Car culture at liberal arts colleges – which schools are best places to live without a car?

College Search & Lists
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One of the things I most appreciated about my undergrad experience at Princeton was how walkable/bikeable everything was – meals and social life and classes were all basically on/next to campus and for clothes/prescriptions/coffee/toiletries/etc., downtown Princeton was right there. There was even a New Jersey Transit station right on campus for easy access to New York/Philadelphia. I’m sure there were students who had cars but it wasn’t the norm (and from what I read, this is still the case).

My son doesn’t currently drive (he bikes everywhere and takes the train to the city) and we’d strongly prefer not to send him to college with a car.

We’re vetting a bunch of schools around the country (mostly liberal arts w/ a few outliers like WPI and U Rochester) and I’m wondering: which ones are most comfortable for the student without a personal vehicle? (e.g. because they have fantastic local/walkable retail or because the schools have strict permitting policies + great walking/biking infrastructure and transit). This won’t be the sole determinant in choosing a school (for starters, the schools need to choose him too!) but it’s a factor, especially for a kid who has monthly prescriptions that need to be refilled.

So far we’ve learned that at Rhodes, despite its quasi-urban location, student car usage is quite prevalent, both for safety reasons and convenience (lack of walkable retail in the immediate surrounding area + limited public transit options).

I would love any insights into car culture/retail accessibility/multi-modal options at any of the following colleges, in no particular order:
Dickinson, Lafayette, Denison, Kenyon, Oberlin, Wooster, WPI, Clark, Holy Cross, Skidmore, Vassar, Union, Conn College, Wesleyan, Bates, St. Olaf, Colby, Whitman, Oxy, Puget Sound, University of Rochester, Brandeis, Colorado College, Harvey Mudd (+ other Claremont Schools), Macalester, Willamette.

Thanks!

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Neither of our kids had cars in college as undergrads and it was never a problem.

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Many schools don’t allow a car, at least first year. A larger LAC - is College of Charleston. You’re smack downtown. A target and grocery stores as well as hospital and eateries all in walking distance. We let our daughter Uber to the beach, etc - easily $100 a month or less.

I’d check each school’s policies and then location. Rhodes, is in Memphis, but not downtown, etc.

Some schools offer regular van or shuttle service to nearby shopping areas or have accessible transport. Again it should be on their website.

Connecticut College gives free rides via LYFT. U of Rochester says no first years etc.

Your student may ask a campus ambassador about the ability to be sans car. But much of this info will be on line. If you need a car to be at a school, it’s a sign kids aren’t staying.

Good luck.

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My kids didnt have cars in college either, but I strongly encourage you to push him to drive well before he leaves for any school. It is an important life skill and could be crucial in some situations.

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Great. Was either of them at one of the schools on our list? What made that work for them?

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Yes, I agree. He will learn how to drive on our old stick shift Subaru, which should cover all manner of potential emergency situations.

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(changed my question to more accurately reflect our goals)

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My D is at Vassar and has not (and most likely will not) have a car. Hasn’t been an issue. This year she has a friend with a car and they’ve been able to more easily make target runs, go to the movies, etc., but while nice it isn’t a huge change. Mostly they stay on or around campus. There is a small neighborhood of shops right around vassar and they get some money on their student card to spend there each semester. Drug store is walkable though a decent walk. Supermarket is also a long walk but walkable, or can take the bus. Bus goes to the mall and I believe the college also runs shuttles to various places like the mall/target, etc. City buses are free to Vassar students and there is a stop right by campus. Metro North (commuter rail) or Amtrak will get them to NYC in about 90 minutes (and city bus or Uber gets them to the train station easily; Vassar runs a shuttle all day before vacations).

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Mac and Olaf are both LACs where most students do not have cars and where they are not needed.

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Of the three Worcester schools I believe Clark is the only school where you can have a car as a freshman. WPI has the most walkable retail/restaurants and is right on the edge of the nicest area of Worcester. Trolley Square is about a half mile from campus and there is a Starbuck’s, Chiptole, A Poke Restaurant, and a Panini Place. Going the opposite Direction there is a grocery store on the corner of Park Ave/Highland St. and there are some local restaurants and a coffee shop on Highland. Union Station is probably just over a mile away (Commuter Rail to Boston) but not the best walkable route because of the traffic. They probably have a shuttle I know Holy Cross and Clark do. Clark is not in the best area of town but I haven’t heard of many problems with the college students but there are local restaurants in the area not any retail stores I can think of. Holy Cross is on a huge hill with I-290 in front of it. Not a great walkable area but they do provide shuttles to Union Station/Worcester Art Musuem (next to WPI campus), and the Shops at Blackstone Valley in Millbury the next town over and there is a Target, and a bunch of other chain stores. Saw a couple groups of college students walking/running in Worcester today.

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Thanks – this is so helpful. WPI is an outlier on our list in a bunch of ways but I think when we are there we might check it out.

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I concur with your Worcester school info. I would also add that Uber cars are plentiful and easy to obtain all hours.

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Have known dozens of kids at Brandeis, Conn college, Wesleyan who did not have cars. One kid at Skidmore who brought a car first semester senior year to get back and forth to a job-- drove it home T-giving and went back without it.

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I don’t have a child at Whitman but I go to Walla Walla often to drink wine :slight_smile: Whitman is definitely walkable to town without a problem.

Denison is also walkable.

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Dickinson is very walkable. If I remember correctly bikes are popular and the campus even has ones students can borrow. First years cannot have cars.

Kenyon and the Village of Gambier (deli, bank, coffee shop, etc.) are one in the same. Walking/biking campus. The town of Mt. Vernon is a few miles away. There is a shuttle that goes between Kenyon and Mt. Vernon (where one can find Walmart, fast food, etc) several times a day. First years can have cars but it’s not popular.

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My kids were at Santa Clara University and Boston University. But it really didn’t matter where they went to college. They knew up front that we were not giving them a car to use in undergrad school.

We know kids at or graduated from Lafayette, Denison, Oberlin, WPI, Holy Cross, Skidmore, Vassar, Union, Conn College, Wesleyan, Bates, Colby, Oxy, University of Rochester, Brandeis, other Claremont Schools) and none had cars while in undergrad school. At times, some parents let their kids drive back to college at Thanksgiving, and then home for the Christmas break.

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Middletown (Wesleyan) has its own transit bus system that connects surrounding towns, all the big box stores, the Amtrak/ CTrail system as well as hourly runs to Hartford.

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When DS,was considering Conn, they didn’t allow freshmen to have cars on campus.

Many of the kids at the Maine schools have cars – which they use to go away skiing, climbing, etc. During the week, the local towns are completely accessible on foot or with school shuttles. With that said, many kids don’t have cars and don’t suffer as a result.

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I just want to add…car culture at a college shouldn’t matter as much as your family decision about cars for your undergrad kids. The Thumper Family didn’t get cars for our kids when they were undergrads (we did buy each of them a car as a grad student because both actually needed cars as grad students).

We know families where the college kids did have cars, and that worked very well for those students and their families. But I don’t recall the culture at the college playing into their decisions.

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My oldest graduated from Oberlin last year- she never had a car the entire time she was there. She walked or used her bike. Very easy walk or bike ride to the grocery store, bank, or pharmacy, and the town is very walkable. On a couple of occasions she borrowed friends’ cars, but truly there was never a discussion about her need for a car there.

My youngest is at a NESCAC and freshmen aren’t supposed to have cars freshmen year, but many freshmen do. Again, we don’t feel it’s necessary, so she doesn’t- very walkable campus and frequent shuttles, etc.

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