Also going to Goucher in May. PMs all around?
Awrighty, due to popular demand I'm gonna repost what I was sending around to everybody about living in Towson, having a car, etc:
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Congrats on your acceptance to Goucher!
As to having a car: last year there were about 5 people in my class who didn't have a car, and they got by just fine. My roommate, for example, relied on the two of us who did have cars for rides to school most mornings, but the apartment complex where most postbacs live (Courthouse Square on Goucher Boulevard, see
here for a map) is close enough that she could also easily walk it. If you have a bike, Courthouse is about a 3-5 minute ride away from school. As a side note, if you're interested in finding roommates, the program will facilitate that by setting up an email list for you and your soon-to-be classmates to work out those logistics. I'd expect that to happen in the next month or so.
There's no denying that having a car makes life more convenient for Tuesday volunteering. Those people in my class without a car had to coordinate their schedules with other students so that they could get a lift to their volunteer gig every week. Also, Towson is definitely suburbia, so having access to a vehicle is good for grocery shopping and the like. Public transportation does exist in the form of a decent bus network, but in my year we didn't explore it much, to be honest. There's also light rail into Baltimore and to the airport, but it's not particularly convenient to get to from Towson.
So, the upshot is... you don't need a car, and not everyone will have a car in your class. However, it's convenient, there's lots of parking at Goucher and in Towson, and so a cheap used car might be something you want to consider.
--k
