@Biotechgirl, I think it varies, but if there’s a flight involved, I’d be tempted to make it the full duration. We live a short drive away, so we didn’t have to think much about it, but in your situation I’d send him alone. There are activities for parents that can be fun, but you are unlikely to see much of your son during BDD, and DW found that DS felt some obligation to include her, which wasn’t the point.
@Biotechgirl send him alone. Stay the whole time and have him join one of the groups like on FB that will have other kids doing the same. If he should choose to attend Yale, he will have to fly in and out on his own often and its a real good way for him to figure out if he can handle being that far away. There are lots of other students that will be doing the same so even if its just a support group, he will be in great company. I say stay the whole time because there is so much to do in a short amount of time and he wont want to leave once he meets others there.
We live only a few hours from New Haven, would you recommend doing any of the Parent Bull Dog Day activities? Wouldn’t require staying around the whole time. Also, do/can students stay with current students they know (e.g. future teammates)?
Thanks!
I think you can stay with someone you know, but I recommended my D not do that, since she would talk to them anyway. I encouraged her to stay with a random host to get another view of Yale. She did and it worked out well.
I went to BDD with my daughter since she had to take a 6 am flight back home on the final day of BDD (in order to make it for the last day of class/senior t-shirt day at her HS). Also, I wanted to go to get to know Yale better. We flew in and out of Hartford/Bradley, which is the airport she uses to get to and from Yale now that she is a student there. Once she checked in at Old Campus, I did not see or hear from her the entire time she was there. I had a wonderful time exploring Yale and New Haven, going to the parent events (the evening shows featuring the arts groups (music, dance, spoken word, etc) were amazing), and eating at great restaurants.
My daughter stayed with someone she knew from camp, and it worked out really well. I think there is a spot on the registration for the name of a host if you already have one.
When I asked a similar question last year, an experienced parent said that it is entirely personal preference - it doesn’t matter one way or another if the parent attends. It does not reflect poorly on a student if the parent attends - no one really cares. It seems like people just did what worked best for their own situation. There were many parents there, although it is clear that Yale wants the prospective students to separate from the parents and immerse themselves in the experience.
Branford “Master” leaving…
Any thoughts or advice from folks who have dealt with res. college loss? Or is this pretty common? She was very engaged and helpful on my son’s move in day…
Hi All -
I have been looking online at a few places to stay in or around New Haven – mostly through Airbnb, VBRO, etc. for Bull Dog Days and/or any other visits we may be planning. Obviously for BDDs my kid would be on campus, but DH and I would like to check out the school and the area as well. I will have a car so I don’t necessarily need to be walking distance from campus.
Are there any areas in particular that I should seek or avoid? I’ve never been to New Haven and am unfamiliar with the area. The places right near campus are, not surprisingly, pricier than those a bit further out. There are places in East Rock, some near Wooster Sq., others just past Fair Haven near the Quinnipiac River. Any thoughts on any of these areas? Anything to avoid or to seek out?
Thanks!
We favor the hotels in Milford (about 10 miles away). Much much less expensive than the (very nice) places in NH like the Courtyard, the Omni, and the Study. AVOID the La Quinta. It’s not walkable (even though it has a NH address) and it was a dump when we stayed there.
ETA I see you are looking for home type things rather than hotels. East Rock is considered a pretty nice area (my daughter lived there one summer) and is reasonably close to lively restaurants, etc.
@Flinnt12 You can stay with someone you know or you can let them place you with kids that have offered to host. My daughter stayed with someone she knew because she was nervous but she never saw her the whole time because she was busy exploring with new friends. Last year she hosted someone from her high school and she never saw her either. There are exams that go on that week so the older kids are really busy.
I am in CT so I went to a few of the parent things like the concert/performance where they showcase music and dance. I knew my daughter wanted to be a part of the A Capella system so I wanted to see the things that she would be a part of. It was a lot of fun but the weather was very wet and so I didn’t want to walk around explore. I have done a lot of that since then however.
@LoveTheBard I would say to just stay in Milford. There are several hotels there and only about 15 minutes away from New Haven. You can even take the metro train in from Milford though so you don’t have to deal with parking. Half the time they don’t even make you pay for a ticket because its only 2 stops away. There are Yale shuttles you can take from the train to the school and its easier/cheaper than trying to park if you are going to be there all day. The shops at Broadway only allow for 4 hour parking (Its $35 if you go over) and the meters are only 2 hours at a time. You can find a garage but they are expensive if you stay past 6pm I believe. You end up paying for a full day and then for a full night as well. Just my thoughts.
Also North Haven, Branford East Haven or anything in the opposite direction 95S are great places to look as well. There wont be the traffic in West Haven trying to get into New Haven. Most people stop short of New Haven because they are coming from New York. But the distance is less, traffic much less and the towns are fine. Dont be afraid to cross the bridge.
@tonymom there is always turnover of Deans and Masters (I refuse to use Head), Deans much more so. There are always some Deans and Masters who are more engaged with the students and activities within the college, so their leaving the position may be felt a bit more, but their successor will bring their own qualities to the life of the college. The University is very careful about these positions, so I wouldn’t worry. The college is more defined by the students themselves.
We’ve also stayed in motels in Shelton, which isn’t too far. Some of the ones in Milford have also starting raising their prices for big Yale weekends, so you might have to go a bit farther for a good rate.
Oh and don’t be afraid to look for things off the Merritt Parkway and move away from 95. Its easy to get into the Yale area from the tunnel and you can potentially find air b&b around there. Sikorsky is off this road and there are lots of people that come and go from that area.
@Community2605 - My son graduated last spring, and in retrospect I am glad we did not bring his grandma, even though she is able-bodied. It was fun but sometimes exhausting, trekking from event to event and finding seats and making decisions on the fly. And we were lucky to have great weather, which you cannot count on. It would have been a strain on her and on us. The good news is that the Class Day and Commencement ceremonies are wonderfully live-streamed: see here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHXSl02dCVw I think Grandma had a better virtual view of actual Commencement than we did! No, it is not like being there, but it is a darned fine substitute to keep in mind.
About LaQuinta, @donnaleighg describes it as a ‘dump’, I’ve stayed in dumps, and they don’t look nearly as good as LaQuinta. Now, LaQuinta isn’t amazing, but it’s cheap, has breakfast, has a free shuttle to campus, and is on the bus line.
It was dirty. Dirty in the room. Dirty in the halls (dust bunnies the size of baseballs, spilled food). Door didn’t close tight. Moldy shower. That’s a dump, at least IMHO.
I understand! It’s not great, but I’ve stayed in much worse.
I had low expectations, and it exceeded my low expectations.
(The room had clean sheets and towels, the bed was OK, the breakfast was as I expected, and they had a shuttle.)
The hallways were ‘sketchy’, not real clean, the lobby wasn’t pretty, and the other hotel guests obviously weren’t business travelers)
But it was half the price of my other options, and our family finances don’t have any headroom.
For a four-day stay, staying here rather than at the Courtyard (My favorite!) I saved enough to cover my airfare.
I stayed at the Hotel Duncan, and I thought that was kind of rough.
Our family is ‘holding on my our teeth’ to cover college expenses, and staying in our 3rd or 4th favorite hotel lets us say ‘yea, we can make parents weekend’ vs… maybe next year. This year we didn’t
^ We had a car, so stayed 10 miles further away for the same price as the La Quinta.
If I’m driving up and have my 100 pound German Shepard with me, I stay at LaQuinta since they allow dogs with no weight limit. If I am without dog or DH (like at my reunion that is coming up in the spring), I stay at the New Haven Hotel. LaQuinta is not the fanciest, but it serves my needs when necessary.
It was nice while it lasted (a whole 30 days!!), but my D is back at school for her second semester of junior year. I miss her already. Good news is that she will probably be in the States, and maybe even home, for the summer. Anyone who knows my posts knows that this makes me very happy.
@Tperry1982 the delivery is bittersweet because you want them to do so well but you miss them so much! I make the “drop off” later today. I was lucky that she wanted one more day to do laundry and sleep in her own bed. I wont lie however, I picked up her winter coat and smelled it a little bit with a tear in my eye. And I am only an hour away. I can only imagine those shipping their kids across the country.