Comparable Schools'
Parking Grades:
Quick Stats
Student Parking Lot
Yes - Student spaces are in Stevenson, Union Street, Firelands, Grey Gables and Grey Gables Ext., Hollywood, Willard Court, Woodland Street, and Field House/Phillips Lots.
Common Parking Tickets
- Expired meter - $5
- Fire lane - $75
- Handicapped zone - $75
- No parking zone - $10
Freshmen Allowed to Park
Yes
Approximate Parking Permit Cost
Parking Permits
Students using campus lots are required to register motor vehicles, and display parking permits for assigned areas. There is a $100 fee for a student to register a vehicle. All vehicles must be removed from campus at the end of the academic year.
College Prowler Take
Just recently, a student wrote an article to the main on-campus newspaper, The Review, asking that Tappan Square—Oberlin’s version of Central Park—be paved over and made into a parking lot. Although his plea was obviously a joke, the fact that Oberlin has more trees than parking spaces is a source of annoyance to many vehicle-endowed students. The campus is divided into staff and student parking, and those who do not follow the rules (or the signs) finish the semester with a healthy collection of $10 parking tickets. As a result, many students decide not to drive their car to school; instead, they invest in a relatively inexpensive, multi-colored bicycle from the on-campus bike co-op, and zip around campus with their faces to the wind.
Many Obies pride themselves in being environmentally-friendly, and in order to avoid a sneer of contempt from your fellow students, it almost makes sense not to bring your car to school in the first place (especially if it’s an SUV). Nonetheless, if you do own a car, count on people asking you for rides to the malls in Cleveland and Elyria, or to protests and rallies in Washington DC. Rather than pave over the lovely green grass of Tappan Square, you can split the cost of parking tickets with your friends, and still enjoy an occasional cruise through downtown Oberlin.
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:
Anonymous says:  |
Parking is not really easy. The...
Parking is not really easy. The parking lots are probably far away from your dorm, but you usually won’t need your car anyway. |
Anonymous says: |
It’s not particularly easy to...
It’s not particularly easy to park, but I don’t think it’s particularly difficult, either. |
Anonymous says: |
The campus is small enough that...
The campus is small enough that you wouldn’t want to drive to class every day! It seems like there are enough spaces. |
Anonymous says: |
There aren’t that many parking...
There aren’t that many parking places, but not many students bring their cars, so it’s easy in relation to other schools. |
Anonymous says: |
It’s pretty awful, actually....
It’s pretty awful, actually. Especially because during the winter many of the parking lots become ‘snow emergency parking,’ and must be cleared of snow during the morning. Which means that you can forget about parking there overnight. I think having a car is a bit of waste of time. Then again, I have friends with cars. |
Did You Know?
Good Luck Getting a Parking Spot Here!
The Conservatory Parking Lot
Best Places to Find a Parking Spot
Asia House Parking Lot, Athletics Field Parking Lot, Dascomb Parking Lot, and South Professor Street
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