If you’ve only just passed your test, you could be eager to do some driving whilst at college.

However, the high costs of car ownership and convenience of having everything on campus may make it an unsuitable decision. Here are just a few questions to ask yourself when deciding whether to own a car at college.

How easy is it to get to lectures/seminars?

If you’re living on campus, you’ll likely have all the lecture theatres and seminar rooms on your doorstep. However, if you’re living off campus, you may find that you have to travel a long way in order to get to lectures and seminars. It’s possible that there may be public transport that you can take to your college – this could be worth looking into before you get a car. If there are no public transport links near to you, then having your own vehicle could be a necessity.

Are other facilities easy to get to?

It’s worth also looking onto the location of other nearby facilities such as groceries, banks and your local post office. If these aren’t on campus, consider whether you’ll need a car to travel to them. Public transport links may be able to take you here and may work out cheaper than owning a car, so weigh this up.

Is the local area worth exploring?

For many students, going to college is a chance to explore a new part of the country (or even a new part of the world if you’re studying abroad). There may be attractions nearby that you want to visit whilst studying – these may not be accessible by public transport. Having your own car could useful for going exploring. You could buy one of these dashcams listed at BBMC and record your own spring break road trip. Rural areas are likely to have more use for a car, whilst colleges in urban areas may have nearby attractions that are easily accessible by bus and train.

Can you afford it?

Affordability is the big factor to consider. Many college students struggle to get by financially as it is without also having the running costs of a car. These include the cost of buying your car, fuel, insurance, parking and possible repairs.

There are of course tricks to save money. You may be able to find course mates or flatmates that are willing to split the costs in exchange for also being able to drive the car. This may mean compromising when you can drive the vehicle, but it could still be worthwhile.

Another option could be to turn your vehicle into money-making tool whilst at college. Using the likes of Lyft, you could use your car to give lifts to other college students in your free time. This might be enough to cover some of the big driving costs.