<p>Since the college looks fairly large, is there a shuttle system students can take, or is everything within walking distance, it just looks big?</p>
<p>Also, is the Ragtag Cinema in walking distance, or can or does one have to take a shuttle to that?</p>
<p>Do you need a car, or is there public transportation from campus into the city?</p>
<p>Many students have cars, but not for driving around campus; that isn’t practical and maybe not even possible. My son rides his bike or walks. The campus is large, but not as large as it seems. He’s a city kid who’s used to biking and walking, so it was no big deal. His longest walk to class (one corner of the campus to another) was about 20-25 minutes. I’m pretty sure you can walk to Ragtag (students chime in, please). A city bus runs through campus if you need it. The older “city” of Columbia borders the campus. It’s a nice town, interesting to stroll around in, with restaurants, coffee places, good music, etc. Beyond that, Columbia has a spread-out suburban area with the usual big-box stores, small malls, hotels, etc. You can probably get to Wal-Mart, Target, etc., on the bus, but my son rides with friends who have cars.</p>
<p>geezermom nailed it on the head. Students who have cars do not use them to drive to class unless they live in apartments off campus. Everything on campus is within walking distance. Even if you could drive, why would you? The campus is nice and it gives students much needed excercise. My farthest class was maybe 10 minutes of walking if I was in a rush, more time if it was a relaxed stroll. I had a good dorm location though (Graham Hall). Chances are he will make friends with someone who has a car, which is needed to access the mall, walmart, and much more in columbia. Otherwise, like geezermom said, the bus does come to the campus (it stops in front of brady commons/bookstore), to provide transportation to the city.</p>