<p>We’ve used a car service that was nice in the past, so try giving them a call:
Silver Star Limousine
866-635-8873
I checked with 2-3 other car services, including the one that my BIL uses weekly, and Silver Star had the lowest rates. Was a MB S430.</p>
<p>^ Thanks YoHo*2!</p>
<p>My son was accepted to Yale. I am trying to find out about BDD. Neither he nor I have ever been to Yale. Would you recommend that I accompany him? If so, should I book a hotel in New Haven? Or do people stay in hotels outside the area? Can you walk from the hotels in New Haven to the campus? I have read some posts about safety? Do you need to rent a car? Any information would be greatly appreciated. We would be coming from out west, so should we come in the evening of the 14th? Thanks in advance for any advice.</p>
<p>Bulldog Days is really great for the kids; I don’t think it’s particularly important for parents to go–I’d probably suggest waiting for Family Weekend, or some other time when you can concentrate on your kid.</p>
<p>To add: even if your kid is sure he or she is going to attend Yale, it’s still worthwhile to attend BullDog Days (assuming it’s not cost-prohibitive), because you meet a lot of people and get exposed to many campus activities.</p>
<p>So how do you go frugally to JFK? As it is, it’s always a twelve hour trip door-to-door from Yale to our house, so I wouldn’t want to add too much more time to that.</p>
<p>I recommend going to BDD. It’s not as important if Yale is your first and only choice. For families choosing between Yale and other schools, I think it does help to go to Bulldog Days. I recommend The New Haven Hotel. One thing that was nice during move-in was that they had sandwiches and food out all day for Yale families. It’s a few blocks away but an easy walk. And congratulations to the new admits!</p>
<p>You can play it by ear with Bulldog Days. There are lectures and activities specifically for parents – I’m assuming they are designed to keep us from hovering, but if you want to visit Yale (and your kid wants you there – some do), there’s lots to see and do. Don’t feel you have to make the trip, though. I’m a local, and I did attend a lecture for parents on game theory, which was entertaining, but otherwise stayed out of the way – thry kept the kids pretty busy.</p>
<p>I agree with mimik6 post, kid does not have to attend BDD if it’s his/her only or #1 choice or if the kid has seen Yale already. Parent does not have to attend if they have already seen Yale and it’s cost prohibitive. Embarrassing to admit, but D saw about 25-30 schools before applying, including HYPSC, and actually visited Yale twice (once with her school, once with me) so she didn’t go to BDD since it was her #1 choice (got in SCEA and did no more apps). Neither did I. But it sounds like great fun for the kids and for the adults, so it would be like a mini-vacay.</p>
<p>Momofmusician, if you haven’t seen Yale yet, then you should go to BDD and have fun! If by out west, you mean that you are from CA and are used to driving, then there are also lots of motels in areas such as Milford, where some folks may think it’s far, but by CA-driver standards, it’s not far at all, maybe 20-30 mins.</p>
<p>If you have a car at BDD, I recommend checking out one of the many hotels within 5-10 miles along I95. Personally we stay at the Hampton in Milford, which is nothing special, but costs half as much or less than closer in hotels. It’s 11 miles from NH south on 95. Funny thing is, when we dropped our girl off as a Freshman, the next morning as we were checking out pre-hurricane Irene, we saw two of her other three suite-mate parents staying at the same hotel! As for going to BDD, we did not, though we had visited to pick her up at a special STEM weekend they had in February, so we’d seen the campus and done a tour. We tend to avoid those big weekends (such as Family weekend), and visit her “off-peak” instead.</p>
<p>There’s also a Marriot (Courtyard?) off exit 41 on 95. It’s several miles closer, probably a bit nicer. I don’t know what their room charges are, though.</p>
<p>I felt pretty strongly about NOT attending BDD, wanting it to be a launching experience for the student without a parent in attendence. I know I’m in the minority, though.</p>
<p>On CT Limo</p>
<p>I am wondering if part of the problem is kids making rather LATE reservations??? FWIW K1 made the reservation over a month ago when the flight was book. So maybe too many people waited to book and the system is having trouble and that is why the phones are busy? IDK…K! always books via the Yale portal. Might be worth trying next time to avoid the phone/hold hassles.</p>
<p>RE BDD…our student didn’t go at all–because as an early admit–Yale was the first choice and when the LL came, and then the happy dance with the Boola song in Dec…K1 accepted then and there. So no reason to do the BDD crowded/sell Yale event.<br>
If K1 had done BDD…would have gone alone. Flown/done the Ct Limo thing.</p>
<p>IMHO the hotels within walking distance of the campus are fine…no safety issues at all.</p>
<p>A bit more about Bulldog Days. Both of my kids went, even though both had already made the decision to go to Yale. They both found it valuable, mainly because of meeting a variety of people. It’s also a good opportunity to interact with some of the extracurriculars. Again, it might not be worth spending a lot of money, but it’s not a waste either–it’s not all about selling Yale.</p>
<p>As far as parents, I’d say that your kid doesn’t need you to go–they’ll be well taken care of, and they won’t have any time for you. For yourself, I don’t really know, because we didn’t go with our kids.</p>
<p>When my daughter went through the college applications process, she attended all of her accepted-student-days at various colleges. We dropped her off and picked her up, but did not attend the events. My daughter’s impression was that ALL OF THEM were horse-and-pony shows, with every college trying to outdo and woo students better than their peers. </p>
<p>When my son went through the college app process, he did not attend any accepted-student days, including BDD. Instead, we visited Yale and the other schools he was accepted to on days when nothing special was going on. We talked to students, ate in dining halls, attended a class, trying to get a sense and “tone” of each school without all the hoopla. In the end, my son choose Yale because he thought the campus and students were more vibrant and alive than anywhere else.</p>
<p>My son might have still chosen Yale if he had gone to BDD, but I don’t think his decision would have been as clear-cut – he would have been just as confused and muddled, as when my daughter went through the same process.</p>
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<p>Depends on the kid, parents, situation; no right or wrong way IMO.</p>
<p>I accompanied D1 to BDD because we rented a car and she was attending 4 accepted student days during the trip. I dropped her off at her host’s RC and we pretty much went our separate ways.</p>
<p>D2 flew out and did BDD on her own, stayed with a host and D1 introduced her to people too.</p>
<p>Our older son is graduating from USC this year and, although we aren’t huge college sports fans, we have enjoyed the atmosphere at a couple of football games at USC. How are games at Yale? Can parents get tickets for the Harvard game? Do students pay for season tickets in advance?</p>
<p>Yale students get in for free to all athletic games played at Yale. Student tickets to the HY game when played at Harvard are $10 or $20 each (I can’t remember the price.). Parents always pay the going rate: [Yale</a> Bulldogs](<a href=“http://www.yalebulldogs.com/information/tickets/index]Yale”>Yale University - Official Athletics Website)</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. As an aside, someone told me this morning that his daughter got into Yale SCEA and then her offer was rescinded later on. He said that they just notified her that she was no longer accepted. That it wasn’t for cause. Has anyone heard of this? He was basically telling me not to wait to have my son accept because the offer could be withdrawn at any time without reason. I find this very hard to believe, but as I am a complete neophyte in the college admin process, I thought I would ask the pros.</p>
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<p>I find it impossible to believe. Such a practice would erode Ys credibility and ability to compete with other selective schools for top candidates rapidly. My guess would be that someone’s D either wasn’t accepted in the first place or was rescinded due to grades/disciplinary action/etc.</p>
<p>That was what I thought. Thanks for the confirmation.</p>