s a really big pain at times. If I need to go to the store, I have to really think it out. CVS is within walking distance, but its also extremely expensive and limited. If I ever need a certain outfit, then I have to ask someone to take me to the mall or Target or something.</p>
<p>Shuttles are common the first week of school, but not after that.</p>
<p>It totally isn’t a necessity, but there are times where it would come in handy. Your children will definitely make good friends with people who do have cars.</p>
<p>Also, it isn’t safe to walk around Columbia at night, so that’s another time where cars come in handy. It’s okay to walk to Five Guys during the day, but I wouldn’t want to at night unless I was with a big group of people and that’s hardly off campus.</p>
<p>If he has a car, I believe that he should probably take it. If a car is too much expense, then he can definitely do without it.</p>
<p>My son lived in a dorm last year and rarely used his car. He usually parked it on the opposit side of campus from his dorm as there was virtually no parking at his dorm. But I think it made him feel more comfortable and less trapped to have it there.</p>
<p>This year he lives in private housing that is near the campus, sometimes he still walks in the morning, but when he has evening classes or school activities he always drives.</p>
<p>My son and his roommate frequently share cabs to and from 5 Points or the Vista. Probably 90% of the drinking occurs in dorm rooms, not in cars. However, last year there was a group of three or four students who died in a wreck at 5am in the morning. One of them was celebrating their 21st birthday, I was absolutely sick when I heard about it.</p>
<p>If a student is going to be staying in a dorm or apartment with a kitchen, it would be particulary nice to have a car - for grocery shopping purposes. There has also been more than a few times when my son has needed to leave the campus to get stuff that isn’t sold on or within walking distance of the campus.</p>
<p>I’m just finishing my freshman year and I’m from Frederick, MD - I brought a car. I have gotten so much use out of it that I can’t imagine not having it. Today, for instance, I have to drive to the UPS store and my apartment complex for next year; a taxi would just be inconvenient. I wouldn’t advertise that he has a car, because people always ask for rides, but if he’s firm with them then having a car is really only a benefit.</p>
<p>Get a garage spot, not a general parking pass. I know it’s $300 and that’s pretty high, but you’ll make it up in tickets with a regular spot. Having a guaranteed and covered spot is almost priceless.</p>
<p>My D did not bring her car for her first year. She did not have any problems accomplishing everything she wanted to. She was again able to obtain on campus housing for her second year. She told me she did not need her car and plans to leave it at home.</p>
<p>My freshman S did bring his car from out of state. He did not use it all that much but it did come in handy for shopping runs and the few times he drove home. I’d recommend a garage spot if you can swing it.</p>