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Taking a car to uni?

Starting in September I will hopefully be studying midwifery. I have also just recently bought my first car, a Citroen c1. I am contemplating taking it with me as I will be on placement half of the time and will be 200 miles away from home. It is extremely cheap to run and is relatively cheap to insure considering that I am 17. Is it worth it? My insurance is payed until next January anyway so it would be a waste not to use it in my opinion but after that. Did you use your car and did it cost to much?

Reply 1

lascelles

Take it if you've got it and it's paid for!
I don't know how I'd have got by without mine at uni. I travel home every 3 or so weeks (it's quicker and easier to drive than get public transport).
I am doing teaching so am also on placement a lot. At the beginning of first year, they asked us all about driving etc. It makes it easier for the uni to place us if we can drive.

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Reply 2

jelly1000

Original post by charlotteclegg

it really depends on the university as to whether you will be allowed to park it- some let students apply for permits, others don't. so you need to consider that as well

Reply 3

Klix88

Both my current and Masters unis made it as difficult as possible for student drivers, so check your target uni. In the case of my current uni, part of the deal with the local councils is that it will implement green policies and force both students and staff onto public transport wherever possible. My Masters uni was a city campus with no room for expansion. There was a fixed amount of car parking - it hadn't been increased for thirty years and demand had risen massively.

My current uni has no parking on campus for any student, unless they commute from more than seven miles away, have school age children or have limited personal mobility. All of the roads around campus are restricted to resident permits which students can't get. The nearest public on-road parking or paid car parks are so far away that you'd have to catch a bus from there to campus, making the car pointless. There's no car parking at Halls for students unless you have a blue badge.

At my Masters uni, any student could apply for a car park permit. However the application system was always oversubscribed and you weren't guaranteed to get one unless you had limited personal mobility, commuted from outside the city boundary or had school age children. If you won a permit, they cost £500 a year. However, they issued more permits than there were parking spaces, so even then, you weren't guaranteed a parking space when you needed it. The campus was pretty sprawling and it wasn't unusual for people to have to park a twenty minute walk from the lecture theatre they were trying to reach.

Reply 4

Roving Fish

Are you living in halls? Unis make it as difficult as possible for students to have cars whilst at uni unless they've got extenuating circumstances.

During Year 2 & 3 it should be fine though.

Reply 5

fluffyowl

Definitely check with your uni. In my first year, it was impossible to park by the halls. Once I moved out of halls, it was fine for parking, although it was sometimes tricky to find parking spaces where I lived in 2nd year. In my final year, my flat had allocated parking so it wasn't a problem.

Reply 6

F1's Finest

Only way you're gonna get a parking permit from uni is by showing you have extenuating circumstances. They don't normally give out permits to people with normal circumstances. They do tend to give out permits if you have to travel with the car from home but if you're in halls, no way lol.

I'm gonna get a car when I graduate.

Reply 7

TattyBoJangles

As others said, check with the uni. At my uni it's as simple as sending an email to the people who are in charge of the estates - they just send out a free parking permit that lasts two years.
At my boyfriend's uni they make it rather more complicated and I think they only give permits to people who actually *need* a car, or you have to pay a hefty sum of money.

Other than that, it should be fine. I'm a second year and I've taken my car both years. It's been immeasurably handy.
Though make sure you keep some money aside just incase something were to go wrong. I've been lucky enough that my car's passed its MOT first time, has never broken down etc. but I have some money set aside for emergencies that would cover repairs if need be.