<p>My D is a senior and we live 800 miles from campus. She did not have a car freshman year - if I recall correctly the college discourages or prohibits freshmen from having cars on campus (I could be wrong about that, but it’s worth checking). </p>
<p>Elon’s BioBus is free and runs to the shopping areas Wednesdays through Sundays. My D found the BioBus usable but “inconvenient.” (<a href=“https://org.elon.edu/transit/biobus/busSchedule.html”>https://org.elon.edu/transit/biobus/busSchedule.html</a> - scroll down to the University Drive Line for shopping area routes) So we also signed her up for a ZipCar account. That worked well as long as you keep in mind that you must sign up to use the ZipCar in advance and you must get it back at the time you signed up to return it. Both are good lessons for 18 year olds.</p>
<p>My impression is that a majority of upperclassmen at Elon do have cars, and it is a relatively car-oriented place. Your daughter will probably have no problem finding a car to borrow or getting a ride from a friend if she has a real need. </p>
<p>On the whole I’d say Elon is easily survivable without a car, by using the BioBus or ZipCar, but most kids prefer cars and many kids have them. Having your daughter wait until at least her sophomore year would be a good lesson in using the bus and/or planning ahead. As I recall, very few freshmen will have cars so she will not be a member of a disenfranchised minority!</p>