Many students drive themselves to school, especially juniors and seniors; however, at NC, there is little space to park. This year, 26 lucky winners were selected out of 407 seniors who entered the annual Senior Parking Lottery.

“I really like the spot,” winner Rachel Beery ‘26 said. “It is much closer than where I used to park, and it will be really nice when the weather is bad [and] when I am rushing to get to work after school.”

The limited parking doesn’t just impact how students get to and from school, but also between campuses for extracurricular activities. 

“The activity bus is really inconvenient [because] a lot of the time it gets filled up quickly, especially if you’re on the opposite side of campus,” winner Jack Timpe ‘26 said. “I think teachers should be allowed to let students out a minute earlier if they need to catch the activity bus.”

To enter, seniors only had to scan a QR code sent via email and fill out a brief Google form providing basic information. The lottery began on Aug. 6, the first day of book pickup, and closed at 8 a.m. on Aug. 22, with winners being notified by email the same afternoon. While the lottery was free to enter, winners had to pay an upfront fee of $200 covering both semesters to claim their spot.

“I think LT’s parking situation is really unfortunate and could be fixed if someone put their mind to it,” Beery said. “There is a lot of available space on the property where the Vaughan Building is that could be utilized as additional parking spots, or the parking lots could be made into a parking garage. I understand that the railroad tracks present a risk, but the fact that SC has more student parking spots than NC makes no sense. I entered the lottery because it was an easy chance at the best available parking for the school. 

To access their spots, winners had to register their vehicle with the AP office by showing their driver’s license and insurance card. They were then given an LT Student Parking sticker to put on the passenger’s side of their car to signify the car’s status. Students who park in a spot that doesn’t belong to them can get their own space revoked with no refund.

“The student parking situation does not affect the people who could fix it, and fixing it would obviously cost money, so I believe it will stay the way it is for a long time,” Beery said.

Some students who have cars and licenses still choose to take the bus instead of driving themselves due to how limited the parking is at NC. Timpe was one such student who switched to driving only after winning a parking spot. 

“I’m really happy that I got to have this opportunity,” Timpe said. “It’s going to be a lot more convenient for me to drive to and from school, especially because the buses can be unreliable. My bus would sometimes be up to five minutes late or not come at all. I can also help my sister and drop her off.”