By the time most students reach community college they have already been driving for a couple of years.
This means they have grown used to the freedom of having a personal vehicle available any time they want to get from point A to point B.
As a result, they may not consider other options; they just assume they'll drive back and forth to campus.
And yet, this might not be the best choice for a number of reasons.
There are, of course, costs to consider.
If you're like most students, you elect to attend community college in order to save money.
Plus, you might be concerned about the carbon debt you're taking on by driving yourself to school every day.
And whether or not you're staying close to home or going to another city could make a difference, as well.
So here are just a few of the things you'll want to consider before you get a new car, or alternately, non-op the one you've got.
The first consideration is how badly you need a car.
Not all cities provide reliable mass transit, and if this is the case you might actually need your personal vehicle to attend community college courses.
After all, you don't want to show up late because the bus never comes on time, and you definitely don't want to find yourself stuck on campus after an evening class because the buses have stopped running for the night.
Of course, you might also look into carpooling to and from school with other students, or taking public transportation part of the time and hitching rides with friends when buses aren't an option.
If you live close enough you could even ride your bike (at least for part of the school year).
While a car is often more convenient, you may have other options available to you. But why would you use them?
This brings us to our next consideration, which is cost.
Owning and operating a vehicle is expensive!!!
It may not have cost that much to drive around when you were in high-school since your campus was likely nearby and you could get friends to chip in for gas.
But driving to and from your community college could put a lot more miles on your car and rack up your costs simultaneously.
If you're trying to save money, you can probably save a lot by listing your vehicle as non-operational and parking it in the garage for the duration.
You can forego costs like gas, parking, registration, and maintenance (no need to fix the oil pan or brake bleeder when your car is sitting).
And if your city offers discounted bus passes for students you stand to save a lot over driving expenses.
Of course, you could always split commuting costs by joining carpools with classmates, as well.
Finally, you might be concerned about the state of the environment and the role you play in advancing the global warming crisis (not to mention the poor air quality) by driving when you could be using more eco-friendly options.
Now, you could drive an electric car, which would kill two birds with one stone (eliminating the cost of gas and your carbon footprint at the same time).
But most students simply can't afford the upfront costs of these pricy vehicles.
So you may be stuck relying on mass transit or your own powers of locomotion if you want to do more for the environment.
