Thanks @musicmerit 
It has been a while. Yes, I had a parent contact me about Roberston vs Yale. Funny thing - when my daughter met the admission officer this past spring, she asked her how her brother (and she said his name!) was doing at Duke . Admission officers are quite something! Also, she wholeheartedly supported my daughter taking a gap year! She actually mentioned that it would be good if all kids took a gap year. And when M wrote an essay about her life abroad for gap year (something required by Yale), it was that admission officer that wrote her back , even though the essay went to somebody else. It makes me think that they really hand pick the kids and that they care about them! So glad she will be joining this community in the fall
So you think that convocation will be on Saturday? I will probably book just one night at the hotel then, well, maybe two, to explore New Haven on my own (I have only visited the campus once, for about two hours), have some of that famous pizza, maybe some sushi, which seems popular with the kids.
How big is parent’s weekend? Is it something worth flying across the country for?
@donnaleighg - I will rent a car in NY. So you are not advising driving back and forth? My husband drove there from NY last spring, when M was still deciding, and he also tells me that it is not the most pleasant drive.
I heard that IKEA is nearby? What things did you buy for move in?
We live in driving distance, so did not do an IKEA run that year (we did the second year for bookcase and garment rack (no closet believe it or not). “not the most pleasant ride” is an accurate statement. The thing is, in theory it can be easy and not too long, but it seems to me at least 50% of the time there is an accident somewhere along the way that can really foul things up. Sort of like the Van Wyck “expressway” for those who use JFK regularly.
D’s roommate did FOOT and her parents met her in the suite on move-in day. They definitely were not letting students in the dorms until move-in day 4 years ago. We stayed until after lunch (after convocation). We needed 2 nights of hotel IIRC. They do a good job of giving the schedule in advance.
Hard to believe that we’re so close to graduation! My younger chose Brown over Yale (and not solely because of the big sister) so we’ll be done with New Haven, if not with college.
As musicmerit said, I think it’s a good idea to get keys and help move your daughter in while she’s on the way back from FOOT. That’s what we did last year and it was helpful, as it was around 2pm on move in day before she was back and done with putting the camping gear away.
We had to arbitrarily pick a room and bed for her as her roommates weren’t around and her cell phone was dead as there was obviously no place to charge it while camping . . . all was well in the end though.
@donnaleighg and @Kelowna , it’s a much prettier, less stressful ride from NY if you take the Hutchinson River Parkway to the Merritt Parkway (Rt. 15), turn off at Derby Avenue and take it into New Haven, passing the athletic fields and the Yale Bowl. Not as dead-easy as I95, though, and it will take you a little longer.
I get to Yale in whatever way Waze tells me to. I have made ~20 round trips, and Waze seems to find the best routes around traffic.
A little plug for autonomous driving vehicles: last Friday I went from Northern New Jersey to Yale, round trip, and approximately 80-90% of the trip was done with the Tesla managing steering and velocity. Incredibly less stressful.
RE: move in day and driving from NY.
Last year we were told that if my daughter did FOOT that she would not have access to her room in advance and I would have to meet her the day she returned form FOOT where I would do most of the move in before she arrived. She was too OCD for that and decided against FOOT as a result. I would not count on prior access. Athletes do have access in advance though.
Also last year we moved her in, drove an hour home after a long and exhausting day and packed up the van for my son to move into his dorm in NYC. After convocation, we left for NYC and it was a nightmare. The traffic on the weekend mixed with the volume of cars at the end of summer made a 2 hour trip turn into almost 4. I would not recommend trying to drive back and forth for fear of missing out on something, I would instead suggest if not staying closer to campus, taking a train into New Haven. That you know it will take about 2 hours. Then grab a cab to the ceremony/luncheon. Its a special weekend that you only get once and to miss out on anything would be sad for both you and your child.
@Kelowna - Is family weekend worth flying across the country for? I’m not sure how to answer that, as worth might be in the eye of the beholder. We were very glad we went. It is a chance for parents and families to see the best that Yale might showcase. And it is a chance to see your child adjusting. It might be hard to predict how your child’s transition away from home will be. For our son, it was a healthy transition, but often sad and lonely. It was nice to see, one month in, how well he knew the campus. And those suitemates? That he said were all very nice? They really were all VERY NICE. It was a chance to put us ALL at ease.
During family weekend many of the music groups perform, so we love to go for that.
When I said you could move in early, I meant earlier in the day on Friday before she returns from FOOT. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Thanks to @canoe2015 for clarifying.
Just to be clear re moving in and FOOT, we didn’t have access to the room before move in day, but were able to get keys and move our daughter’s things in the morning of move in day, while she was still on her way back from FOOT.
I would say family weekend is worth travelling to once, probably freshman year.
As for FOOT, the kid won’t have access to the room before the trip, but the parents can get access on move-in day before the FOOT groups return. This is a huge scam, by the way, because your kid will stroll in after you’ve moved all the stuff, and probably even unpacked and made the bed (at least, that’s what my wife did). But there will be upperclassmen there to help you move the stuff into the room, which is really nice.
I would not recommend driving back and forth from New York if you can afford a hotel room in New Haven. Actually, if you are driving, a hotel room near New Haven, like in Milford or Shelton, will probably be much cheaper. Rates near campus go up a lot on popular weekends, including family weekend, the Harvard-Yale game, and especially commencement.
My daughter attended FOOT as well last year. We were able to get the keys to her room right around 8:00am and place the majority of her stuff into her room. This was fortunate as her bus broke down and her FOOT group did not arrive back on campus until close to 3pm.
We had a similar experience with our son in that he also attended FOOT, and we got the keys to to his room the morning before he arrived. There was plenty of time to move in their stuff and tentatively arrange things. Pretty stress free for them…
I always have to whine about this when the topic of swarming upperclassmen on move-in day comes up. Davenport let us down last August. All we got was one sweaty senior with a wheelbarrow. And that was after waiting forlornly on the sidewalk with all our stuff for 15 minutes.
@Community2605 thats because my kid had an entire pickup truck full of junk to move…to the top floor no less. ha ha ha.
@Kelowna I thought I’d add my comments on Family Weekend - for what it’s worth!
We knew we were unlikely to be able to get over from the UK for lots of visits during DD’s time at Yale and - with her blessing - we decided not to do the Family Weekend. We were told she’d be well looked after and it was true - load of lovely families took her under their wing and spoilt her rotten for the weekend!
We did, however, splash out on a trip across the pond for Autumn Break. This meant we could see her in her new environment and spend a few days exploring the local area as a family so we can imagine her in her college surroundings. It worked very well and set my mind at rest that she was settled in!
@scoutsmom - My D did the same thing, only with Germany. She got the same percentage of money for her summer studies as she does for Financial Aid.
Thank you all for very thorough answers ! I really appreciate them.
@canoe2015 - you write "We had to arbitrarily pick a room and bed for her as her roommates weren’t around ". You really had to pick the room? Weren’t they assigned?
At this point I am thinking that I will stick around until Sunday, explore the area and drive back to NYC on Sunday eve. We might have some shopping to do as I am not going to haul much stuff on the plane 
Daughter is actually thinking about shipping her winter stuff from Germany to our friend’s in NYC - good thinking on her part.
Still debating the parent’s weekend in my head. Would it be better to fly in for Harvard - Yale game? Also, we will most likely spent Thanksgiving in NYC, she will come from Yale, her older brother can fly in from Durham, we will fly from SLC.
As far as daughter being homesick and me needing to check on her - I think that because of her gap year we are totally over this. She is in Germany for a year, travelling across Europe, making her own decisions, being sick away from home (although she has this lovely host German mom). I mean, I still worry, but I have learned how to worry from a distance …
Awesome group of parents! So glad to be a part of it
@Kelowna I’d just note that as you consider which weekend to fly in for, this year’s edition of the Harvard-Yale game (“The Game”) will be at Harvard.
I just looked at the calendar for 2016/17 - looks like the football game is on the first day of Thanksgiving break. Maybe it is not a bad idea to do this , then take daughter for some NYC exploration !
@fro123 - autumn is such a beautiful time of year in that area. Glad you could make it and glad you enjoyed it !Our oldest is at Duke, and flights from SLC to Durham are VERY expensive. I will pay about half , or less, to fly to NYC.