Gen Z and Millennials Say There’s So Much More to College Than Life on Campus, According to New Zipcar Study
October 01 2018 - 8:00AM
According to a new survey by Zipcar, the world’s leading
car-sharing network, in conjunction with OnePoll, four times as
many recent grads and college students prefer to spend time off
campus with friends and family (40%) than binge watch TV and movies
online (8.5%). This is just one finding among many that illuminate
the growing trend of “adulting” that’s sweeping college and
university campuses.
The survey asked 2,000 U.S. college students and recent
graduates to share experiences that most enhanced their college
years and best prepared them for the “real world” after graduation.
It turns out that while late night parties and pranks still have
their place in college, the “rager” lifestyle is a thing of the
past. These days, students consider “all-nighters” to be a night of
work (side hustles are common) or studying. Only 17% say raging
parties are defining moments in college.
Instead, students prefer to use free time to take advantage of
their off-campus surroundings both to make memories with friends
and to acquire “adulting” skills. Believe it or not, more than half
of the respondents would choose access to a car over a smartphone
(and a laptop too). A few reasons why access to wheels is important
to today’s college students:
- Twenty-five percent say taking road trips with friends is
essential to creating life-altering experiences.
- The age-old challenge of getting groceries dominates the desire
for access to a car. Nearly 80% say they prefer to get their
groceries themselves, despite the rise of delivery
services.
- Nearly 30% say that not having access to a car to visit family
and friends is a major stressor associated with being in
college.
“As the largest provider of campus car-sharing programs, we
spend a lot of time getting to know college students, what drives
them, and how we can make their four years even better,” said Dan
Cohen, Zipcar senior marketing manager, university. “These new
insights underscore the real value of car sharing for students:
being able to discover new areas off campus, from within their
college town to farther-away road trip destinations.”
Other experiences cited as essential to “adulting” or preparing
for post-grad life include learning to fold a fitted sheet (18%)
plus other life stage events:
Top 10 College Essentials |
Top 10 Defining Moments |
Top 10 Skills Learned in College |
- Access to a car
- Visits home to see family
- Meeting new friends; staying connected to old friends
- An alarm clock
- Time to myself
- Meal planning
- Independence
- Access to off-campus stores
- Smart phone
- My own TV
|
- Living on my own
- All-night studying/working
- Paying my own bills
- Prepping my own meals
- Late-night talk with friends
- Getting off campus
- Cleaning my living area
- Falling in love
- Going on a road-trip
- Having my heart broken
|
- Making new friends
- Time management
- Building a budget/finances
- Navigating new surroundings
- Paying bills on time
- Cutting expenses to save money
- Appreciating other cultures
- Advocating for myself
- Using multi-modal transportation to get places
- Getting a side hustle for extra money
|
And, while students may cite living on their own as the biggest
step to growing up, parents aren’t completely forgotten. The top
needs from home?
- Money. Nearly 60% phoned home for extra money.
- Advice. More than 30% phoned home for help handling apartment
repairs (leaky toilet, etc.).
- Cooking lessons. Thirty percent phoned home to ask how to cook
something.
- The car. Twenty-five percent phoned home to ask for the
car.
Zipcar provides on-demand, universal access to a variety of cars
with a presence at more than 600 colleges and universities across
North America. Students can join for free through October 31.
Students must be 18 years old to reserve a car. More information is
available at www.zipcar.com/universities.
Survey MethodologyRegional, gender and age
breakouts, raw data and graphics are available. The survey was
conducted in August 2018 and included a random sample of 2,000 U.S.
residents (regardless of Zipcar membership status) who attend or
have graduated college.
About ZipcarZipcar is the world’s leading
car-sharing network, driven by a mission to enable simple and
responsible urban living. With its wide variety of self-service
vehicles available by the hour or day, Zipcar operates in urban
areas and university campuses in over 500 cities and towns across
Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, France, Iceland, Spain, Taiwan,
Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States. Zipcar offers the
most comprehensive, most convenient and most flexible car-sharing
options available. Zipcar is a subsidiary of Avis Budget Group,
Inc. (Nasdaq: CAR), a leading global provider of mobility
solutions. More information is available at www.zipcar.com.
Media Contact: Katelyn ChesleyPublic Relations
Manager, Zipcarkchesley@zipcar.com617.678.7206
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