One Big Problem: Cars on Campus

Now that legions of students are making themselves comfortable settling in on campus, they are going to do something that everyone does when they dorm: look for the kid who brought his or her car to campus. Keep in mind that at many colleges, like Washington University in St. Louis, most students who dorm don't bring their car to campus. So guess what happens to the kids who do?

Well, they become everyone's new best friend. And not for the right reasons. They will be asked to do airport runs, they will drive new "friends" to restaurants, bars, stadiums, concerts, etc. Even though a student can center his or her social life completely on campus, when someone on your dorm floor has a car, well - why not ask for a ride off-campus once, twice, or a dozen
times?

I think there are unique situations when a student who dorms needs to have a car on campus. But most students don't need one, and the costs of on-campus parking permits, license/registration, and of course fuel, make this a very expensive burden to shoulder while trying to minimize college costs. If you dorm, try to resist the temptation to bring your car to campus.