• Organize and track the schools that YOU are interested in.
  • Get matched up with schools that fit your personality.
  • Determine your chances at each school CP covers.
  • Calculate your costs at any school.

Parking:

C+

(explain this grade)

Comparable Schools'
Parking Grades:

Quick Stats

Student Parking Lot

Yes

Common Parking Tickets

  • Brown lots without a permit - $25-$75
  • Expired meter - $10
  • Handicapped zone - $50
  • No parking zone - $15

Freshmen Allowed to Park

No

Approximate Parking Permit Cost

  • $720 per year

Parking Permits

Permits and spaces are handed out through a seniority basis lottery. The lottery is held the second Monday of April for spaces to be given out the following year. Freshmen who bring cars to campus are not given access to the official Brown parking system. Keeping a car is not really feasible for any student, and most will find that it is not necessary.

College Prowler Take

Do you like your car? Do you have a financial or emotional incentive to keep it in peak condition? Have you become accustomed to convenient and free parking? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you might want to seriously reconsider bringing your car to campus. The cruel winters and even crueler parking cops make street parking a dangerous proposition. If a snowplow doesn’t hit your car, a $10 ticket will. It’s widely known that the Providence city government is funded largely on parking tickets. Having a car, therefore, will probably cost you another $50 a month in parking tickets. It’s not as bad as the big cities, but you will start to get frustrated with the little orange friends you find on your windshield.

Brown parking also leaves a lot to be desired. Upperclassmen are usually able to get a university parking spot in a safe, covered lot, but there are far fewer good spots than students who want them. Most underclassmen are forced to park in a lot that’s so far away it is only accessible by car. Private parking lots are the most popular choice for students, but they come at a high cost. Most students choose not to bring a car until senior year when they can park at an off-campus house or get a good university parking spot.

Free Profile Tools

Do I Stand A Chance?

Calculate YOUR chances of admission at every school CP covers!

__%

Personality Match

Calculate YOUR personality match with every school CP covers!

__%

What'll It Cost Me?

Estimate your out-of-pocket costs at every school CP covers!

$__,___

Students Speak Out

Love your school more than free food? Hate your school more than term papers?
Somewhere in between? Show the world what YOU think of YOUR school:

brown1234 says:

Brown University 2016

Other

Why bother?

Parking: May 10, 2009
Report

Anonymous says:

Parking can be a pain, but you can...

Parking can be a pain, but you can pay for a parking spot through the school. But yeah, overall, parking is annoying.

Parking
Report

Anonymous says:

Fortunately, I have always been...

Fortunately, I have always been able to get on-campus parking or parking through local landlords who rent out a space for a semester. But if that doesn’t work out, the Brown shuttle is great for taking you anywhere around campus. It runs pretty frequently—maybe every 10 minutes or so. There are also trolleys that can take you downtown to the mall, bars, clubs, and restaurants.

Parking
Report

Anonymous says:

Having a car is a beautiful thing,...

Having a car is a beautiful thing, but be prepared to fight tickets in court. I think I pay, in tickets, what it would cost to buy a space. Most people park on the streets and pay the price.

Parking
Report

Anonymous says:

Sometimes they raffle off parking...

Sometimes they raffle off parking spots at the end of the year, but if you don’t have a spot, plan on getting ticketed all the time.

Parking
Report

Parking Services

Brown University Police and Security
75 Charleslfield St.
(401) 863-3157

Did You Know?

Best Places to Find a Parking Spot
There are a few good secret spots in alleys or on un-metered streets, and if you are patient, you can circle the campus a few times and usually find something. The meters are poorly placed and usually broken, so the odds of getting a completely free space are good, but you will have to move your car every two hours. As you get farther from campus, the time limits become more liberal, the spaces more plentiful, and the odds of getting ticketed much lower.

Good Luck Getting a Parking Spot Here
On a rainy or snowy day, don’t even think about trying to drive in and find a spot around campus or on Thayer. On most days, however, the two-hour parking limit keeps cars shuffling and makes the dismal prospect of finding a spot evenly difficult anywhere around campus.

Most Recent Contributing Author

Name: Justin Kim
Hometown: Austin, TX
Major: Undecided

Justin ranked internationally in competitive Minesweeper.

Contributing Author Internship

College Prowler is actively seeking talented students to be "Contributing Authors," and assist with updating the College Prowler guide to their school. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain internship experience, be a part of a nationally recognized company, gain tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college. Read more about the internship.