<p>D will be attending Skidmore next fall, and the school allows freshmen to have cars. I don’t think it’s necessary to keep a car there, as students can take free vans into town (or walk if the weather is decent). I think that having a car might mean she would be asked to drive other students around or even be tempted to lend the car to her friends. In short–it seems an unnecessary distraction, at least for the first year. Thoughts?</p>
<p>I think you are right in saying that the ones who drives will be asked to play taxi a lot. My D is not good about saying NO or asking for gas $. If your D is easily able to do both of those, I don’t see a problem. My D will not be taking a car freshmen year regardless of where she attends because of these reasons.</p>
<p>@NEPatsGirl, thanks for weighing in. I’m with you.</p>
<p>No need for car.</p>
<p>I vote no need for car.</p>
<p>I agree that there is likely no need for a car. You may want to research how much it would cost your D to come home on school breaks, both with a car and without a car. The extra costs of getting home without a car is worth it for many people, though some may say the benefit of having the car to get home in outweigh the risks and costs of having it at school.</p>
<p>I think it’s best for a freshman not to have a car–the risk is too great, especially considering that the student may be drinking for the first time (or at least, more than in high school).</p>
<p>DS could have taken a car last year. I said no. I saw all the problems you are talking about plus the fact if he didn’t drive it enough then when he did it probably would need a jump … He has currently solved the no car problem by having a GF that has a car.lol</p>
<p>Okay, I’m making an executive decision on this one…no car!!! :)</p>
<p>What would be the reason for a car, just out of curiosity. </p>
<p>I had a car my freshman year because I had an off-campus job. I was rarely asked to play taxi because we had a good bus system. OTOH, I would let people know when I was going to get groceries and they could come if they wanted. </p>
<p>By that time though, I had already been driving/had a car for a few years. I don’t think sending off a car with an inexperienced owner is necessarily a good idea. </p>
<p>I think to give a car to a freshman, there has got to be an affirmative reason why a car is a necessity – e.g., the student has a medical condition and needs to regularly visit an off-campus medical provider, or there is a specific reason the student would be expected to drive home on a regular basis. For me, “I want a car” isn’t sufficient reason for a freshman.</p>
<p>I say no car the first year. Let her get acclimated, she how she does, then make a decision for sophomore year.</p>
<p>DD took a car to her rural LAC freshman year. I was stunned that I would have been on board for such a plan. Here’s why it worked for us:</p>
<p>-DD “arrived” extra responsible and while freshman year is a wildcard in many ways, we had confidence in her judgment. Not all in household entered college with a car.
- she earned a merit scholarship that coincided with the price of her vehicle.
-@85% of students had cars, so we knew taxi service issues would be minimized
-school was so remote that even a CVS was a several mile walk, not easily done (no sidewalks and no time).
-while so many had cars, experience revealed how complicated it would have been to coordinate trips with her equally busy peers.
-no public transportation at all and school transit was extremely limited or non-existant.
-small college with extra helpful buildings and grounds folks who were happy to help students with simple car issues. Also, plentiful parking on campus. </p>
<p>This was a perfect storm of variables. Under the situation you describe lauriejgs, our daughter would not have had a car freshman year. It worked for all of us, but definitely added another layer to what was on our minds with a freshman, even though it was without incident. It didn’t help her get home for breaks as it was over a 12 hour drive through super congested areas, with winter variables or limited time, so it was just used to go to and from home at start and finish of year. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision. Among our kids high school peers, I can’t think of anyone else who brought a car to school initially. Most schools spare parents the decision, prohibiting cars by virtue of regulations and/or overall costs. </p>
<p>I think it depends on your daughter–her level of need and her maturity. Our D has a car, but she is an older freshman, and her school is somewhat remote, with no public transportation available. She does get asked by friends to drive them places occasionally, but she has no problem declining requests or asking for gas money. She rarely drinks, never to excess, and we are confident she would never loan her car to anyone. If you have concerns that your daughter may be tempted to drive after drinking alcohol or to lend her car to a friend, then I would say no to the car–especially if she can get around without one. Same if you feel she might be taken advantage of by friends. If she has a job off-campus, I might feel differently, though.</p>
<p>Really depends on the kid and the circumstances. D1 had a car freshman year in a town with little public transportation- felt trapped without it, and we felt if she was going places I’d trust her driving more than the unknown. She did not drive drunk. D2 was in the city and had one year 3 and 4 for convenience and safety. Both had friends with no cars all years.</p>
<p>"-school was so remote that even a CVS was a several mile walk, not easily done (no sidewalks and no time)"</p>
<p>Was this Grinnell, per chance? Now that’s a school where I might have said - man, that’s so isolated, you need a car. </p>
<p>No pizzagirl - not Grinnell. But small and remote, causing me to completely re-think my automatic no to the car. </p>
<p>Our kids didn’t get cars until SR year of college. My sibs and I all managed without cars for grad school, tho my brother did get a car for residency after graduating med school. </p>
<p>In general, I think freshmen are better off without cars. They are expensive distractions – can also be involved in citations and expensive accidents that raise insurance premiums. </p>
<p>I did not attend Skidmore, but this thread reminded me of the time my freshman year when my car slid down an icy parking lot to within a few feet of Saratoga Lake near Saratoga Springs, NY. (Really!) I had to call a tow truck to pull my (old rear wheel drive) car out and put it back on the plowed street. After that experience I bought studded snow tires to handle winter driving in Upstate New York. The toughest part of driving in college in Upstate New York, or traveling home from college, is the snow/ice for what seems like more than half of the school year. The harsh winters are also very tough on cars that are parked outside for several months a year.</p>
<p>Thanks, all. Hubby thinks she should bring the car because it will be a valuable lesson in responsibility–doesn’t understand my “anxiety” over all the possible scenarios. Will have to see what D thinks about it.</p>