My DD plans to study Chinese this fall as a freshman. (I studied Chinese when I attended Yale in the mid-80’s. It was a really great experience which eventually led to a 2-year Yale-China teaching fellowship in Hunan Province.)
My son did French in HS and did an accelerated Russian class. A semester equaled a year of progress and credit so he finished his language requirement a bit sooner. He enjoyed the class and got a little more ease in scheduling future classes in an already tight schedule.
@Community2605 Did he enjoy the accelerated Russian class?
My son is thinking of starting Russian, Hebrew or Chinese. He actually hopes to pursue two out of three before he graduates. Does anyone have info on which departments are better?
Its well known on this forum that my kid is the one who loves languages at Yale. She took Latin in high school but switched to German freshman year. Summer after freshman year at Yale/Berlin. Took Korean sophomore year. Summer after spent in Seoul. Upper level Korean and German classes junior year. Now in Heidelberg taking an advanced German class that Yale is paying full freight for. When she begins senior year in a couple of weeks, she will begin it fluent in both German and Korean. From my understanding, Yale’s language programs and its abroad opportunities (many fully paid for) are top notch. One of the many perks of going to a university that is committed to liberal arts. If you want more info - PM me.
@IxnayBob - are you really getting sentimental on me? I think I am going to be more of a mess this year than I was freshman year. Only good thing is that I have only have 6 payments left and my days of paying tuition are done!!! I’ve already started measuring my kitchen for a total renovation.
I’m so happy to have found this page; I’ve been frantically searching Facebook for months, looking for Yale parents, and all this time you’ve been right here on CC! I’ve been binge reading all 431 pages, and have found the advice incredibly helpful and the community of parents wonderfully supportive. What a great resource!! My daughter is an incoming freshman in Silliman, so she’ll be moving into her college straight off. I’m wondering if there are any Silliman parents here who might have insights into room size and furniture. I realize it varies, but any info or advice would be much appreciated! Looking forward to spending the next four years with all of you!
My oldest will be a Junior in Silliman. HE LOVES IT. He is taunting his incoming freshman brother because he was placed elsewhere! LOL The freshman rooms in Silliman vary so I can’t speak to what your situation will be. Private message me if you want more specific details. But they come with a bed, desk and dresser. Some rooms have two closets, some rooms have only one and some rooms have no closets in the bed room, but extra’s in the common rooms. there is overhead lighting in all of Silliman so you don’t need floor lamps. Bring a desk lamp however. There are no ensuite bathrooms. They are shared on every floor so less convenient but they will be cleaned regularly! Room size varies, but the C entryway is the biggest in terms of bedroom size from what I understand.
Silly questions of the day: does New Haven have a parking app? Trying to visualize how we will all find parking on move-in day, and the next morning for the Opening Assembly. Or does anyone know if you can pay in advance and reserve a space in a garage?
Will a simple summer dress suffice as proper attire for the Assembly?
Is there any reason to remain on campus after the Head of College Open House on Friday?
@CT1417 Are you talking about attire for you or your student? Either way, a simple summer dress would be perfect. For parents, anything goes. Someone advised me to dress for the pictures that we would want to take with our daughter. I wore a simple summer dress.
There is a good website called parknewhaven.com that has a map of parking garages around New Haven.
Hi @CT1417 I agree with @Faulkner1897. A summer dress for women is fine - especially remembering it’ll be HOT! my DS wore a shirt with collar as did DH. These worked for everything. And I still have the pictures on my desk so yes be camera ready. We hung around on the Saturday to finish up but after that left - just making sure DS had everything he needed from us while we were still there to drive around.
Thx jrtgsdrule, that’s really helpful, especially about the lights–one less thing to cram into the car! Great to hear your son loves it. It was actually my daughter’s first choice, so she was thrilled when she found out that’s where she’d been assigned. I’m new to CC , so once I figure out PMing (and by “figure out,” I mean have my daughter show me!) I may private message you for more details. And congratulations on sending two kids to Yale, that’s amazing!
Do any of the new parents have a link to the move-in schedule? I googled “camp Yale schedule” and found the schedule from a few years ago. There are always tours and such, and I am wondering if there will be tours of the new colleges! I am assuming not since it will be move-in, but maybe family weekend.
@BulldogJumboMom - Welcome!
Thanks @Faulkner1897 & @oldladymom --yes, I should have specified that I was wondering what I should wear!
I won’t be staying overnight so will wear whatever it is I wear for move-in. My son can change into a button-down & khakis. I assume that a blazer is overkill?
I just found this schedule last night. I do not know if my son is receiving updates, but I have not seen anything from the university. I don’t know when this was first posted.
Thanks for the parking link @Faulkner1897. I fear I may spend a lot of time looking for parking!
One more question…does anyone know where the students go to pick up their keys? I read somewhere that after unloading, one person should stay with belongings while the other parks the car and the student picks up his keys, but since there are only the two of us, I want him to pick up his keys before we unload the car.
Thanks all!
For those students moving into Old Campus, keys are located in front of Dwight Hall. Our daughter was still on FOOT so we picked up her key early, but I remember that her room was actually unlocked and the doors to the building were open for move in!
I found these parking tips from my notes (gleaned from reading these parents threads last year):
Park behind E.S.T. Pizza for $10.00 corner of Chapel/Park. They also have pretty darn good food too!
Corner of Elm & Temple (across from the NHPL) there is a lot of that is free after 4:30pm. And I believe on weekends.
Yale’s Chapel/York Garage, on York Street between Crown and Chapel. You do have to pay. It’s not too far from several of the colleges, and not terribly far from Old Campus. I like it much better than worrying about whether a parking meter is going to expire. (This is also a useful tip for parents’ weekend and commencement.) You can also often find a space at the surface lot across from the Yale bookstore, but that may be more expensive.
@CT1417 - Thanks so much for the links to the orientation schedule. I had been looking everywhere for it but am not very computer-adept and hoped someone else would be so kind to post it!
Hi @CT1417 I didn’t see a single student wearing a blazer at any event even assembly! just a nice shirt would be great
@Faulkner1897 —THANK YOU! THANK YOU!! I am MORE than happy to pay for parking as I am not paying for a hotel for move-in and that has run me $400 for older son, so I am saving lots! I also don’t care how far I have to walk and agree with you that I want no part of expiring parking meters.
Thank you also for key pick-up info. He will be in Vanderbilt, so I will send him to Dwight Hall. Funny about the room being unlocked, but I will send him for key pick-up before getting in the unloading queue, just in case.
@oldladyandmom --Thanks! Good to know as a blazer seems like overkill.
I thought I had heard that the colleges host dances during the school year and that a jacket & tie would be needed for those? He has one for MUN, Debate, science fairs, etc, so he will bring it to school.
Yes, each college has a party during the school year, and freshmen have “Freshman Screw” (that’s the actual name) that is semi-formal. If you google Yale freshman screw you will see some pictures, and many of the guys are wearing coat and tie or suits, although I think students can wear whatever they want and many just wear collared shirts, sweaters, no jacket. There are also holiday parties and other events throughout the year. If he has a jacket and tie, I think it would be good to bring them!
DS reports:
Freshman Screw was a lot of fun, especially the thought behind setting your friends up with dates. The rules were sufficiently Byzantine to confuse this parent. The system seems to work, and much fun is had.
Khakis, blazer, and button down shirt (his generic term for a collared, nice, almost unwrinkled shirt) was good for 99% of the dress up events. He avoided the 1% where it wasn’t sufficient.
It is good to have a “fracket” (combo of fraternity and jacket). This is an inexpensive, warm, and fungible coat/jacket that you wear to frat events, where it might or might not be found at the end of the night. Taking someone else’s fracket is okay if yours has been taken, but no upgrades allowed :))
Can anyone shed light on PO Boxes? DD is an incoming Freshman and is super confused as to how it all works. Is a PO Box the best option since it’s right on Old Campus? Is that the only way to get Amazon, on-line orders, family care packages? Help 