When you most need a parking spot – like when you’re minutes away from a midterm – the chances of finding one are about as good as your professor canceling the test.

Parking always seems scarce at Sacramento State, particularly during the first and last weeks of a semester.

A student can be hit with up to 24 different types of violations, according to the Web site for University Transportation and Parking Services. The monetary penalties range from $14 to $280, and if a driver feels wrongfully accused, they have up to three weeks to make a counterclaim.

Since starting at Sac State two years ago, I have been hit with about 3-6 parking tickets, totalling at about $144.

If you get a ticket for not properly displaying your permit, you’d better have a convincing rebuttal; if not, you’ll have to cough up 24 bucks.

If you don’t want to pay $107 for a semester permit, daily permits are available at the cost of $2.75.

So if you come to school four times a week, and assuming you come to each day of class in the 16 weeks of instruction, you’ll be paying $176 for daily passes.

Parking Structure 1, located along University Drive near Hornet Stadium, allows daily parking passes. However, Parking Structure 2, located near the University Union, allows only students who have semester parking permits.

Other parking locations include parking lot 11, found across the street from Sac State on J Street and Carlson Drive.

Lots 9 and 10, located near Modoc Hall, are far away but provide one of the safest places to find a parking spot for students who don’t mind a long walk to the central of campus.

Just like anywhere where motorists have to park their cars for long periods of time, Sac State has a history of car thefts. According to the Clery Report, Sac State saw 40 car thefts in 2003 , compared to 34 in the previous year.

The number of stolen property from cars, which in the past has included anything from bikes and parking permits, was 278 in 2003, significantly down from the pervious year’s number of 339 in 2002.

The best advice for parking success is to keep valuables out of sight, and arrive early if you want to find a parking spot.

But if everyone has the early-bird mentality, parking will really be a problem. However, there are alternatives, such as riding a bike, walking, using Regional Transit’s busses or its light rail (which has a station about a half a mile from campus), or using the Hornet Shuttle.

Whatever you use, you’ll need good luck finding the right spot.