Meet Josh Jensen. Josh is a freshman studying Industrial Engineering at the U of A from Austin, Texas. In addition to serving as a Parent Ambassador, he is also a R.O.C.K. Camp Mentor and a member of the Beta Upsilon Chi fraternity here on campus. Even though the University of Arkansas is 8 hours away from home, he can’t imagine living anywhere else.
College can be stressful for the entire family.
Anyone can tell you that.
What some people might not tell you is how much planning is put into college before your student even steps foot on campus. You and your student have to figure out what they do and don’t need for their residence halls, what kind of meal plans your student wants (or, in other words, what you want to pay for), the budget your student will have for the semester and/or year. But most of all, the thing that you as parents worry about the most, is how your student is going to be getting to and from campus. There are a couple different options that I have found that other students like and what I, as student who lives 8 hours away from home, recommend for incoming freshman:
Option #1: Let your student bring their car
I find it very manageable to have my car on campus. It’s nice to have your own set of wheels to get around Fayetteville and when your student goes home for breaks, it’s nice to have space to hold all the laundry that they have been saving for you as a “Guess Who’s Back!” gift. But on a serious note, your student having their own car isn’t as crazy as some people might say. The only thing you and your student have to worry about is where they are going to park and that all depends on what kind of parking pass you would like to pay for. We have a Student Pass, Resident Reserve Pass, Parking Garage Pass (for Garland Parking Garage or Harmon Parking Garage), or Remote Pass. No matter which pass y’all choose, it will definitely, in my opinion, make the college transition and trip, much easier.
Option #2: Plane
This option is probably not best for getting to the University of Arkansas on the first trip up here when your student moves in but it can be nice to take a plane back and forth during breaks. Unfortunately, the University of Arkansas does not have a bus that takes students to and from the airport in Springdale but your student can always call a cab, use Uber, or ask a friend for a ride. Your student is probably in the University of Arkansas Class of 2020 Facebook page by now and I know a lot of students, at least during my freshman year, used it as a way to find rides to and from the airport (and even home on some rare occasions but I’ll cover that in Option #3) and 9 out of 10 times, someone helped out the student with the quick trip.
Option #3: Ask a Friend aka Carpooling
Again, this option is probably not best for getting to the University of Arkansas on the first trip up here but when your student has a break or even a free weekend to go home to their old stomping grounds, asking a friend or someone going in the same direction is always a good plan. Like I said previously, I brought my car to campus so I never asked friends for rides home but I did get asked on multiple occasions for rides back to my hometown or rides to cities that were on my way home. It was nice, not only for me as the driver, but also for whomever I was taking because they pretty much got chauffeured home. It is safer to drive with a buddy no matter how long the trip so I definitely recommend this option.
Whichever option you choose, I recommend talking to your student first about what they are comfortable with so that you and your student are on the same page. Your student may not know it yet but college is just as stressful for you as it is for them so, I hope that these three options will lift some weight off both of your shoulders.
Woo Pig and Go Hogs!