Carless, (and Not so Carless!) at Carleton

Here at Carleton, it’s not at all uncommon for students to not bring their cars to campus. Save for freshmen with extenuating circumstances, students aren’t even allowed to have vehicles on campus for the entirety of their first year. As upperclassmen, virtually no one has much of a commute to class, and lots of people are coming from too far away to drive. That means many students choose not to deal with the hassle of bringing a vehicle at all during their time here. After about a term and a half with a car on campus, I’ve had the chance to experience both sides of the coin. 

Campus Life Without a Car

My friends and I drove everywhere in high school. I was extremely used to relying on my car to go to and from home, friends’ houses, school, practice, and everything in between. Sometimes just “going for a drive” was our activity for the day. In the grand scheme of adjusting to college life, the first few weeks without a car might’ve been the rudest awakening I dealt with. Despite this, I firmly believe it was a necessary adjustment! 

As a freshman, no one has a car despite a few special cases. This is great for campus culture because all the newer students are concentrated on campus together! My new friends and I collectively learned to rely on campus events, join student organizations, and explore local Northfield spots to keep ourselves entertained. This brought us so much closer as friends, helped us become more familiar with our new hometown, and encouraged us to do some self-discovery to find our niches within the Carleton community. 

And if students without vehicles find themselves needing to get off of Carleton’s immediate campus, the Northfield Lines bus system is actually pretty convenient! Taking the bus around town is always a little bit of an adventure. Nine times out of ten I found myself meeting Oles, catching up with friends I hadn’t seen in a while, or hopping off at random stops on a whim for fun. Plus, it goes without saying that learning to navigate public transportation is an extremely useful life skill (which I evidently did not have prior to college, hence my intense dependency on my car).

Plus, there are a great few spots to check out in Northfield that are less than a 10-minute walk from Carleton. Hopping on a bike cuts that time down even further. If you’re big on thrifting and coffee, you needn’t go any further than Divison Street here in town! I’ll hold off on listing everything there is to do in Northfield because that could be an essay-length post all on its own; the bottom line is that students have tons of options right off campus!

The Transition: Bringing a Car!

Last July, I decided to apply for an on-campus parking spot this past summer and a road trip to campus for my sophomore year. Getting approved was a little bit of a shot in the dark; even though sophomores are technically allowed to bring vehicles, parking is limited, so not every underclassman application is accepted. Thankfully, though, I did end up getting a spot! I set off on my 13-hour drive back to campus in September, and my car now occupies a space I was assigned in the lot by Evans Hall. 

By the end of freshman year, I felt like I’d settled into my new home and seen most of what Northfield has to offer. Don’t get me wrong, I still love it here; most weekends I don’t go any further than a 20-minute walk from my dorm. Sometimes, though, my friends and I feel like we need to change things up and be a little more adventurous.

Enter: the cities.

Minneapolis and St. Paul. A whole new world of possibility. An unexplored frontier. An awesome place to spend a Friday or Saturday night when you’re feeling spontaneous! Being able to pile all my friends in the car and make the 45-minute drive north opens up so many opportunities, of which we’ve definitely taken full advantage. Having a car means I can vist the University of Minnesota, eat at one of the fantastic restaurants in the big city, shop at the Mall of America, or head to a music venue for a live show whenever I feel so inclined. I’ve been to five concerts this school year alone, and I have plans for at least two more in the next few months! One of my close friends and I even picked up muay thai and boxing, which we did every weekend up in Eden Prairie for a while.

All of the things Carleton students can do in the cities could also be an entirely separate post. The bottom line is that having a vehicle allows you to do things like that without relying on the inherently less flexible bus system or asking friends of friends for a ride. Having a car this year has certainly made me more independent, but there are definitely new responsibilities that come with that.

The Flip Side of Vehicular Freedom

Bringing a car to campus comes with a whole new set of responsibilities. My car did in fact need maintenance at some point early in fall term, and getting it to and from the auto shop was a difficult inconvenience. Carleton students are also only allowed to park in their assigned lots during weekdays, which means that I have to be cognizant of where on campus I leave my car so I’m not breaking the rules. As it would turn out, I personally am rather bad at this. I’ve managed to accrue $60 worth of parking fines in the past few months. Oops.

It’s also a significant financial burden to drive! Beyond the staggering cost of vehicle insurance and driver insurance, there are lots of other hidden fees. It was also nice not to have to pay for gas freshman year, and the freedom I have to conveniently go where I want when I want means that I’m now spending embarrassingly excessive amounts of money as a consumer (the Northfield Target is the main culprit, but quite a few other places are draining my bank account too). The harsh winter conditions here mean that road salt also takes a toll on a car, so wear and tear is something to consider too.

Having a car on campus also comes with a certain level of social responsibility. Because many of my friends didn’t drive to Carleton this year, it often falls on me to take friends to events, the airport, Urgent Care, the store, and anywhere else they might need a ride to. Most of the time I’m happy to help, but taking on this role in your group of friends can be a little taxing on occasion

Should You Bring a Car?

Being a carless freshman versus being a mobile sophomore are different experiences, and both have their costs and benefits. I never thought I’d be thankful for the year I spent without being able to drive, but here we are! So, to car or not to car? That is the question that so many returning Carleton students wrestle with each summer when the college begins accepting applications for vehicle registration.

For me, the answer was obvious. I would be lost without my beloved personal method of transportation. I think it’s a great choice to bring a vehicle if it’s feasible for you! But for many (one might even say most) people here, that’s not the case. And if so, it’s really not a big deal in the slightest. There’s plenty to do in Northfield, and the bus system to Minneapolis has you covered if you do need to get your big city fix every so often. Chances are you’ll even make a friend who has a car and never really have to worry about driving yourself. But for the weekend trippers and adventurers out there who are headed to Carleton, I definitely recommend it. The freedom is awesome, and really lets you maximize everything Minnesota has to offer!

Leksi (she/her) is a sophomore Carleton student from Colorado Springs, Colorado and a prospective pre-law Psychology or Cognitive Science major. So far, she could not be happier with her college decision! Northfield and Carleton have done an amazing job providing Leksi with the only five things she needs to thrive: local coffee, music, wilderness, the gym, and ice hockey. She is heavily involved in club ice hockey and loves hanging out on the Bald Spot or Bell Field with her friends, some good music, and a football/volleyball/frisbee in the warmer-weathered off-season. She also spends a great deal of time in the cities checking out cool local restaurants and m

usic venues! If you’re unsure where to find Leksi on campus, your best bet is the group tables on Fourth Libe, the weight room in the Rec, or hopelessly lost somewhere deep in the arb. Meet the Other Bloggers!