A few ideas on some issues:

- Pedals. I like SPD shoes for almost anything, except trecking or walking in the mud. SPD shoes in the snow is a different matter, but shouldn't be too much a problem in Alabama. If you have narrow or medium feet, SPD shoes all the time might be a solution. Once you finalise the position of the cleats, use Shoe Goo to seal the slots.

- Bike Type. With a 2-mile commute, any bike works. Use your MTB, a road bike, another bike... and you probably won't see the difference. A more pressing issue is to find a bike with low theft value... in which case an old (but in good shape) bicycle would work best. NO clue on where to look in Alabama.

- Fenders, rack and panniers
Go with a bike that has clearance around wheels (especially near the brakes), and eyelets near the dropouts.
It means a bike with some breathing room near the fork crown, around the seatstays and chainstays. If in doubt, try to slide a fender in the hole under the brakes). With current and past bikes, I would say bicycles with centrepull brakes (1970-1980), single-pivot sidepull brakes (1960-1975), cantilever brakes (1982 +), v-brakes (except the mini-V -- 1995 +) should be OK, but NOT bikes with newer double-pivot sidepull brakes (also called caliper brakes).
Eyelets near the dropouts (i.e. where the axles are bolted) are essential because that's where you bolt the front fender, the rear fender and, most importantly, the rear rack.
As for rear rack and panniers, many disc brakes are problematic with racks and panniers.
Finally, avoid suspended bikes. More complex, more maintenance issues, more weight... and little benefit for commuting.


- Do you need a car? Maybe yes, probably no (according to your description). You try to find a close-by appartment, so that solves the "living" issues. The other question is whether or not your job requires you to travel, an how often it does. Can you do these travels by bicycle or will you need a car? Would a taxi work? Or how about car rental (typically easier if you are older than 25)? I tend to think you probably need a driving license, but might not need a car -- those are two different issues.
If your parents want to pay for a car, how about a raincheck (i.e. save that money for the time you switch to a job where you would really need the car)? Or do they want to pay all car expenses? If so, it might be good to take AAA figures and do a complete calculation of the costs of car ownership!

Arguments that won't work with parents:
- cars cost a fortune to maintain (what about credit cards?);
- bikes are fun ;
- driving in traffic isn't fun (are you supposed to have fun on weekdays?).

Arguments that would work with them:
- little or no parking, irrespective of the price ;
- travel time (especially if you have realtime figures);
- a love for parties (think about drunk driving...).