Consider these benefits to driving a vehicle to college, whether you are a student or parent of a student. Not every student and family lives the same, so you should weigh the pros and cons of letting your teen have a car at college. There are pros and cons of owning a vehicle in college, and every students decision ultimately depends on his or her unique circumstances.
Whether this is a decision that you and your student have to make in year one, or later, you might have to make a decision about whether a car is going to be brought to college with your student. Deciding if your student needs a car when they are off at college can be tough. Obviously, whether to have a car is probably less of a concern if your student is driving themselves to college.
If they are going to regularly be driving to work or an internship away from campus, having a car might make sense. Without a car, you could certainly also be working or interning off-campus, but having your own transportation certainly makes logistics easier. A car could especially come in handy if your teen actually decides to take on an off-campus side gig.
Having a car on campus could be useful if you need to pick up something quickly for a project. There are plenty of interesting places to explore off-campus, and you can drive yourself to them. Campus might be your home, but you can get around easily with your own vehicle. Having a vehicle of your own means that you can go places around that might not be accessible to you previously.
With your car, you can drive back to your house whenever you want to and visit friends and relatives. When you have a car, you can visit family members anytime, even if it is just for one-day vacations or weekends. If you are heading back home, or visiting friends from across the country on weekends or holidays, you can go at your own pace, making as many stops as you like on your way. As a car-owning individual, you could even coordinate something fun, such as taking a road trip to your home state, which allows you to drop friends off at home states along the way.
Bringing a car to college gives you the flexibility to get out of the house when you feel like it. The flexibility provided by having a personal vehicle at college also gives you the opportunity to explore the areas surrounding your campus and get acquainted with your new city, go on road trips to landmarks, or visit relatives and friends in the surrounding area. Without a car, you will be spending more time around campus, taking longer walks, discovering opportunities, and making new friends.
Having a car helps you get around without having to waste time waiting for buses or walking where you need to go, especially during bad weather. With a car, you get to the school grounds in one piece, and do not need to worry about that kind of stuff. Before driving off to school, take some time to think about what could happen if a car is parked on campus.
When you live far away from the campus, driving a car to school could end up being really expensive. Many campuses charge hefty parking fees in order to discourage students from having cars on campus. Even if your college allows undergraduates to have cars on campus, the cost to get a parking permit can be expensive. As more students arrive on campus with cars, parking becomes an issue because of the large amount of vehicles.
Many students who actually do have cars have to either park on the streets or take their chances of getting ticketed for parked all over campus. Many students do not need cars in college, particularly if they do not have reasons to be off-campus, or home is too far to travel to during breaks.
Colleges and universities across the country are working on making it easier for a student to leave the car behind. Colleges can even require that students who are new students to their campuses to leave their cars at home, in order to encourage these students to remain on campus and be more engaged with campus life. First-year students are encouraged to leave their cars at home and live on campus to experience campus life. Typically, however, first-year students do live on campus and are just fine leaving the cars at home — at least until they transfer off-campus a year or two down the road.
As more schools limit first-year students to not bring cars, they are increasing their options to leave the campus. Cal Poly does not permit freshmen to bring cars, in order for them to acclimate to life on campus more easily. Students who live on campus are likely to get by without having a car since they can get to classes easily, eat in dining facilities, purchase books and necessities at the campus bookstore, etc. However, those who live off-campus and must travel to the campus might benefit from having a car.
Not having a car on campus may have implications for students health, ecological footprint, stress, and definitely for their wallet contents. Having a car at university has a number of real benefits that make the students life better, like less stress and providing a source of income. It is true that having a car on campus may come at a small additional expense, but it is possible to also save money on other aspects of college life.
A car can be very helpful if you are juggling between university and a job or internship, since you can freely get around and not worry about missing out on public transportation. Along with freedom of movement, the car brings a few issues with it, making your life a bit harder. Fortunately, the car helps you to deal with that to a degree, and makes you feel a little bit less homesick.
With a car, you will be able to do some shopping easily, which helps you find out where you can get things cheaper, and helps you get a better feel for your new neighborhood. With a car on campus, you will have basically unlimited options for places to shop.
If you only ever think about going out of town occasionally, then you almost certainly do not need a car; simply hitchhike, ride the bus, or get Lyft. There are plenty of ways to get around on campus — ride a bus, walk, ride your bike, or even mooch a friends ride — but sometimes you would like to be able to simply bring your car with you on campus.
