College tuition can be expensive. Add to it, on-campus living and a meal plan and students are over their head in expenses — the last thing students need to worry about is receiving a pricey parking ticket.

Abby and Emily Stratton will both be first year students at Kent State and had many questions about parking on campus.

“How close can a commuter park?” Abby said.

“Do you get assigned a certain parking lot?” Emily said.

Whether a first-time student or an upperclassmen, it’s important to freshen up on where students are allowed to park.

Craig Fishel is a graduate student and said he has been commuting for five years.

“You will be let down time and time again (by) the PARTA busses,” Fishel said. “You pull in and see the bus sitting at the stop. Just as you exit your car and start walking, it pulls away. You die a little bit on the inside.”

Permits are broken down into several categories. Some grant multiple parking options and others allow for a single parking lots.

“If you are smart, set an alarm to wake up and purchase your parking pass as soon as your window opens, since there are thousands of students at Kent and the purchasing of passes goes by credit hours earned and class standing,” Fishel said. “It’s like ‘The Hunger Games’ trying to purchase one. The last thing you want to have happen is miss out on the C lot to (an) underclassman because you earned it.”

There are two basic categories; commuter permits and residence hall permits.

Within these two categories are a number of permits available based on class standing.

Class standing is divided by the amount of credit hours earned: Graduates, seniors (90+ credit hours), juniors (60-89 credit hours), sophomores (30-59 credit hours) and freshmen (0-29 credit hours).

Commuter Permits

Every commuter, regardless of class standing, can apply for these permits:

• Allerton Sports Complex (semester: $80.00 academic year: $155.00)

• The Allerton Sports Complex lot is located off Campus Center Drive near the Allerton Sports Complex and Schoonover Stadium.

• Summit East (semester: $80.00 academic year: $155.00)

• The Summit East lot is located on the corner of East Summit Street and Horning Road near State Route 261.

• Morning/Weekend (semester: $55.00 academic year: $100.00)

• The Morning/Weekend permit is valid in all C lots and all non-restricted R lots from 6 a.m. until 11 a.m. It is also valid in C lots and non-restricted R lots after 4 p.m. on Fridays and all day on weekends.

• Evening/Weekend (semester: $30.00 academic year: $55.00)

• The Evening/Weekend permit is valid in all C lots and non-restricted R lots after 4 p.m. and all day on weekends.

• Disability (semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The designated disability parking spaces are located in several parking lots all over campus.

Sophomores and above (30+ credit hours) can apply for these permits:

• C-Campus Center (semester: $90.00 academic year: $175.00)

• The C-Campus Center lot is located on the corner of West Campus Center Drive and East Summit Street.

• C-Greek Village (semester: $90.00 academic year: $175.00)

• The C-Greek Village lot is located on the corner of West Campus Center Drive and Ted Boyd Drive.

• C-Ice Arena (semester: $90.00 academic year: $175.00)

• The C-Ice Arena lot is located on the corner of Loop Road and Johnston Drive adjacent to the Kent State Ice Arena.

• C-Recreation Center (semester: $90.00 academic year: $175.00)

• The C-Recreation Center lot is located on the corner of East Summit Street and Ted Boyd Drive in front of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

• C-Science (semester: $90.00 academic year: $175.00)

• The C-Science lot is located off East Summit Street across from the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. It can also be accessed from Loop Road near the Kent State Ice Arena.

• Afternoon/Weekend (semester: $55.00 academic year: $100.00)

• The Afternoon/Weekend permit is valid in all C lots after 2 p.m. and non-restricted R lots after 4 p.m. and all day on weekends.

Juniors and above (60+ credit hours) can apply for these permits:

• R1 Lincoln (semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The R1 Lincoln lot is located beside the Lincoln building on North Lincoln Street.

• C-All (all C lots) (semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The C lots are located in various locations on campus.

• C-CPA (Music & Speech) (semester: $90.00 academic year: $175.00)

• The C-Center for the Performing Arts lot is located off Theatre Drive and Jackson Drive.

Graduate students can apply for these permits:

• R1 Rockwell (semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The R1 Rockwell lot is located on front campus near the corner of South Lincoln Street and East Main Street. It can be accessed from South Lincoln Street.

• R2 Business (semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The R2 Business lot is located beside the Business Administration Building on the corner of Terrace Drive and East Summit Street.

• R4 Center for the Performing Arts (semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The R4 lots are located east and west of the Center for the Performing Arts off Theatre Drive.

• R8 Liquid Crystal (semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The R8 Liquid Crystal lot is located off East Summit Street behind the Liquid Crystal Materials building.

• R12 Schwartz Center (semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The R12 Schwartz Center lot is located off East Summit Street adjacent to the Schwartz Center.

• R16 White Hall (semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The R16 White Hall lot is located on the corner of Terrace Drive and East Main Street. 

All information regarding Commuter Permits can be found here on the Parking Services webpage.  

Residence Hall Permits

For freshmen students (0-29 credit hours) living on campus, there are only two places to park:

• Stadium (semester: $80.00 academic year: $155.00)

• The Dix Stadium lot is located 1 1/4 miles east of the Kent Campus off Summit Road. Bus and shuttle service is available to and from Dix Stadium.

• Disability (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The designated disability parking spaces are located in several parking lots all over campus.

Sophomore students and above (30+ credit hours) can apply for these residence hall permits:

• S34 (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The S34 lot is located on the corner of West Campus Center Drive and Ted Boyd Drive.

• S36 (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The S36 lot is located on the east side of Loop Road across from the Kent State Ice Arena and north of Harbourt Hall.

• S37 (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The S37 lots are located on the west side of Loop Road near Tri-Towers Complex and between McDowell and Leebrick Halls on Petrarca Drive.

• S38 (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The S38 lot is located off Loop Road behind the Kent State Ice Arena.

• S40 (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The S40 lots are located on the west side of Loop Road near the Eastway Center Complex and Twin Towers Center.

• S41 (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The S41 lot is located on the east side of Loop Road across from the Kent State Ice Arena and south of Heer Hall.

Juniors and above (60+ credit hours) can apply for the following residence hall permits:

• S35 (Engleman residents only) (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The S35 lot is located off Midway Drive behind Verder Hall.

• S39 (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The S39 lot is located on Midway Drive near Verder, Dunbar and Prentice Halls.

• S42 (Semester: $105.00 academic year: $200.00)

• The S42 lot is located in the bottom bay of the C-CPA lot (near the Centennial residence halls) adjacent to Jackson Drive.

All information regarding residence permits can be found on the residence hall permits page.  

In addition to the parking permits there are pay meters and a guest lot.

Meters can be found around most buildings and in many parking lots on campus. Rates are posted on each of the parking meters.

The guest lot is located in front of the student center. The maximum rate for the lot is $6 and there is no charge after 6 p.m. on Fridays and weekends.

Alex Cossin is a sports reporter. Contact him at [email protected].