When we dropped our daughter off at college last year, she didn't have a cell phone and neither did we. They don't install phones in the dorm rooms anymore, so we had no way to contact each other. It was a big mess. She needed money but couldn't tell us because we were still on the road. A few days later she got a cell phone, and now I know I can always reach her.
My husband and I bought Pay as you go phones when we went to Las Vegas - so glad we did. It made it a lot easier to meet up at the end of the day.