<p>I have a car and as a possible first year at UVA i would need my car to come home every now and then bc my parents wont be able to come and pick me up cause they live hours away. So, is it possible that i could get a waiver and have a car as a first year?</p>
<p>Also, how safe is UVA in terms of the crime rate and like people breaking into cars? I know they have a honor system but how effective is it?</p>
<p>I don’t know about getting the waiver…but if you park on the street, prepare for
your car to get banged up.</p>
<p>My daughter, her roomate and friend all parked on the same block as their apartment.
One morning they came out and all of their windhield wipers were wrenched off, (thanks, the back one cost me 350 to fix because the arm was broken in two–and the front windshield was scratched.) And their rear view mirrors were broken. It seems that someone went down the street and literally attacked the cars.</p>
<p>The year before, she got minor dings on her car. One person left a note with her number.</p>
<p>Another person parked so close and under my daughters bumper that she could not move her car without tearing off their bumper.</p>
<p>So my advice would be if you have a car, get it a parking spot.</p>
<p>There was a big break in at Emmet/Ivy this past semester, people’s ipod car things were stolen and tires slashed. But that was the first time I had heard of any crime happening in the 2 years I’ve been parking there.</p>
<p>You really can’t bring a car as a first year. You’ll just have to get home like every other first year. Train? Ride with upperclassman? Etc.</p>
<p>While car related crime is low, this is the real world, crime happens. </p>
<p>As a first year, you can’t have a car, and won’t get a waiver. I live many hours away, and my parents couldn’t get me either, I was able to manage getting home. What makes you so special?</p>
<p>I’m new to the GrandMarc, but I am under the impression that if someone wants to rent a parking place in their complex one can for $85/mos., I could easily be wrong on this, but just thought I’d throw this out!!</p>
<p>+1 for canuck’s post</p>
<p>The point of the rule is that they want you to experience the first year experience. By not having a car, you’re more likely to stay on-grounds and go out with friends, study, or participate in clubs. By trying to go around that, you could seriously hamper your college experience.
Also, if you go around the school and don’t get a wavier but still bring a car, i’m almost certain you can get brought up on honor charges if caught.</p>
<p>On the bright side, Greyhound buses are cheaper than you think. Also, Cville airport is pretty expensive but if you need a plane then a bus ride to Richmond is the way to go.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Since your family just moved to Virginia it really should not be very far. The bus is a decent alternative to getting you close to them. You can buy a ticket in the book store.</p>
<p>OP- this may not be directly related to your problem, but I think you could still use a reminder that this university, as well as any other, is a part of a larger community. As such, the honor system you mention will NOT protect you (in fact has nothing to do with) most of the things that can happen to you, or your property, while a student at UVa. A car left on the street is a classic example. Charlottesville is the kind of place where you could park all four years and never have a problem. It is however also the kind of place where it could be vandalized the first hour you bring it into town. What actually happens is partly a matter of judgment, partially a matter of blind luck.</p>
<p>There are hundreds of other first years who live hours away whose parents can’t just pick them up. Luckily, c-ville has both an amtrak and a greyhound station and an airport (or has been said already, a bus system to a cheaper airport).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>[University</a> of Virginia - Housing Division :: Incoming First Year Frequently Asked Questions](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/housing/faq.php#faq_13]University”>http://www.virginia.edu/housing/faq.php#faq_13)</p>
<p>The only ways you’ll get a permit is if 1. You have a serious medical disease that requires you to go home periodically for treatment. 2. You are the provider for your family. or 3. You are a varsity athlete. Even for case 3, you have to have one hell of a story to bring a car.</p>
<p>Your parents simply being far away isn’t going to cut it.</p>
<p>I actually know a handful of first years who brought cars my first year here. I have no idea how they got around the “first years can’t bring cars” rule though… they definitely had to park their cars away from first year dorms.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>They parked on the street. I know a few people from the cville area that brought their cars so they could go home and grab stuff but they ended up leaving their cars at home because it was so hard to find parking.</p>
<p>You can bring your car to UVa but you would have to park it on the street; you will not be able to get a permit unless you have one of the 3 things I mentioned before. And street parking is really, really hard to find. </p>
<p>I went home the weekend before Thanksgiving to get my car so I could leave earlier for break, and it was more of a hassle than help for those few days. I ended up parking in Newcomb and paying like $60 because I was tired of getting up at 8 in the morning to move my car so it wouldn’t get towed. It really isn’t worth it to sneak your car here. Almost everything is on grounds and if you need to go to anything local, the buses will take you there in the same amount of time it would take you to go and get your car.</p>
<p>Also, there are various options for going home. Tennis, where do you live?</p>
<p>thanks for all the responses. My parents live in alexandra so that is where i would be coming home for winter and summer break. Are there any transit systems that can take me up or close to alexandria?</p>
<p>You can take the bus to the vienna metro and then take the metro to crystal city. It’s less than two hours to drive from Alexandria to C’ville.</p>
<p>Don’t forget about Home Ride.</p>
<p>[Home</a> Ride - University of Virgina](<a href=“http://www.homeride.com/info-uva.html]Home”>http://www.homeride.com/info-uva.html)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Amtrak is starting a new service that will connect Charlottesville to DC is a MUCH more reliable way than in the past. From what I’ve been told, the train that came through Cville used to originate in New Orleans, which meant it would be terribly delayed and at capacity long before getting here. Amtrak is going to start the train in Lynchburg, VA from now on, which will probably mean Charlottesville is the 2nd stop. That lessens the chance of a delay and means there will be plenty of open seats for Cville people heading to DC.</p>
<p>That is good news. The Amtrak schedule was weak at best. Hopefully things will improve. To the OP the Amtrak will take you to Union station In
DC and you can hop the metro from there to Alexandria. </p>
<p>It is still a pricer option than the bus, aka home ride, but the home ride bus has very limited schedule so the day may come when you need the train.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>LOL! A LOT of kids come from the Northern Virginia area. You will have NO trouble getting home without a car. :)</p>
<p>yeah when you said far i figured you meant out of state not east coast. i am from philly and never had a problem getting home on the train my first year. sheesh.</p>
<p>parking is just as bad as an upperclassman, i have pulled the “get up early to move my car from getting towed” thing, especially after midnight office hours when there is no way i was walking back from emmet/ivy.</p>
<p>There are so many people from NOVA at UVA that within a few weeks, I’m sure you’ll be able to find someone to get a ride with.*If not, there is Home Ride, Amtrak and Greyhound (cheapest, but sketchiest alternative).</p>