Having a car on campus can be a great asset. Whether you want to take all your new college friends around town or easily visit your family on holiday breaks, owning your transportation can open a world of opportunity.
But there are some potential downsides to bringing your vehicle to campus. After all, having a car means you have to find somewhere to park it!
Before you bring your car to campus, consider these pros and cons.
Pros of Having a Car on Campus
Having a car on campus affords you convenience, greater independence and opportunities, and the chance to travel. Let’s dive into each of these benefits in detail:
Want to get some groceries or stop by IKEA for dorm décor? The ability to get around town and run errands without having to walk, bike, or take a bus is hard to beat. Having your own vehicle makes it easier to accomplish everyday tasks.
Inevitably, there will be some activities that require transportation. You don’t have to pester your friends for rides if you have your own car. You can go where you want, whenever you want. This also means that if you need a break from campus, you can just drive off into the sunset (or, if you’re in Tampa Bay, to watch a sunset).
Owning a vehicle means you can easily travel beyond campus. Just hop in your car when you want to visit your family around the holidays (no worries about flight delays!) or swing by home for a random long weekend. You can also plan fun road trips with your friends!
At USF, the ability to travel by car means the opportunity to explore the greater Tampa Bay area and the whole South Florida region. Our Gulf Coast location puts you in short driving distance to top-rated beaches, world-class museums, and pro sports games. Busch Gardens is basically in USF Tampa’s backyard, and famous theme parks like Walt Disney World, Legoland, and Universal Studios are a day trip away.
If you have your own transportation, getting an internship or job off campus can be easier. Having your own transportation opens the doors to a broader range of professional options — you don’t have to choose what’s right around campus.
Bringing a car to campus might seem like the default option for you, especially if you already own a vehicle. Or, if you don’t, it might seem like a great excuse to acquire one. However, having a car on campus does have its downsides, including the following.
Since not everyone will have transportation, you may become the chauffeur to all your friends. While it’s nice to transport your friends on group outings, having to schlep people around can be inconvenient, especially if they don’t contribute to gas or parking fees.
Speaking of costs, having a car can be expensive. Gas, parking, permits, maintenance, licensing, taxes, registration, payments, insurance — all of these expenses can add up. Finance website Money Under 30 estimates that having a car on campus costs around $1,125 per year, and that doesn’t include your monthly payments. And, if you get into an accident or something else happens, it can be an unexpectedly large expense. If you’re looking to cut costs in college, consider whether you really need a car.
Even if you have a parking permit, finding parking on campus can be very difficult. Having to deal with that every time you want to go to class can be stressful, especially if you’re commuting to campus. Riding your bike to class may be a breezier way to start your day.
Having a car in college means that you have to be a responsible driver. That requires you to be sober when driving. While you may think, “I’d never drive drunk,” the research shows that college drinking and driving is a big problem. According to College Drinking Prevention, 1,519 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes.
Even if you’re not a big drinker, being a responsible driver also means you don’t want to put yourself at risk of drowsy or distracted driving, either.
In addition to evaluating the pros and cons of having a car on campus, you should ask the following questions before you make a decision.
Some colleges don’t permit freshmen to have a car on campus. To make sure you are allowed to do so, conduct a quick Google search for “[your school] [your year] parking.” This will typically result in the school’s permit and transportation page.
USF allows resident and non-resident students to have cars on campus. The permit types are different depending on your residency status. Learn more about USF’s parking and transportation services here.
If you’re going to college in a city with a lot of public transportation, such as New York City or Chicago, it might not make sense to bring a vehicle because most locals don’t even own one. However, if you’re moving to a town that doesn’t have a lot of public transportation options, it might be practical to have a car.
In Tampa Bay, public transportation options include:
Knowing what transportation is offered on campus can help you determine if having a car will be worth it.
USF students can take advantage of:
As mentioned above, cars are expensive. Will you be able to afford everything required to own and maintain a car while you’re a student? If you are dealing with a tight budget, it might not be worth it.
If you’re living on-campus, you may find that you don’t need transportation as much as someone who lives off-campus. And vice versa — if you’re living off-campus, you may prefer to have a vehicle to commute to campus even if you live within walking distance in case of poor weather. Most amenities like fitness centers and health clinics will be on campus.
If you’re planning on going to USF, you’ll have to decide if having a car is the right choice. Here are some handy links if you want to learn more about parking and transportation around campus: