My three did not have cars. Primarily this was a big way we saved money. For two of them (Cal and UCLA) parking is a huge issue. Not totally related, but at UCLA parent orientation they said that the more time students spend on campus (living, working, etc…) correlated with more success.
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For me having a car was a must. 1000 miles from home and confined to walking as my world?? No thanks. There was so much to explore outside Madison from Road America to Door County not to mention road trips to Ann Arbor, Iowa City, Chicago etc. And I never had anyone borrow my car but we did take it to Colorado and California. Bugs forever.
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I didn’t mind doing that (our D was 8 hours away), at the start and end of the school year. Our D flew home for Thanksgiving, Christmas and spring break…
I’ve never heard of a college kid being hindered by not having their car on campus…
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I think the other think to remember is this only needs to be a one year decision. Or even one semester. Sophomore year may be a totally different story depending on their needs (a job, an off campus internship). Or not.
I will also say working for a mid sized university that the parking enforcement can be RIDICULOUS. I swear it is effecting our lower enrollment. They are hawks. It’s an outside company, many universities farm parking out now. Their goal is making money off of your car.
I think that’s been true forever. It certainly was at my alma mater (VT) 30 years ago. You didn’t dare let the parking meters lapse even 30 seconds. H ask had his car towed there 30 years ago. $250! 30 years ago!
I don’t know about hindered, but there are some giant campuses and some rural areas where it would REALLY be nice to have a car. Texas Tech, for example. Or Ripon College.
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There are also cities without great public transportation. I went to college in a city, and while first-years didn’t have cars (not allowed), it was really helpful to have my car for the following three years. Errands and outings were easier, and it allowed me to explore the wider area more easily.
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You’re a steelier sort than I! I loved that I didn’t have to go get DS myself, but those days of his 10 hour drives to and from schools always were a worry for me, especially in the winter. Always so relieved to see the headlights coming up the driveway…
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Oh, there’s definitely a feeling of relief when he pulls in the driveway. Both of my boys had driven extensively before we set them loose on a drive like that. As I type my younger son is driving one of our company vans into Boston to go from account to account all day. He also drove all over the northeast for his sport as well pre-college. The older son has taken the three Emergency Vehicle Operator Courses necessary to be certified to drive a police car, ambulance and fire truck. They both love to drive, no matter the distance.
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In my day at UW-Madison – mid-to-late '90s – most freshmen and sophs did not have vehicles on campus. Some had bikes, a few had scooters, but most of us just walked. In the winter, that was fun. But we did it regardless.
It’s probably a good thing I didn’t have a car those first two years, chiefly because:
- I was not the greatest driver at that point, and campus traffic can be substantial at times and on certain roads.
- I didn’t know where I was going half the time – still learning where all the buildings/classes were during those two formative gen-ed years, using a map to get around campus (lol), etc. I probably went to classes in ten different buildings those first two years. A car just would have made that worse – better to not know where you are when you’re on foot, than to bang into things while trying to drive and read a map. Plus, on foot, you don’t have to find parking.
- Parking can be a bear, depending on the area of campus.
I did have a car my junior and senior years – I moved out of the dorm and into an apartment with ample parking. By that time I was in the J School, so most of my classes were in either the Humanities or Communications buildings. Concert Choir was still in Humanities, so – most everything was in those two blocks/buildings. My driving skills had improved also, which helped the cause.
Having a car did make it easier to get to far-away (by walking standards) classes, social functions and football games, but really, except for when the winter chill was particularly bad and the wind was whistling… walking the UW campus wasn’t all that bad.
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My kid just graduated from Madison. He never had a car. It isn’t unusual for parking to run 100-200 a month, students have free transit access, his work was all on campus. Definitely never seemed necessary for him. He also sang in concert choir lol. I believe the Mosse building is on the chopping block!
Parking in Madison is rough! I was at graduation last week and walked about 2 miles to Camp Randall from reasonable parking. Glad we didn’t bring any grandparents. Madison is not a huge city but that downtown/campus area is DENSE and parking fills up fast. I have all those apps to check parking availability when I visit.
My next kid is heading to Chicago for college. Don’t expect her to ever have a car there as a student!
I attended the U of MN. Also a bad campus for a car. I did have a car my last 2 years when I had both an off campus internship and an apartment with a small surface lot that wasn’t an arm and a leg. Still a pain in the winter to be thinking about plowing and moving the car.
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Agree. Both my kids had their cars from freshman year. They loved the freedom of being able to get off campus when they wanted to, with friends or by themselves for jobs, shopping, recreation, etc. Older D’s college was a parking challenge, but she lucked out to always have parking opportunities where she lived. Younger D’s college has plenty of parking. Many of their classmates also had their cars. Is it necessary? No - but if it’s affordable for you and your student and you trust them to be responsible then it’s not a big deal. You can always hold off on bringing it for a month or two and see if they really need/want it.
My daughter had to move hers on home football game weekends too during freshman year. I think there’s only 6-7 home games. She never complained about it. Parking services would send reminder emails on the Thursdays of home game weekends.
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Maybe it also depends if they had a car in high school. None of our 3 did so we weren’t taking anything away.
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A lot depends on housing setup. When living in apartments, I did rely on roommate and her car because the grocery store was a few miles away.
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While I had a car I almost never used it to go to class . At night you usually could find a free or cheap spot near the Union so it made going to study and use the Libraries much easier. Most days I would just walk to campus–usually a mile or two from the East Side student areas.
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I don’t think many parents realize this and complain endlessly about tickets and tows. With the recent move outs, so many think parking enforcement would be relaxed, but instead it’s a ticket frenzy.
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My daughter always gets rides for her 12+ hour trek home and back to school and I find myself watching the 10 day weather forecast. It’s another reason I don’t want her to have a car, at least now I know she’s not alone driving.
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I grew up in a college town. Imagine going out to your car- parked in your own driveway-- to do an errand on “game weekend” and discovering that you are blocked in-- an alum (with the crazy license plate holder to prove it) parked in your private driveway! As if drunk students urinating on the lawn after the game, and epic amounts of trash in the streets isn’t enough…
So yeah, parents complain endlessly about tickets and tows. Imagine living adjacent to a college where nobody- students, alums on homecoming weekends, reunions, etc. respects the right of residents to back out of their own driveway???
Always two sides to the story.
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That car would have been towed in minutes if that was my house.
I get it, no college in town, but 3 of our elementary schools were built 100 years ago in very residential neighborhoods surrounded by homes with 50 foot wide lots, no buses, I see neighbors losing it over inconsiderate parents (teacher parking only lots). I have close friends living there and over the years their patience is long gone. The schools are situated to make them walkable but most seem to drive the 1/4 mile instead (mine walked, so much faster).
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