This may seem like a petty question, but my son has been accepted to some really great schools for next year. At the top of his list right now is Hamilton College, but he is also considering Oberlin, Bard, and Ursinus. He’s looking at Binghamton and some other SUNYs, but is really leaning towards a private. Hamilton College doesn’t allow first year students to have cars on campus. This made sense to me last summer, and my son was actually okay with not being allowed to bring one at the time. The Coronavirus pandemic has changed our opinion about this because there could possibly still be an outbreak next year, either at the school or in our hometown. We would want him to be able to get home quickly if the need arises. Just curious if Hamilton will be more flexible about this in light of the Pandemic? Also wondering if other schools with similar policies about vehicles for Freshman are reconsidering their policies?
Most schools that restrict parking for freshmen do so because of lack of available parking spaces. So, I doubt that they would logistically be able to change the policy.
That said, you can look into paying for off campus parking.
Having a car at the ready for the sole purpose of getting home quickly based on a scenario for which expedited travel might not even be beneficial would seem excessive in light of the available, environmentally less intrusive approaches to this situation.
I would look into off campus parking. It would have to be somewhere convenient as your son would have to visit the car regularly to start and run it, check the tires, and do whatever other maintenance is required. No sense going through that hassle and expense if the car won’t run for him when he really needs it.
This is an interesting question. If the restriction is based on parking space, the suggestion of off campus parking could work. If it is a matter of simply wanting to create a culture where frosh stay on campus, there could be a change. Regardless, if it’s important to you, I think you will be able to find a workaround.
With that said, make sure your son is truly prepared for this, especially if the car is a little difficult to access. My kid has had a car on campus - but in a somewhat inconvenient lot - for the last 3 years, and has had occasions when he has gone to use it and found it had a flat, was snowed in, had collected tickets (because a requirement to move for maintenance had been posted in the lot he had not visited), etc. Probably all worth enduring if it’s about a way to leave in an instant but frankly, not the hassles most of us considered at the outset.
Only the people at Hamilton can answer your question about Hamilton. Likewise anywhere else you’d want to know about. Each of them is going to set its own policies. But frankly, my bet would be that they can’t answer anything about parking for the fall just yet because they don’t even know if there is going to be a fall term or what form that fall term might take.
Lots of parents are worried about getting their kids home if/when there is another lock-down. It really, truly is OK to let distance decide where your kid goes to school, and it really, truly is OK to have your kid take a gap year and wait things out.
I don’t understand the logic. If the school is within driving distance and there’s a need to come home early, your son can still be picked up, or he can rent a car or van one-way and still be more cost effective.
I agree with this.
Also, don’t underestimate the huge hassle of going to the car and starting/running it every day in the winter…and at Hamilton there’s a lot of cold days where one would have to do this. Every day for 4 months? 5 months?
At some point soon, herd immunity, vaccines, and antibody testing are all going to come into play. I think this type of thinking is a bit of an overreaction. Is choosing a college based on the ability to park a car really necessary?
Thank you all for the feedback. The question may seem like an overreaction, but my DS has three younger, triplet brothers, all age 11. They keep us very busy. I also have Lupus, and am immunocompromised, so I have to be more cautious than others. I think it was more a question of the present situation. We are all currently quarantined, and I’m working from home. I think we just wanted to be prepared for the possibility that schools could close again should an outbreak occur. Hamilton does allow cars on campus, but just not for Freshman. On our tour of Hamilton, the tour guide explained that it’s to promote the first year experience and encourage freshman to remain on campus and become more involved in the college community, which is understandable. The college is about 3 1/2 hours away. It could be a matter of parking, but I don’t think it is, but you are all likely right in that this is something I should reach out to Hamilton and ask them directly.
The points mentioned about the added stress the first year of keeping up a car for the sole purpose of getting home are valid, and something we hadn’t thought much about, primarily because we have literally not gone anywhere for several weeks. It’s definitely something to consider. I suppose it could be argued it could create more of a stress for us if he runs into issues with his vehicle.
I should add that this is not the deciding factor by any means. It’s just a question for all schools he is looking at.
When I was touring colleges with my son the question of cars for freshmen came up a lot. Just about all the student tour guides gave the same answer: that freshmen shouldn’t have cars. That was even for colleges that allowed freshmen to have cars.
The reason for their response was that most freshmen don’t have cars. Since freshmen associate mostly with other freshmen, those with cars become very popular to those without cars. The withouts will want to borrow a car or be driven somewhere. That will occur any time of day or night. And the withouts never seem to have gas money. So, to have a car on campus is to be the equivalent of a 24 hour free car rental agency.
My son didn’t have a car freshman year but did the rest of his time in college. By the time he was a sophomore, enough classmates had cars as not be an issue.
These times are different but how much has changed in respect to freshmen and cars is yet to be seen.
I think this is a question you need to ask of each individual college. As noted one reason for not allowing freshman to have cars at many schools is a lack of sufficient parking on campus. I’d start with having your S email admissions with the question. He can also ask if there are off campus parking facilities nearby.
My son’s university doesn’t allow freshmen to have cars. It took me about 30 minutes to identify the loophole. He got a parking sticker and kept his car in the commuter lot all year. He drove it at least once every week. It was very convenient to have his car. It certainly made him more popular, but he wasn’t anyone’s Uber driver. If someone asked to borrow his car he said no. If someone asked him to drive them around and he didn’t want to…he said no. An added benefit was the insurance savings in relation to the cost at home.
When my son did have a car at college it didn’t save any insurance money. To get a lower rate he had to be a certain distance away from home. He was about 3 hours drive (near the stated range of the OP) and was, unfortunately, just within range for NO savings. Ask your insurance company.
Thanks everyone for all the feedback. I honestly hadn’t thought about other kids pressuring him or asking to borrow his car. My son is a rule follower, so I don’t see him caving and allowing anyone to borrow the car, but this is helpful to be reminded because we certainly need to make sure we have that conversation with him regarding not allowing anyone else to drive it, provided he ends up bringing it to school.
^This happened to one of my kids who unfortunately had a car on campus freshman year. It was more subtle than people asking him to borrow the car. It was more like, “Okay, we need to pick up some supplies for the room/party/weekend. How can we do that?” [Everyone looks at son, who then says, “Uh, I guess I can drive.”]
It’s common knowledge that the kid with the car is the driver. It was the first thing I thought of when my son wanted to find a way to park his car at college. I said no. I’d still say no, and in fact, I don’t even think he should bring it next year as a sophomore. My D is 5 hours away in Maine and a senior. She’s never had a car on campus. She hasn’t had to get a bus home or even have us pick her up for breaks in the last 2.5 years.
If there is a health event that is so serious it merits getting your son off campus quickly, the triplets and you, with lupus, will not be picking him up anyway, right? You’re instate in NY. There are always going to be students driving home, there will be umpteen buses, and a college like Hamilton will ensure he gets home. Even if he chooses Oberlin, there will be plenty of ways to get back to NY easily.
The pandemic is going to end. Or there will be fast, readily available antibody/COVID19 testing, or a vaccine. Financially, the country will take a hit, but we aren’t going to need to prepare for the apocalypse. I sense that this is about you trying to mitigate anxiety for every worst case scenario. I think we are in the worst case scenario right now (barring an asteroid striking the earth) and you should assume that your son is going to be fine when he goes to college.
It’s a good point about the person with the car being the driver. My d took her car back to school in her second year because she had a tutoring job off campus. She was constantly being asked for rides, even when it was totally inconvenient. Took her a while to learn to say “no” and mean it. It wasn’t just for on/near campus trips either but going home for breaks.
Thank you! Yes. It will most definitely not be me and his brothers picking him up to bring him home. This is reassuring that he will easily be able to find transportation home. He hates riding in the car anyway, and I’m starting to think it might be better all around for him to not bring it. One less thing to
worry about!