<p>If you think the early semester mail is bad now–imagine what it will be like with the two new residential colleges! </p>
<p>Since it is a USPS station and we rent from USPS etc…I am sorry that the location doesn’t get overtime/extra people at the beginning of the fall. Wonder if there is a way to send requests/complaints/letter campaign to encourage that…I was thinking having a USPS station on campus was quite a bonus as compared to privately sorted mail rooms at other Universities. </p>
<p>Imagine if the USPS goes to no Saturdays etc…</p>
<p>During Bull Dog Days, it seemed that there were so many exciting clubs and extra-curricular opportunities at Yale. But now that my frosh is on campus, it doesn’t appear so easy to get into the interesting clubs. It sounds like there are often limited numbers of open spots, and students literally have to compete for them – auditions, essays, interviews. Kiddo says that suite mates are also feeling anxious and stressed just trying to “get in” to campus clubs and groups. Some have <em>finally</em> had some success, but not mine. My poor kiddo has tried out for several clubs/groups – but so far, nothing but rejections. Repeated attempts and rejections are hard, obviously, and mounting on my kid’s shoulders like piles of stones. I am hearing that “the doors open, and close so quickly”. I think there is the feeling that if you don’t get in NOW, there’s not really a chance later in the year. But is that really true? I feel so sad for my kiddo’s sadness 3,000 miles away. In high school, clubs took everyone that was interested. I am not sure if it’s because Yale is different, or if it’s an East Coast thing. Having to compete to get into clubs & community service seems foreign to me. I tried to console saying, “It’s Yale. You are a bright star shining in a galaxy filled with 1400 other bright, shining frosh stars.” I advised talking to the FroCo. My kiddo really wants to make the most of the Yale experience, and clubs/extra-curriculars have always played an important part of school life. Can anyone offer any other suggestions or advice? Either here on the forum or through a PM. I would be very, very appreciative.</p>
<p>Tell your student to hang in there, tugtraveller, it’s always crazy right at the beginning. </p>
<p>Picture those television reports from the front of the Walmart store on the day after Thanksgiving as all the crazed customers rush into the store grabbing whatever they can, almost not caring what it is, as long as the get one. I think that’s sort of what happens metaphorically for these freshmen at the beginning of school. </p>
<p>They are so excited to finally be there and because they are superstars and high achievers, they want it ALL and they want it right now, and they want it to be perfect. Have no fear, the dust will settle and your child will find some fun groups and clubs that will be perfect for them. </p>
<p>This is a great lesson for your child (even if it’s painful for you to watch them go through it), that the best things don’t always happen all at once, or perfectly, or without doubts, it’s a process, and this is one of the first big lessons they are learning away from you and away from their safe, home environment.</p>
<p>Your child will be fine, and will love Yale with every ounce of his/her being. Everything will be okay. Hang in there!</p>
<p>There are many, many clubs and organizations at Yale that will accept anybody who is interested in joining. Examples are the Political Union parties, college intramural sports teams, religious groups, community outreach groups, and many more. There are groups that require auditions–like the acapella groups and other musical groups, and some organizations have competitive staff selection–I think this may be true of the Daily News.</p>
<p>Your kid will find things to do–the strategy is to talk to lots of other people, including upperclassmen, to see what they are doing. This will result in many invitations to get involved.</p>
<p>my sophomore daughter tried out for the carillon players last year. She practiced hours and hours, and didn’t make it. It broke her heart, and mine. But she’s been involved in the GLBTQ group (hope I got that acronym right), she played on college intramural teams, and just this year she started ballroom dancing. She took lots of advantage of performances,talks, etc. Yes there are some very high profile groups, like acapella, that are “selective” but there are certainly lots that aren’t. He may just be choosing the ones that seem “cool” right now.</p>
<p>One piece of advice for any kid at Yale is that no matter which HS they came from…they are now in a bigger pool…
of lots of top dogs (BULLDOGS)
so to speak</p>
<p>It does take more time. Not all clubs/sports/intramurals/classes/roommates fit.</p>
<p>It is a NEW season
and New is good</p>
<p>It is hard to see our kids try and find their way…and at the same time they are blazing new trails. Yale is not Camelot and at the same time Yale offers opportunities many won’t ever have…so with all of the choices, and with all of the options…each finds their way.</p>
<p>Does anyone know where the kids can find the form to have grades/units mailed home? I find having the hard copy is useful when my insurance agent suddenly demands proof of enrollment, etc.</p>
<p>Our K1s grades are mailed to the house–I think the registrar does that–The grades come about midway through 2nd semester.</p>
<p>Mimk6 Your student should go through their portal and should be able to find anything that needs attending.</p>
<p>There is a form in the health site that your student can complete in the event you need to coordinate medical issues when you student is unable to do that for themselves.</p>
<p>Can anyone explain to me the benefits of the meal swipe plan to the students? From what I have gathered in the past few weeks, if a student does not use their breakfast swipe by 11:00 am and their lunch swipe by 5:00 pm, they are lost. We also just discovered that if a student (who didn’t swipe for breakfast or lunch btw) tries to use their dinner swipe at Durfee’s, it is not allowed. I don’t have first hand experience, but I have heard of other universites that allow students to accumulate meal swipes for a week, a month, or even a semester. Any suggestions of who’s attention to bring this issue to?</p>
<p>Meal plans are all about the bottom line, if they allow accumulations they lose money. My other son who goes to a private U also can’t accumulate swipes. The good news is after freshman year at Yale the kids can adjust their plan to better fit how they live.</p>
<p>We strongly encourage our kids to eat meals at mealtime, in the dining hall, and not at Durfee’s. I wouldn’t want them to be able to accumulate very many swipes, especially if they could be used to buy junk food.</p>
<p>Yalemom15, I looked into an alternate meal plan for my sophomore son this fall, and I didn’t see anything cheaper or more advantageous than the three meals/day plan. I only saw one additional plan (for the same price) that would give him two meals per day plus $150/semester to use at certain local restaurants. But for a ‘growing’ boy, that $150 wouldn’t suffice Maybe I missed something…</p>
<p>It’s very frustrating to pay so much in board and then add on $$$ because he can’t “possibly go from dinner until I go to bed without another meal!”</p>
<p>mom2boy, does he have any friends at a house with a Buttery? JE has one, and they serve late night snacks like grilled cheese sandwiches for around a dollar - less if you bring your own paper plate. My kid can’t make it without “fourth meal,” either.</p>
<p>Noticed the same thing as miom2boy. The only alternative plan was not really an alternative at all. I did see something in the dining hall about ordering a packed lunch to go. I suppose if you hit the dining hall at the tail end of breakfast and ate a “brunch”, you could get a boxed lunch for later. A similar tactic will free up a lunch meal swipe for a Durfee’s run. DS has an EC that takes him off campus nearly every weekend so he hardly ever has a Friday night or Saturday meal. I would have jumped at a 14 meal a week plan but at the same price as the 21 meal plan with only $150 of cash dining credits, it made no sense.</p>
<p>scoutsmom…I will mention the Buttery to him. I haven’t heard about that.</p>
<p>YaleGradandDad…DS is in a similar situation with an EC for part of the year and doesn’t eat meals on campus on certain weekends. Even when he is local, he has a practice slot on Sunday mornings that precludes him from having brunch in the dining hall. $7 at Durfees doesn’t do it.</p>
<p>I had to laugh this am when I received an email from my husband (who didn’t know that I posted on this topic just last night) containing a screen print of DS’s debit card transactions with a heading saying, “Does he realize that he has a meal plan?” It doesn’t seem to bother DS that he’s spending his hard-earned money on food. I guess this excess food consumption shouldn’t surprise us. He’s been expensive to feed for the last five years!</p>
<p>This is why I chose to give my kid more than what any “reasonable” kid could spend on incidentals in four years as one lump sum going into freshman year. No one calls asking for extra money and my kid knows this belongs to him when he graduates. It might bother me to keep funding a debit card used for an additional daily meal or for prohibitively expensive last minute plane tickets which could have been bought months in advance. It also gives my kid some sense of budgeting his own money and not thinking that anything there is just waiting to be spent. Other parents feel more comfortable sending a pre-set amount each month or just paying all the bills but this works for me. I can tell you that at least one of my kids seems less wasteful with “their” money under this plan than they were in high school when I just directly covered all the expenses.</p>
