<p>I made my only expectation to both DD and DS very very clear. - Graduate in 4 years!!!</p>
<p>Our expectations were clear…graduate in four years, and maintain the GPA to keep your merit aid. </p>
<p>Neither of our kids had a car in undergrad school. They both survived. DS took our oldest car to grad school where he actually needed a car.</p>
<p>I had a car all 4 years–an old used clunker that my dad, a mechanic, kept in shape and I drove until it was 17 years old. It was the only way I could get home. Most of the time, it was parked in the parking lot, but it did allow me to go out for Sun. dinner, occasionally do something off campus like a movie or a trip to the mall. </p>
<p>S1 lived at home so he had a car the whole time.</p>
<p>S2 didn’t take a car freshman year but asked for one sophomore year. I was a bit apprehensive about him driving cross country with it alone, so I went 9/10 of the way with him. It spent most of the time in the parking garage because from his credit card receipt, he only filled the tank with gas 3 times all year. </p>
<p>I say a lot depends on the kid.</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up robinsuesanders - but I’ve already seen the schedule for the year. The Parent calendar lists finals dates (which are at night), when the dorms close, when classes end, when the meals start/end. I am aware to plan around it. S’ semester actually ends the 2nd- 3rd week of December. His last finals are around the 17th, with school closing officially at 8:00 pm on Dec. 18.</p>
<p>Our campus only has a couple of dorms that are open over breaks, the rest close & you have to leave.</p>
<p>S will remain at school most of the time. He is a social bug and makes friends quickly. He also likes do things & be involved. He’s use to juggling multiple things as once, so will be fine. :)</p>
<p>That being said, I also know he will come home at times besides big breaks. I’m fine with that. I will NEVER tell one of my children they cannot come home.</p>
<p>Many schools dont allow freshmen to have cars. If there is no need for one, I wouldnt let her have one freshman year. </p>
<p>In addition to the expectation that they work hard in school, we expected them to keep in touch. One is better at it than the other.</p>
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<p>I think this says it all. It bothers me that people are so quick to making sweeping generalizations about taking a car to college. It depends on a lot of things:</p>
<p>-Family finances
-Availability of a car
-College location
-College rules about having a car
-Proximity to home
-Driving experience level of student
-Layout of college campus
-Availability of other transportation on campus
-Availability of transportation home
-Maturity level of student
-Parent’s comfort level with kid’s driving experience and overall judgment
-Availability of parking
-Frequency of visits home
-Need for a car to get to a job or sports activities or other activities</p>
<p>Just to name a few. There are just as many circumstances where it is totally appropriate for a kid to bring a car as it is not. And there are just as many colleges that do allow freshman to bring cars as those who do not. In most cases, colleges who don’t allow freshman to bring cars do so because parking is at a premium.</p>
<p>Each family must evaluate their own particular situation to determine what works best for them. It’s not helpful to state “no one needs a car, therefore, no one should bring one.” As with most things in life, it’s a bit more complicated than that.</p>
<p>I want to respond regarding young men who think it is OK to bunk a week or more of college classes to go deer hunting.</p>
<p>You go to college so you can get the kind of job that will feed your family without your having to put venison in the freezer.</p>
<p>I understand very well (coming from a hunting family) that hunting is also male bonding–father/son bonding time, etc – but if you would not take a week off from school to go skiiing or motorcycle riding with Dad or your friends, why are you choosing to bunk school for deer season? Bunking is bunking. </p>
<p>Tough it out for a ferw years and attend all your clases & do all your work; the deer will still be there when you graduate & get that good job! Then you will be able to buy nicer hunting gear.</p>
<p>jyber, are you the family in that Camry commercial? To be able to hand down a car to multiple kids is great!
H is totally against S taking a car freshman year(currently SR in HS), I am hedging my bets to see where he will end up. I think it will be a flight one way or another so a car would only help with local issues so don’t think it will be necessary. Although, once they start interning or doing stuff off campus, as well as living off campus it will have to be reconsidered. If he was <5 hours away a car would be great as he would be able to drive home for fall break and semester break, but I don’t think he is applying to anywhere close.</p>
<p>StepD ended up taking her car Jr year as she had many off-campus commitments. 14 hour drive and rolled it on the highway on her way back Sr year. Her mom was with her at the time and no one was hurt luckily(another plug for a Camry). I don’t think a lot of kids are capable of making these long distance drives alone, so this will be something to consider.<br>
Grades- graduate in 4 years and keep your gpa high enough for merit. S says he knows that he will probably need a 3.5 to get into decent grad programs, but whether he does that will remain to be seen if hs is any indication.</p>
<p>Different strokes for different folks! S isn’t taking his car, not allowed by W&M and his dad was against it anyway. It would be very convenient if he could, because we live 6.5 hours away in NJ, our vacation home is 4.5 hours away in NC and it would be great if we could have him meet us there for long weekend. He survived BS without it (although BS was 1 hour away) so he’ll survive a few years of college without it. </p>
<p>Checkers the driving age in NJ is 17 and a very restricted license, your friend has no choice but to drive her 16 year old! Trust me our public transportation isn’t so great either, unless you want to go to NYC or Philly.</p>