ihavehope13

Any current Saybrugians or others want to chime in on Saybrook's pros and cons?

svalbardlutefisk

The first, and most important point, is that Saybrook is the best! The college itself is beautiful, and the suites are very comfortable. It has a terrific location, next to Old Campus, surrounded by other residential colleges on the other three sides, near the library. It's probably best known around Yale for the Saybrook Strip, performed at the end of the third quarter at football games (and on various other occasions).
There are only a couple cons - your freshman housing in L-dub is the worst at Yale (though still beating the heck out of a lot of other schools). Though the freshman suites have decent common rooms, the bedrooms are tiny. Plus L-dub is dirty and smells. On the other hand, it's the most social building on Old Campus, and despite its many disadvantages, I think most of my class in Saybrook at least has a degree of L-dub nostalgia.
The other disadvantage is the dining hall. It's a really beautiful space (personally I like being in our dining hall more than any other) but Saybrook seems to be incapable of basic things like not running out of plates, bowls, silverware, trays, etc, and the food isn't as good as in some of the other colleges.

But, in general, most Yale students would tell you that Saybrook is one of the best colleges (it, Branford, and Berkeley - and perhaps Davenport - are generally considered the best).

Say What?
Saybrook!

frrrph

I love your courtyard, it's extremely pretty - but I have to say some of the rooms are a little stuffy and dreary. Otherwise SY is very central, small (which is a plus), and has a decent dining hall. Can't comment on the food. But the courtyard just kills me, I want to kidnap it and hold it hostage in my own college.

JHS

Since when is Saybrook small? At least in the old days, it was one of the larger colleges (after Silliman, which was the largest by far).

frrrph

Maybe it just has Branford towering over/behind it? I don't know why, but I always thought TC and SY were the small-scale colleges.

JHS

Except for Harkness Tower, all the height is in Saybrook. It's more compact than Branford, but it has more living-space square footage -- five stories in lots of places. That's one of the downsides of Saybrook -- lots of stairs. Plus an unsensational common room and master's quarters, and lots of traffic noise in the rooms, from Elm and (most annoyingly) from mail deliveries at 6 am. But a really beautiful dining hall, and two towers that people can actually live in.

Saybrook used to be a little deficient in the greenery department -- only one of its two courtyards had anything growing in it at all -- but they re-did the courtyards in the recent renovation. (So much for the constant pickup volleyball games that were a feature of springtime in the stone courtyard.)

JE is the smallest college, I think.

Is there still a 'Brook tang team? (Is there still tang?)

svalbardlutefisk

Saybrook's definitely on the big side people-wise. It's smaller physically than Branford because it has less courtyard space.

I actually don't think the traffic noise is too bad - I had a window facing Elm Street all last year and was never bothered (though I was on the 4th floor - perhaps this is the advantage of the stairs). I was on the wrong side for mail deliveries though, maybe it's worse on the grass courtyard side.

Another feature of Saybrook is that it's one of the only colleges that has reservable rooms for the use of undergraduate organizations (the Athenaeum Room and the SY-BR room), particularly now that Branford's been making it really hard to reserve the Branford Trumbull room. This makes Saybrook awesome, but it has the disadvantage that if you're in the sort of group that needs to reserve those spaces, you're the one who gets to wake up early Monday morning to try to reserve it before the other groups all competing for limited space.

JHS

Mail deliveries were an issue for people whose rooms faced High Street, because of Yale Station across the street. I was in Wright Hall my freshman year, and then right on the corner of High and Elm sophomore year, and those effing mail deliveries could occasionally disturb one's beauty sleep.

Because of the relative population density of Saybrook, it was always somewhat noisy. Parties, loud fights, people practicing their electric guitars . . . if it happened in a room on the courtyard, it was inherently shared with half the college.

I don't have words to tell how much I loved Saybrook, though.

svalbardlutefisk

JHS - you're a Saybrook alum? Good to know that I have an ally on the Yale board.

ihavehope13

Is L-Dub as bad as its reputation?

riverrunner

^^^ Yes, pray tell. D just assigned to Pierson and therefore L-Dub.

svalbardlutefisk

L-dub has tiny bedrooms (though decent-sized common rooms), smells bad, and is generally dirty. On the other hand, I had a great time living there - it was wonderfully social, and my entryway bonded quite well. I think most of my class in Saybrook has a bit of nostalgia for it. That said, once we saw our sophomore suites in Saybrook, few of us wanted to go back.

ihavehope13

bump... (10 char)

saybrook2011

I lurked on these forums throughout my senior year of high school, and figured that it may be interesting to return to see if anything's changed-it hasn't. Regardless, if my username doesn't give it away, I'm a rising sophomore in Saybrook. I spent the past few months in L-dub, and I can vouch for everything that svalbardlutefisk wrote. His first point is all you really need to know.

Despite L-dub’s infamous size, it does have some (many?) redeeming qualities. The fact that adjoining suites are sealed horizontally reinforces the entryway style of living, which encourages residents to be social with those that live above and below. Try not to isolate yourself from other entryways, though. It’s easy to do.

The best piece of advice came from our Dean at the outset of the school term: Do not attempt to use L-dub as a study place. I recall too many wasted weekends because some event drew me outside and away from my work. Also, it’s fairly common for desks to be located in the common room, next to a television, beer pong table, trash can, sound system, etc. Save yourself and your suitemates a lot of stress by nesting in CCL or the Sterling stacks.

Also, the air quality in L-dub isn’t bad; the cockroach problem is exaggerated; our Master and Dean are phenomenal; the courtyard is a social hub; and nobody in all of L-dub managed to die last year. So you’ll be fine. I’m nostalgic already.

If you’re in Saybrook next year – CONGRATS! You’re in for a great year. Start practicing that Beirut shot. Seriously. Oh, and DO THE SAYBROOK STRIP AT FOOTBALL GAMES.

PM me any questions-I'd be pleased to answer anything about residential/social/academic life.