Having a Car at UGA

Is having a car at UGA a good idea?

The University of Georgia has tons of students and too few parking spots. This creates a major issue for the mass of students that live off-campus, which is the majority of your sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Since UGA has a first-year live-on requirement, there is very little room for others to live on campus. It is very nice your freshman year because living on campus gets you parking priority in dorm lots. Some things to consider when deciding whether your student should or should not bring their car to campus is if they will be working at an off-campus job, their rank in the priority system and how often they will drive.

It is definitely worth it to have a car if you will be working because you have the ability to drive yourself to work worry-free and in your own time and do not have to worry about finding alternate transportation. If you are high up on the priority list (which is explained on our Parking blog) and have a car, it is wise to bring it with you if you feel like you will make use of having it.

For me, I always was driving my friends’ places, driving to church, driving to work, and driving home, so having a car on campus was very important to me and I am so glad I had it. My cousin, on the other hand, was not as involved in going places as I was and just got on a bus or asked a friend when he needed help. Thankfully, the UGA and Athens busses are available to students and all of those perks are outlined on our Bus blog.

One of the factors that might determine whether your student should bring their car or not is whether you can afford the cost of the parking pass. These on-campus passes can cost anything from $180 for the year to $360 for the year, while a “Park N Ride” pass is anywhere from $10-$40 based on the lot you choose. While I am so thankful I had a car my freshman year at UGA, I have tons of friends who did not have them and were perfectly fine all year… so the choice is truly up to your personal preference and your ability to pay for the parking pass.

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