<p>Hello Yale parents! My daughter was admitted (hurray!) and we will be attending Bulldog days. We will be coming in from the west coast and staying in Manhattan for a few days prior to going to New Haven. What is the easiest way to get from Manhattan to New Haven. Train? Car rental, Car service? Bus? Thank you!</p>
<p>Congrats @GeorgeBailey! You can take Amtrak from Penn Station or Metro North from Grand Central. Both go to the New Haven train station where there will be shuttles to campus. Have fun!</p>
<p>I stayed in a dorm on campus for commencement. Admittedly, this was a # of years ago, but I’ll bet they have that as an option. It’s often oversubscribed, but respond quickly and you should be okay… No airconditioning which can be brutal. Still, it was incredibly convenient and much, much cheaper. </p>
<p>I can’t defend the cost and applaud those who find cheaper ways to do this. However, my older son graduated from a college that was in the same town as my parents, so we didn’t pay a dime for lodging, cars, etc… so I am simply taking this cost and dividing it by two, that feels a lot more reasonable! My parents are already falling apart, I shudder to think of their ambulatory status in 14 months, it’s an eternity from now when their deterioration is measured by the month. I’ll take the proximity, air conditioning and peace of mind and pay dearly for it 
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<p>Thank you musicmerit!</p>
<p>They have special handicapped parking for commencement, and there is sufficient parking in general. It is quite workable to stay in Milford (or several other nearby places), even with an elderly relative.</p>
<p>MetroNorth (cheaper) or Amtrak (faster) get you about 15 minute walk (shorter cab ride) to campus. Omni ($$$) or New Haven Hotel ($$) are both about halfway btwn train station and campus. Book hotel soon.</p>
<p>RedRum2018 I booked the Omni and will take Amtrak if faster. Thanks for the info. I am sure I will be posting plenty of questions on this thread and appreciate all of you parents helping us newbies!</p>
<p>I wouldn’t take Amtrak from New York to New Haven. Penn Station is crowded, the train will probably have come from DC and may have lots of people on it, and it’s more expensive. Take MetroNorth from Grand Central Station. There are plenty of trains, and it’s not such a zoo. This would especially be my advice if you’re staying closer to Grand Central. Plus, Grand Central is a sight worth seeing, and Penn Station isn’t.</p>
<p>For those of you coming into NHV from NYC. Metro North trains make far more stops than Amtrak. They stop in almost every city/town in CT, or so it feels like. Amtrak makes 3 stops. And they can be just as crowded or even MORE than Amtrak depending on the time of day you travel. It’s a commuter train so it’s a far different experience than that of Amtrak. I just wanted to add my 0.02. Trust me, take Amtrak into NHV!</p>
<p>The Metro North trains originate at Grand Central, so usually no trouble getting comfortably seated. Most off-peak trains are not very crowded. The difference in travel time is 15-30 minutes as compared with the (often much) more expensive Amtrak trains. Metro North trains are equally comfortable. Grand Central Station is awesome in itself, as already mentioned above by Hunt. There’s a free Yale Shuttle from the station at New Haven. Have fun!!</p>
<p>I too would recommend Metro North. Even at peak hours I have never had difficulty getting a seat, and if you check the schedule you will find express trains that, while stopping at several more stations than Amtrak, don’t make all that many stops.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the info regarding trains. Signed DD up for Bulldog Days right away but have not heard back regarding a host or details of her spending the night. I imagine I’ll be spending lots of time on my own which is fine because I really want my daughter to experience Yale and hope she will love it! What is there not to love?</p>
<p>We’re unsure of how much parental involvement for BDD (is that the understood abbreviation for Bulldog Days?) is appropriate. Between work, DS’s younger sibling, pets, etc., my wife and I might tag-team our time there (we live in NJ near NYC, so it’s not a long drive). DS has friends already at Yale, and I expect he will be quite busy without us. I have to assume that the focus is on the students; what will the parents’ experience be?</p>
<p>For those who have already been to BDD as parents, is it something you don’t want to miss a minute of, or something where a little bit goes a long way?</p>
<p>There is programming for parents at bulldog days, so you will have things to do, just don’t expect to do anything with your kid. </p>
<p>@Prefect, I expect to see my kid on the drive up (assuming he doesn’t drive up with a friend) and maybe on the drive back. He has a credit card, so I don’t even expect to see him for a cash transfer. 
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<p>Did you find the parent programming to be interesting/informative?</p>
<p>We put D on the train and said, “Have fun!” She did. I can’t help on the parent programming. I think they have it to keep you busy so you don’t bug your kid. I had visited and done the tour with her in the fall so did not feel the need to go again. And we had similar issues with siblings, work, expense, etc.</p>
<p>Also, I asked if she was hosting this year. She said their suite had not talked about it yet. She heard they still needed 100 hosts. When she went, she was going to stay with a friend. I told her to stay with someone else to get a different perspective and she did. It could still be a while till you hear about hosts.</p>
<p>Anyone up for a serious question? I’m on this thread because my daughter loved Yale, and was “not crazy about” Harvard. A brilliant student, but she was rejected by Yale and admitted to Harvard. Anyway, she’s been drinking the Kool Aide they’ve been feeding them at her prep school, you know the line, “Don’t just go with a brand name.” It is a way of lowering their expectations. </p>
<p>When my daughter initially found out the news she was thrilled! She reached out to friends at Harvard, they arranged for a meet, etc. And the FA money was great. So the next day my daughter meets with the college counselor and the air comes out of her ballon. He tells her “don’t just go by the brand names…” which can only be interpreted as, Don’t just go to Harvard because its Harvard. So now she is pouring over brocures for
Duke and Dartmouth, and extolling their virtues. But I keep coming back to the fact that Harvard cost a lot less!!! I mean really, thousands upon thousand of kids are wanting to go to that nice private school, but it is too expenseive, so they go to a state school, or even sometimes a community college (thats how I started) in order to conserve costs. But my kid is insisting she wants to do to Duke or Dartmough—AND THESE SCHOOLS WILL COST TWICE THE AMOUNT OF HARVARD!!!That annoyed me to no end, which I will address in a future message. I am at a loss. Is it too much to ask that she save us some money, about twice as much, if she were to go to and bear the brunt of going to Harvard?? And really, what the F*&^ IS THE COLLEGE COUNSELOR DEFLATING HER FEELING AND TELLING HER THAT HARVARD IS MERELY A “BRAND NAME” ■■■! WHY ISN’T HE ENCOURAGING HER TO RESEARCH THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF HARVAFD SO THAT SHE MIGH EMBRACE THE SCHOL. Reality check. Tell my your thoughts. Talk to you soon. an not to belittle this, she and I ae sressting ou this wee</p>
<p>Let’s assume for the moment that the college counselor was well-intentioned. Perhaps it isn’t just “a way of lowering their expectations,” as your daughter “was not crazy about Harvard” in the first place.</p>
<p>Would paying more for Duke or Dartmouth be a financial hardship for you, or does it just rankle because she could have Harvard for less? Has your daughter (or you) spoken to the college counselor about the cost differential, and whether that could be addressed?</p>
<p>I know that you are frustrated, but if you sit back for a second, I think you’ll realize that many parents wish that they had this problem. I’d be proud to have a child (and I do, as it happens) who would prefer to go to another school over Harvard.</p>
<p>Unless she has a strong personal preference for one of the other schools, for a really good reason, I personally think it would be nutty to turn down Harvard for thousands less.</p>