So I will be a freshman at OU this fall and I have the option of bringing my car with me to school. The cost for parking isn’t a problem so disregard that from this situation. What I am wondering is if in your opinion I should or shouldn’t bring a car. I am not a partier and I will not be involved in Greek Life but I want to be able to do fun things in my free time around Norman or maybe even I’m OKC so the freedom is very appealing to me. I am from Michigan so it would also allow me easy access to the airport for breaks. Would it be a benefit to have my car or would it be too much of a hassle? I would love to hear if anyone has personal experience with this.
Freshman year in the dorms a lot of people don’t bring cars and manage it fine. I didn’t bring one all freshman year but my roommate did so I could use his for walmart runs or whatever. Parking at the dorms is a pain but you need to drive if you want to go anywhere further than campus corner. If you don’t bring it for move in could you bring it coming back from thanksgiving or christmas break?
My daughter just finished her sophomore year at OU and has never had her car on campus. Parking on campus, dorm-wise, is a pain in the neck. There is a shuttle system (CART) which runs all over campus and Norman, and it is FREE to all students. Students just need to get a free sticker to put on their ID in order to board the shuttles. Having a car on campus, while occasionally handy, is just one more headache. Plus, it’s tough on cars if they’re not driven regularly.
For airport trips: group chats are a great venue to post requests for airport trips, especially around the normal departure times (winter and spring breaks). So many students have the same need for airport trips, and it’s cheap to split the cost of a shuttle with several people. And, taking the airport shuttle means no worry about your car in long-term parking!
@SoonerPetE19 thank you for your hour and your first hand account. As far as bringing it after a break I’m kind of confused as to that question and why that would be something that is helpful. As far as that goes it probably wouldn’t be the best idea because I can’t imagine driving it down through Michigan and Illinois during the winter, that would potentially be really dangerous and or stressful (even after thanksgiving could be bad depending on the year plus thanksgiving break is so short that would cut into my time quite a bit). Due to those weather risks I highly doubt my family would be willing to let me even if I wanted to.
@HeliMom74 thanks for your input! Do you know where people get those bus stickers?
You’re welcome! The free sticker can be picked up at the Sooner Card Office or the Housing Office. Be sure to have your Student ID with you (Sooner Card).
If you have a bike, you can get around most of the places in Norman that students regularly go to. Put a basket on the back (a lot of students opt to use a milk crate or a file crate), and you can get groceries, toiletries, etc. Two of my three roommates did this during their time at OU and they rarely needed to ask me for rides save for when they needed to get larger items or go outside of Norman.
Over the non summer breaks you can store your bikes in some of the private apartment complexes around campus provided you have a solid U lock.
@frazzledsenior17 I didn’t even think about the weather coming all the way from Michigan. Threw that out there cause I knew a lot of people who didn’t bring cars first semester and then did after a break because they decided it was too annoying not having one.
@SoonerPetE19 oh okay gotcha, I’ve decided not to bring mine because I will it will be just one more thing to worry about, break for me isn’t really an option so let’s hope I don’t get as annoyed as those people if I do well there’s always sophomore year. Thanks for your responses I really appreciate it