Move-in went smoothly! The concierge at our hotel suggested that we load up our car early and park somewhere, so this is exactly what we did. We loaded up the car at 7:45, parked in the lot across from the bookstore, and had breakfast near Old Campus. We picked up the key (our daughter was on a FOOT trip), got the car, and made it smoothly to the unloading area. Swarms of helpers were swarming the car in front of us, so we unloaded our car by ourselves and waited our turn. Got the stuff up to the room as a group effort.
I’m glad I heeded the advice not to buy much before seeing the room. There seems to be plenty of storage in my daughter’s room - she has a large double with two huge closets plus an extra storage closet, and a ton of overhead storage space. But I know it is the luck of the draw, and that every room is unique. We will do a quick outing this afternoon to get a few things here and there (mirror, maybe a rug, maybe some stacking drawers).
Daughter is back from FOOT and showering in our hotel. That was another cc suggestion and worked out well since her suitemates arrived around noon and it was kind of crowded in the suite.
I hear that right now is super busy on Old Campus. Steady stream of moving in students and that there are even dinosaurs helping with the job. Yes… I was sent a photo of 3 of them carrying boxes. How fun! My daughter said she doesn’t think she has ever sweated so much in her life. She even got to help move things to her old suite. That had to be a little bittersweet. Such an exciting day!
Thanks to all the folks here who have patiently answered questions. Move in day was a great success, albeit oppressively humid :-(((((
The upperclass were amazing! Helpful, enthusiastic and full of school
Spirit.
Room was great. Plenty of space considering what other college dorms are like and I love the fireplace and mantle.
Walking campus, hearing a myriad of languages being spoken, seeing the excitement…I know my son has landed in a wonderful place.
I especially liked when Holloway impressed upon the parents the need to let the students fail sometimes. We needed to hear that and his reassurances that they will be fine.
Oh and peeked at the dining hall and food looks pretty good to me. They even offered us up an ice cream cone!
I echo what @tonymom said. I knew where to park, what to bring, where to shop, and a dozen other miscellaneous things all due to the insider knowledge and advice on this thread. I’m at the airport now after saying goodbye to my daughter.
I’m excited for all my daughter has in front of her, and found the words from “Raise Your Voices Here” particularly poignant: “Time passes quickly here, everything new. Childhood behind us now fading from view. Four years stretch out before us, hope rushing in. Just breathe in and close your eyes - time to begin”.
Asking my sophamore son what describes his mood this week so far, he said “scared, very scared because I’ve got only three years of college left here…”
Just popping back in to thank you all for the advice on how to dress for the freshmen events.
I’ll add my observations for future readers on this topic. “Most anything works just fine for parents” is my take away from the past two days. If dad wants to wear his cargo shorts with a tshirt or polo shirt, he will have plenty of company. Moms wearing capri pants/dressy shorts with a nice top were everywhere. There were also lots of summer dresses(it was hot!) of varying degrees of dressy-ness.
I just wanted to add that the older kids are just as excited for the freshman. They are eager to start the various rush events for the groups they are a part of. For the clubs and organizations that they hope the new kids want to join. They move in early so that they can welcome them with open arms (for boxes on move in day) and all while knowing that they are not allowed to eat in the dining halls until Monday. They do this because they love their school, their RC’s and their new “babies” that not long ago were their own excited selves. The freshman are in great hands.
A few of my daughter’s favorite moments from Friday were the kids that ran up to hug her because they remembered her from Bulldog days, the freshman that waved to her yesterday morning because they remembered that she helped carry their things to their room and a mom that remembered her giving a visitors tour over the summer (she was in town alone and took a tour without her kid because she had not seen the school yet). It meant a lot to her that the little things she did made a bigger difference to others. I suspect that many others feel the same way.
@Memmsmom
Let your daughter know all us parents are very grateful!
While I’m still nervous leaving my kid off 3000 miles from home I know he’s found a new home at Yale
Thanks to all parents for sharing their wisdom; dropped our daughter ; weather was hot and had to scramble for buying a since it was out of stock in few Target , Walmart and BBB stores; drove 20 miles to buy the fan ;
@ragudba
Guess what we discovered at the Yale Bookstore yesterday?..Huge stacks of fans for sale!
Never thought to look there. Tell your kiddo if they need more.
To add to what @college4many noted, the best advice for how to dress: wear what you want for the pictures you might take. Anything goes for the events; the Friday event at the head of college’s house was very casual, come as you are (most people were wearing what they wore to help move the kids in). For the freshman assembly, the kids were for the most part dressed nicely in summer dresses for the girls, dress pants and collared shirts for the boys (many ties, but not all of the boys wore ties). Parents wore everything from shorts and t-shirts to nice pants and nice tops to skirts/dresses. For the men, it was far too hot to wear a jacket and I did not see any suits/ties. There is no a/c in Woolsey Hall and it was very hot.
We were told that it was the hottest move in day in recent memory (I think the high was 89 on Friday). At least it wasn’t raining!
We arrived on Thursday afternoon, and the Target/BB&B stores were very well stocked. We went back on Friday evening to pick up a few things after seeing the room, and they were stripped bare. I bought some stuff on Thursday “just in case” knowing I could return them if they didn’t work, and that was a good strategy.
Here is another tip for future parents: order ahead online from the Milford or North Haven Target, Home Depot (fan), and such. I ordered online on Monday of this week, had until Friday to pick up, and could check store inventory to see if Milford or North Haven had what I was looking for. Milford/Orange (both on the same stretch of the Boston Post Road) were by far the best for all relevant stores, including Target, Walmart, Home Depot, BB&B, Trader Joe’s.
We went to the campus store too, and I was surprised to find an entire dorm section full of command strips, trash cans, storage units, rugs, hooks, shoe holders, etc. One mother and son were shopping there because the son had not been interested in doing any shopping in his hometown.
So…
My son and I arrive in New Haven to move-in to his Junior year, and I see a few pages of printed material in the map pocket of the driver’s seat.
When I take it out, I see the the page that we are supposed to put on the dash so that the traffic cops know which residential college we belong to, and can move us in. I congratulate my son on being prepared ahead of time, and he looks at me quizzically and says “I didn’t do that, that’s from freshman year!”
Maybe I should clean out the car more frequently.
Back home !
I need someone to please explain to me the mail situation at Yale. How does it work? Kids seem to be really confused, even Frocos are not sure how it works. I find it really bizarre. Do kids have to pay to be able to receive mail at college?
@Kelowna they need to rent a post office box from the post office on campus or find outside boxes like at the UPS store (which is faster yet a lot more $) - I don’t know how she knew about it but I know my kid knew before school started because she ordered and mailed things there before she even moved in last year.
Thanks @Memmsmom ! Tell me if I am correct - Yale box is $60 per year, otherwise there is no mail delivery ? UPS box is $18/month . How far is the UPS store from campus? Can all the mail be delivered to the UPS box (even Fedex and USPS)?
@Kelowna Yale UPS store is very close to Yale Bookstore. For Yale student, they have a 9-month contract for $182 I believe that was how much we paid. You need to bring 2 photo IDs to sign up. It will receive from all carrier because it is not a P. O. Box, it has street address. Just put #123 for ex, dont put “Mail Box” 123, he/she will get it.
