Freshmen are not allowed to have cars, so nope for D. We will reevaluate after her first year.
D will not be taking a car to school, at least not this year.
No car at school for our D, either. But, to be honest, she’s not into cars or driving in the first place and most of the undergrads at her college live on campus anyway. I don’t think it’s that common for kids to have cars at school where she’ll be going.
My spouse owned a car (via his aunt, probably not insured LOL) but didn’t take it to school freshman or sophomore year. And he kept it parked except to go home occasionally after that.
My son will have free public transportation in the Capital District with his RPI ID, and plans to work off-campus (since we just found out he can’t get work-study, it’s a definite he will have to travel to work). I guess those who know our stats must be shocked we can’t afford a third car, but we are spending money on online classes for our special needs son.
Good news is that if adding your son (especially, daughters are supposed to be cheaper) to your auto insurance is a lot of money, they might have an “away at college” discount. It’s like 90% for us to prove he is in college, and does not change in the summer whether or not he is home. But it doesn’t start yet, and doesn’t work if he has a car at college obviously…
No car on campus for my D either. If she needs to go far, there is good public transportation, but my guess is that she will prefer to spend much of her time on campus.
My oldest wasn’t allowed a car until senior year (military academy) and he survived. Middle D got a car her jr year, but truthfully she could have survived without it…we just caved. Thankfully, youngest won’t be allowed a car until jr year (thanks USAFA!). Both older kids got really good at finding rides, paying gas $ and learning how to use public transit. Coming from CA where most people drive private vehicles, learning how to navigate a city without a car was a learning experience. Smart phones made it easier than it might have been in my younger years, and services like Uber are easy to use and not terribly pricey.
I am seriously considering letting wrestler take his pickup truck for 2 reasons - 1) there is nothing to do or drive to in Kirksville; and 2) I am tired of looking it in the driveway!! That being said, he is going to be 13 hours away and I don’t think his truck could possibly make that many trips home! I am concerned, however, that being from a southern state he has no clue how to drive in ice or snow and his truck is only 2 wheel drive. I am really torn on this one! Truman will let him take it as a freshman if he wants.
I only have the one car, so she can’t take it.
The first runner up school called today and offered $4000 more dollars, which puts the two places neck and neck BUT SHE ALREADY ENROLLED!!! STOP CALLING!!!
@Wrestlersmom While Kirksville may not get a lot of snow, it can get very icy and the roads can be treacherous. When S was down there eight years ago, he totaled his truck when he went into a skid at a stop sign during a particularly icy morning.
How does this happen @Irishmomof2 ? So if a student has already enrolled in first choice school, are they allowed to withdraw their enrollment from school #1 and enroll in school #2 if the pot is sweetened enough? So students that do this just lose the deposit or are there other ramifications?
Wow Tranquil. I had to go back to our list to see what horrid college your daughter was attending. I laughed out loud when I saw it was Georgetown. I am thinking these girls don’t know what Georgetown is.
My daughter handed her Physics teacher a mug from her college to thank him for writing one of her letters. She did the same with her math teacher. (Her high school has only sent one student to her school, so I was pretty sure these teachers weren’t overwhelmed with mugs). Math teacher still raves about the mug and said nice things about her new home for 4 years. Physics teacher said “So THAT’s what you settled on?” I don’t even know where that comes from. If we send one kid to an Ivy a year, it’s a lot. She continues to be thrilled with her choice, but was definitely put off by this comment.
@rhandco - the public transportation in the Albany area is excellent. My son uses it all the time. However, there are so many places to work right in Troy, he might be able to find something that is quite walkable.
@EllieMom - I hope your S was okay!!!
I could easily see Mr. “I’m a double major in math an physics” think he could calculate himself out of a skid/spin on an icy day! Are there even cabs in Kirksville? We never did make our way to the Walmart when we were there. I am just worried about him being able to get out and get things if he needed something.
Is there a mall even remotely in the area? We are deciding if we want to fly out to one of the surrounding areas, rent a car, shop for a few days, and then move in vs. driving 13 hours.
D15 actually requested a car at one point, even though she doesn’t have a license. She said that she couldn’t use the Metro because it was “too faaarrrr” even though I know for a fact that Georgetown provides shuttle service to Metro stations. This is from a kid who’s been taking the subway to school for the past four years and runs all over Manhattan with her friends on the very same subway. If she can do it in New York, she can do it in D.C. (And I hope you’re reading this, darling.)
No car to college for S’15. He’ll sell it and pocket the money to pay out towards COA. We did the same for D’12. And they appreciate the money more than the car.
@Wrestlersmom It’s been a long time and things may have changed, but I don’t remember any malls of any sort when S was in Kirksville. The Walmart was as good as it got. For groceries and incidentals, though, I do recommend Hy-vee rather than Walmart. I became of Hy-vee fan when S was there. 
My S will take his car, mostly for occasional trips home (3.5ish hours away – a little far to drive there, pick him up, and drive home the same day). I doubt he will need to use it much otherwise, though.
@EllieMom - I’m so excited! Not only have I never been in a Hy-Vee, I’ve never heard of one!! Lol. This is going to be an adventure! :-c Thanks for the tip!
@tranquil218: Having a car in Georgetown would be an active detriment to quality of life, and if you don’t believe me, just ask your D to try driving down M Street on a Saturday. The university’s shuttle service is frequent and convenient, and some combination of feet, Metro, and Capital Bikeshare should make up the difference. Georgetown also has several Zipcar locations for those rare instances when that really is the best way to go.
He referees, so he will attach with a Troy club if he can.
Thanks for all the feed back, I can show D that I am not alone. Her school does provide free bus transportation too, but here in the south we wouldn’t know what the “metro” is 
. I feel we will give in next year or the next just so she can come home without us picking her up, or head to other schools to see friends. She knows she doesn’t need it on campus, I think she just doesn’t want us driving “her” car while she is away.
I will look into insurance discount while she is away, having 3 cars and 3 drivers is very expensive.