<p>Help! DD just committed to Yale last night. We’re from the other side of the country. Love to hear about:
Best (and safest) ways for her to travel back and forth: Bradley with shuttle service or Newark with train? Other ways?
Meal plans - how do those work?
Best ways to get her STUFF back and forth.
Am I CRAZY for letting my beloved, amazing, wonderful daughter go off to New Haven?
ANY ADVICE you can give about moving in, moving out, when she will be coming home vs staying there (like breaks, I mean), spending money amount she should be targeting for the year, overall safety concerns, or anything else you wish you had known ahead of time.
Really, we are thrilled for her - reality is sinking in a little, however!
Thanks!</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Our D usually flew into LaGuardia, took a bus to Grand Central and took the Metro North train to New Haven.</p></li>
<li><p>No - our D loved Yale and New Haven! She is now on a trip to India, having completed graduate school.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>1) All the airports have their pluses and minuses. Bradley, JFK, LaGuardia and Newark: best to go with the best non-stop airfare you can get. There are shuttles (Go Shuttle and CT Limo) that go between the first three, and Amtrak that goes from Newark airport and stops in NH.
2) Freshman have no meal plan choice, so don’t worry about figuring it out. 3 meals a day, and your daughter will figure out what she wants to do Sophomore year.
3)UPS for shipping. You can order all her dorm stuff at your local Bed Bath and Beyond and then pick up your order at the New Haven store when you get there.
4) No, if she will be eternally grateful that you are giving her this incredible opportunity
5) Encourage her to do a FOOT trip if she can. Also, read this thread from the beginning over a few days, there are answers to questions you haven’t even thought of yet!</p>
<p>We are in the middle of the country, so the situation may be different:
We always go to BDL to minimize the time and distance of land travel.
If your flight is not none-stop, get familiar with some hotels near the airport, just in case the flight is cancelled,</p>
<p>We rely on UPS to ship large items. At the end of the spring, both parents fly to campus to help “empty” all of his stuff within a few days during his final, we rely
on UPS a lot as well.</p>
<p>Regarding; coming home during brea: In 4years, DS flied back home every break except the spring break in senior year. It is not cheap. We did not have fall break then.</p>
<p>Kids from across the country will often visit friends who live closer rather than flying home.</p>
<p>There are many threads about safety, but her freshman counselors will give her the scoop. You really don’t need to worry about it, as long as she has a reasonable amount of common sense.</p>
<p>I could not get the CT Limo site to work. It told me it was too soon to make a reservation for Wednesday. So I called and they made the reservation. After all that effort renovating the site, it still seems problematic. Also, DS is returning to New Haven in June and lands at 4:15 and the shuttle doesn’t depart until 6:00 p.m. He’s supposed to check into housing that day. I’m sure getting there earlier would be best. Frustrating.</p>
<p>Momsville, welcome. I’m not sure where you are from. I’m from So Cal and we fly into JFK or Bradley (Hartford) depending on price. Last year, I ordered everything from Bed Bath and Beyond and we picked it up there. Everything else went in three suitcases (he could only take one for pre-orientation). There is a trick to shipping in terms of which address to use. Don’t do what Yale suggests. Do what the parents here have learned actually works, which we’ll be happy to share. You’re not crazy. I’ve sent two kids there from the west coast and it’s been good.</p>
<p>An inconvenience for taking CT Limo is that the shuttle departs every other hours. So depending on your landing time at BDL, you may need to wait up to two hours. This assumes it shows up on time as scheduled. (In 4 years, it did not show up as scheduled two times: one time late for almost an hour, do not know what happened the other time as we took a cab after waiting well past the scheduled time.</p>
<p>1) DS usually uses LGA and the M60/Metra route but tried the United airlines ZVE routing from New Haven train system via Newark once I learned it on this site and he was very happy with it. He took a flight to San Francisco that way that was cheaper than any ticket he saw starting from BDL, LGA, JFK, or EWR and he had the transportation to the airport covered for better than free.</p>
<p>5) I don’t see the point time-wise or financially of flying in to move your kid out. There are services that will assist in shipping things home. My kid took the initiative with one or more friends to rent an off-site storage unit for the summer and the cost was shared for about what it would cost to UPS three boxes round trip. When I was a student there was much more ample summer storage and we could put in as many boxes as we liked but it so much more formal now with regulation sized standard boxes issued in a limited number. That is one downside of the incredible things done to the RC basements after the renovations. Agree with the BBB suggestions for freshman move-in. It is helpful for parents to have a car for trips to IKEA, Home Depot, Goodwill, etc.</p>
<p>Also, you may need to set up new banking arrangements. Bank of America is the best commercial option given its ATM location on campus and national network. Another great option, which I chose instead for kid #2, is to open a Fidelity Cash Management Account. This includes an ATM/debit card that rebates ATM fees so you don’t get dinged for those charges. There is a Fidelity office by campus if you want to talk with a person face to face. I was fortunate to have the ability to give my kid a lump sum amount that should easily cover four years of personal expenses right at the beginning of freshman year with the understanding it belonged to them whether spent or not. The difference between what was spent of “my” money while in high school (plenty) vs. what is spent of “their” money while in college (frugal) surprised me. I have some oversight of how much is being used since I can review the account balance on-line. It has worked very well for our family, saves me from any frustration judging how the money is being spent, and has taught more mature money management skills than would be attained by my replenishing an account $500 at a time. Your mileage may vary.</p>
<p>I’m a parent of a freshman daughter this year so I understand all of your questions and concerns! Safety was probably my #1 worry at the beginning, but no longer – the campus and surrounding area are very secure and the students are quickly taught to stay away from the parts of town that are not. </p>
<p>We used BBB to pre-order a lot of dorm room items, brought several suitcases, and shipped boxes UPS directly to our hotel. I recommend this method as it avoids the madness of trying to find the UPS truck with your belongings on campus during move-in. Also, try to avoid using the post office to ship things during the beginning of the semester. They are overwhelmed to say the least.</p>
<p>mimk6: We have only used CT Shuttle and a cab (shared with two other students) for transportation to and from Bradley. Last time my D used the shuttle, they were picking up at the airport every hour – I’m guessing the summer schedule is more limited. We have encountered the same problems with the website, I always find it necessary to call just to make sure that they are really coming to pick her up! I’d love to hear of any other shuttle services to/from BDL.</p>
<p>My daughter is just finishing up her freshman year, so I have been worrying about the summer storage of her things. She says if you pay $10 you can get 5 boxes to store things in the basement, which she’ll be doing. Luckily, one of her roommates is from CT, so they will be taking the furniture (sofa, tables, rug, etc.) for the summer. I believe they are moving things to her house today, since her dad should be available with a van. </p>
<p>For moving in, I totally agree about the BBB option - it is so much easier than shipping everything. We packed up 2 or 3 boxes for UPS (and that worked out fine). The thing with suitcases is that airlines charge a lot for them, and it is really cheaper to ship UPS. We checked just one last August, and she will be bringing it home next week. </p>
<p>For trips home during the school year - she came home at TG, at xmas, and for spring break. She stayed with a roommate at her home in NYC over fall break. Airfare from here is typically $500ish and involves at least one change somewhere. We just look for the best price/schedule into LGA or BDL. Watch out for the connecting airports - changing in Chicago during winter could be asking for a delay/cancellation. </p>
<p>All in all, I’d say she has learned a lot about traveling, packing, and planning this year - in addition to her courses. It has been a good year.</p>
<p>I need help! Daughter is coming home from Yale on Tuesday, 5/7th on Southwest 2 pm flight, and I can’t find any transportation for her from Yale to EWR cheaper than $248 with GoLimo. She has 3 pieces of luggage plus her purse and can’t easily maneuver through train stations, so that’s out of the question. I called CTLimo and their only drop off is 2 pm at EWR, which is too late. I have asked D to also check on YaleStateion RideShare. Any of your kids leaving on 5/7th and need a ride to EWR to catch an early afternoon flight? Any other ideas?</p>
<p>Before paying that amount of money for a shuttle or limo, you might want to reconsider rebooking her on a Southwest Airlines flight departing from Hartford (BDL) airport. One of the best things about Southwest is there are no change fees, and I just checked and fares from BDL on Tuesday are showing at $278 1-way BDL to LAX. She would still get 2 bags free & you can book her on CT Limo from Phelps Gate to Bradley for $48 1-way.</p>
<p>Just a thought in case no one knows of any better options.</p>
<p>Thank you tugtraveller! What a great idea, I did not consider this option. Getting on SW now to change her flight and booking with CT Limo. YAY!</p>
<p>Well, when the CT Limo website did not work the other day, I called to make a reservation and they said they would email confirmation. DS never got it. I just spent almost an hour on hold. Finally I found a link to email buried in their website. None of this inspires much confidence in their company.</p>
<p>Yes, as I mentioned before, we used CT Limo for six years without a problem, but have not had good luck this year at all with them. We’ve basically stopped using them. They really need to get their act together.</p>
<p>My daughter called them earlier this week and they did send her an email confirmation (which she forwarded on to me so I’d know she did it). Has your son checked his junk mail? Maybe it went there, instead.</p>