The info coming to us in CT on the meningitis is that it was one case, it was isolated and it was fine in the end. Although they said that they could be immunized against it, it was also not a big deal according to our local Dr who said it was not worth grabbing my kid and driving her home to get it. We are an hour away so its not like we were several states away. We could have had it handled in less than an afternoon and was told not to stress about it.
fro123, we didn’t get the Yale insurance but from what I recall when we were looking into it, it does cover the student for emergency care when away from Yale. Anything non-emergency though (e.g. a dermatology appointment) is covered at Yale Health only.
@Memmsmom, the student with meningitis at Yale hung out in DS’s suite extensively. DS hangs out more in his GF’s suite than his own, but Yale Health recommended a prophylactic treatment with Cipro “just in case.” He initially thought he’d get the special vaccine (which iirc Yale Health offered for ~$300), but decided not to lock the barn after the horse had bolted.
That is pretty much what I heard form my daughter. She said those that were friends took anti biotics and nobody was really running out to get the shot. Our ped asked if she knew the kid but she didn’t so it was not a big deal for her. I think if there were more cases it would have been different but it wasn’t.
Does the basic Yale insurance cover the student athletes, injuries, surgeries, physical therapy, and the like? We are under a high deductible plan.
Haven’t had any injuries yet (knock on wood!), but there is an staff on hand to provide things like chriopractic care and (I think) physical therapy through the athletic department. My son has gone to the chiro. for back pain at no charge to our health plan. X-rays, surgeries, etc. are definitely not covered by basic student health insurance.
As classicalmama says, specialty care generally works the same for varsity athletes as for other students i.e. it’s on your insurance. Yale recommends (but doesn’t require) that athletes get the Yale insurance but just because they are more likely to need surgery and other specialty care which may be more convenient at Yale Health.
@trackcoach79: Go to: http://yalehealth.yale.edu/understand-your-coverage and click on the “Yale Health 2015-2016 Student Handbook” link. Page 13 details what is covered. Specialists such as Diagnostic Imaging and Physical Therapy are NOT covered if you waive Yale’s speciality coverage and just opt for the basic plan.
If your son or daughter is playing a contact sport where there is a greater chance of injury, and you have a high deducible insurance plan, I would suggest purchasing the supplemental Health Hospitalization/Specialty Coverage.
We never paid for medical care for any athletic injuries over the four years. No surgeries but definitely X-rays, MRI’s, injections, and other therapies. We did not purchase the supplemental plan.
Well I’ve learned my lesson about sending anything important to the Yale post office . . . they have managed to lose a package I sent to my daughter recently (shows as delivered on tracking but it’s not there). I think there was some discussion above about the PO so just another data point.
@canoe2015, knock wood, everything I’ve sent eventually arrives. Still, infuriating.
@canoe2015 @IxnayBob, I’m not sure what’s happening to other people’s mail, but so far everything my son orders or anything I send arrives! lol, knock on wood
@Saona63, you should rent out his PO box :))
ETA: I do wonder sometimes if he’s just too lazy to wait in line. Can’t say I blame him.
In this case, the package shows as being delivered last Thursday on USPS tracking but the PO staff can’t find it. I assume they mistakenly gave the package to someone else, in any case, they can’t find it . . .
Near the end of last semester, my son was advised he had been assigned a mailbox and key to a mailbox that belonged to another student! Somehow he still had been receiving his mail.
Sometimes packages end up in the other…I don’t what it is!..package spot?! I know it’s a block or two from the main P.O.–my son tracked a case of toaster pastries down there last year. Maybe someone else can be more helpful than I’m being. 
“UPS, DHL, and Fed Ex can be picked up at Yale Student Receiving Center located at 135 Prospect Street.”
I think the other location is only for packages from other carriers not the USPS.
Thanks @musicmerit : I think that’s mostly right, but in our case, it was an oversized USPS box that ended up at Propect. I think sometimes boxes end up at Prospect Street if they’ve been hanging out for too long at the PO. Anyway, it might be worth a check.
@wchatar2,
Coming in late to the convo about frats and sororities.
As background, I was in a sorority in college at a big Greek school, with big football. DD wanted to join a sorority ASAP. I shared my experience that being in a sorority for 4 years was kinda on the long side. Becomes less fun and more work. I would have preferred 2 or 3 years, but it’s less of an option at a big Greek school. Was happy to hear that it’s easy to join later at yale. So she waited until further along in her college career before going Greek. She definitely likes it. Yes, she is involved in a ton of other EC activities with many groups of people, and this is another group that she likes to hang out with as well. Btw, she is the type that likes sororities, big football, etc so Yale has been a little mismatched for her in that arena. But still having fun in her sorority.
@YoHoYoHo Thank you. I went to a big frat school too and decided not to to join. I was just surprised that frats and sororities seem to be a “thing” at Yale among a certain group and was honestly concerned about how they looked to the rest of the university. It seems like kind of a closed sort of thing for Yale but what do I know.