<p>@axiousmom, I wonder whether you have ever heard of a joke that may be closer to your nest of woods: Someone we knew at one time was going to BCM near TMC. He joked that if he drives there, he would have an equal chance of being a patient who is taken care of at TMC, or being a person who takes care of patients there. - At least New Haven is a much smaller city and it is easier to drive if you do not get onto I-95 often. (DS actually survived driving back and forth in a rental car between New Haven and Bridgeport on I-95 everyday for 1.5 months this year.)</p>
<p>BTW, welcome to this subforum (it apears you are here for the first time and both of us came from the same state where there is plenty of sunshine if I remember it correctly - but I have since moved but would love to move back when I retire. I think I have learned a lot from you in the past about a particular college which our family loved dearly but they did not love us back many years ago. Thanks!)</p>
<p>I know, granting him the privilege of owning his car is costly and may be even a hassle and a burden for him. It is why we keep postponing the shipment of the car and try to find a “right” time to pass one of our old cars to him. (If you happen to know curm from our state (it rumors that he keeps a goat!) he “spoiled” his D by giving her a car many years ago.)</p>
<p>@learninginprog, We actually bought 4 tires from Costco less than a month ago, in order to get the car “ready.” They are all season tires (Michelin Defender XT), not snow tires.</p>
<p>I just look up Costco near New Haven. It seems there is one on Boston Post Rd in West Haven. It seems there are a few car dealers there also. It seems most car dealers are located at some distance from the center (or the Old Campus or the Green) of New Haven.</p>
<p>DS actually asked for a car this time. But he told us he may not have an urgent need but he prefers to have it eventually. Actually the car could not be delivered to him right now as he’s in the middle of sub-i ( I think you must have picked up the meaning of these terms like sub-i by now.) I just think he may have a slightly more time in this coming year after he finishes his sub-i’s, so it may be a good year for him to start to learn how to take care of a used car. I actually think this is likely one of the “things” that a young adult needs to pick up sooner or later, unless he will live in a big city like NYC or DC or Boston in the future. So, why not do this in this coming year?! It is just like “paying a little bit more tuitions” so whether it makes any good sense financially speaking is less of our concern. But it seems many CCers here think he does not need this. Maybe it is mostly because he rarely asks for anything so we hesitate to say no.</p>
<p>I think one can learn to drive a car as well in one’s late twenties as in one’s late teens (had a NYC-born friend who did just that; because after college in a town where you didn’t need a car, she joined the peace corps, etc. etc.). But get what you’re saying about him asking; my kids are like that; never ask for anything, so when they do, you figure they have a good, if idiosyncratic, reason. </p>
<p>^^ It’s also a function of what you are used to. For example, my son learned to drive in NYC on the West Side Highway where there is no room for error – the lanes are narrow, with no shoulder, no breakdown lanes and taxi’s routinely speed 75mph in a 50mph zone changing lanes at a racetrack like pace. While my son feels perfectly comfortable driving on city streets, he doesn’t like driving in the suburbs, as he’s fearful of deer jumping out at him. </p>
<p>Deer jumping out at a moving car is a day-to-day concern at the place we used to live (where our child grew up.) In a particular season, in some particular suburban neighborhood, deers will be roaming the local roads. (Occasionally we could see a dozen of them from our windshield.) We need to drive very slowly and cautiously. At one time, some “mother deer” went out (for hunting food?) and left her fawns in our covered porch, waiting for its mother to come back. It is a very cute scene. Until it causes the damage of the car. In one year, the situation becomes so bad and the city had some program to either kill some of them, or relocate some of them from the suburban areas in our city to some rural area (forgot which approach they ended up using.)</p>
<p>We ourselves hit the deer once, while we were driving extremely slowly like 10 miles per hour. When it jumps at your car, there is really no time to react. In our case, we stopped almost completely to let a deer pass. When we started moving again, the deer jumped back into our path.</p>
<p>Also, toward the far end of our back yard (we keep it wild due to its very steep sloped hill there.) there is always a “family” of deers living there. We have a constant worry that some of them may die there and I heard it is up to us to take care of dead animals in our own yard, the city’s animal control would not help us unless the animal is in the public land.</p>
<p>Hi Mcat. Thanks for the welcome! I remember old Curmudgeon back from 2004 on this forum. Loved his stories about his daughter and the goats. If I remember correctly, she is at Yale Med school, or must be finishing up soon? My DD is entering the second year of a two year program, and has really enjoyed it. Yale has been very generous, indeed! And yup, I hail from the sunshine state, and had two kids at Rice. Younger one graduated over three years ago!</p>
<p>Well K1 moved back yesterday and is on campus in training all day for the campus job.
Can’t believe I have a SR at Yale.
Seems yesterday I was stressing about move-in…(which went super smoothly due to the Yalies who rushed all the gear to the room). The only hiccup was the hurricane.</p>
<p>I have to agree about the “Yalies who rushed all the gear to the room.” It was like watching a Nat Geo film of an ant colony in high speed. They didn’t wait for us to unload; the car was picked clean in literally less than a minute. Very impressive. </p>
<p>Signs at the parking lot and shuttle pickup locations for getting back to the parking lot, not as impressive. We got our bed linens as ordered, but I heard some other parents grumbling. FOOT was, according to DS, a great time. All in all, given the number of kids, parents, cars, buses, etc., I was impressed. </p>
<p>We went up on Wednesday for the start of senior year. We helped my daughter to haul boxes from the college’s storage area. I was so impressed by the willingness of the students to help each other and us parents with the boxes. Yalies are nice people.</p>
<p>Because I parked around the corner from TD, I had no expectation of help for move in. Before I could get out of the car, a student asked if we were a freshman family. Within in a matter of minutes five kids were at the car, stripping it clean and refusing to let my family carry anything. The students had everything in the room before we arrived. Check in was a breeze (only one student in front of us) and meeting the Dean, who welcomed my son by name before he could introduce himself, was very comforting. </p>
<p>The weekend was amazing! The move in experience was seamless! Everyone was so incredibly kind and helpful. The speech that Dean Holloway gave yesterday was quite moving. So glad that Yale is her new home.</p>
<p>My wife and I enjoyed every minute of move-in weekend. Our freshman is well-settled in his (teeny-tiny little shoebox) room. We’re happy, sad, excited and exhausted. Thank God for Yale. They are making our son’s dreams come true.</p>
<p>@ElMimino, yes, our DS Is also snug as a bug in a suite that should probably be a double but is a triple. My wife and I would feel cramped, but he’s as happy as can be, meeting people, buzzing around campus and nearby, and finding only silver linings whenever something imperfect shows up. </p>
<p>DS had an intentionally laid-back summer, and we spent a lot of time together. It makes us miss him even more than we ordinarily would have, but it is great to think how well he’s taken to the launching pad. We share your thankfulness for Yale. </p>
<p>Wow, that sounds tiny @IxnayBob! DD forgot a few things at home so I ran them down to her…a Her parting words to me? “See you on Thanksgiving”. Lol </p>
<p>We are back in FL after spending a phenomenal week touring NYC before move in. Our son is in an amazing suite of 8 boys with plenty of room. Before we could stop our car at Vanderbilt a storm of boys and girls carry all of the boxes and suitcases to the 5th floor in seconds!!! Great welcome:) Freshman assembly was very nice and we enjoyed lunch in his college before saying “goodbye” or like he said “till October break”. Missing him already</p>
<p>We also had a terrific move in experience. My daughter’s room is teeny tiny- should really be a single not a double- but she is so happy. I really cannot believe the amount of support these kids get- very impressive. We also had a great time in New Haven. Lots of fun restaurants and the whole city felt vibrant and alive. The text I got from her today said “I love, love, love my school.” So happy, she’s happy. </p>
<p>The accounts of Freshman move in bring back good memories. If I can share a bit of advice to the new Yale parents: </p>
<p>Here’s a shocking thing to forgive DD or DS about in advance – if you guys speak, he/she may refer to the dorm as “home” in casual conversation. Don’t take offense. </p>
<p>e.g.“Mom, after I got home and changed, we went over to the new exhibit at the museum” </p>
<p>Of course your house is his or her real HOME but your DS/DD’s world context has just changed and home is the suite or bedroom – my mom was miffed the first time I misspoke – but no offense was meant! I don’t think I broke the habit until sometime after Sophomore year!</p>
<p>Anyone know how ‘shopping weeks’ works for grad students taking courses outside their degree program? My son just registered this morning, and won’t meet with an advisor or have an orientation until next week in the School of Music. He was flying blind. Looks like he signed up for one of the most popular seminars in the classics department. Does he have any chance of getting in? (I should mention that he has an undergrad degree in Classics.)</p>
<p>Seminars, by defn, are limited admit – likely set aside for Jrs and Srs in the degree pgm who need the class. I’d say your DS likely won’t be able to stay. Non-seminar type classes, w/o enrollment limits, shouldn’t be an issue.</p>