Unless you opt out for the year at the beginning of the school year.
I’ll be at the Game tailgating so if anyone is there, stop by. Its supposedly for my graduating senior (can’t believe its almost over) and her friends who are coming from all over. But I will be holding court with any other alums and parents that want to stop by for food and liquid refreshment. PM me nearer to the date and I will give you specs if interested.
We’re going for two in a row. Boola Boola!!
@IxnayBob - we’re on countdown. Not so nostalgic about tuition. I am beginning to do many long overdue projects in my home. Been broke paying tuition since this child was 2. I can’t wait.
We’ve had conversation with our S about living “off campus”. Any parents have positives and negatives about the experience or feedback?
@Tperry1982 thanks for the offer. Not really knowing anyone is one of the reasons were thinking about skipping it.I’m not sure if we are going to go. My daughter who is now a Junior did not have an opportunity to watch the game with her friends last time because she was on the field as a cheerleader. It’s also supposed to start getting very cold. It’s a tough cal though, the team is doing so well
@tonymom, DS has been off campus since junior year. He loves it!
He’s not far from classes (he’s on Chapel Street). Rent is reasonable. It’s air-conditioned, and he tells me that dorm-living friends were jealous, even in October. There is more space, including a kitchen that he has learned to use, which means that his meals are healthier and better than the dining hall food, which IMO has gone downhill over the past 3+ years.
DS’s only regret is not doing it sooner.
The Yale Daily News has had articles about more students moving off campus. I posted links and quotes from a few below. I did not realize the percent of seniors off campus was so high. I think the Residential College system can be overrated. It is such a juggling act each year as the configurations of suites change from year to year. If you approximate 120 undergrads per year in each college, that’s 60 students you can choose to live with if you have an all female suite. I know more variations are allowed now. But even then, it is a limited number of people that you really want to share a close space with. And maybe you had 6 that got along well, but now you can only have 4 together next year. Who opts out and tries to find a few other compatible people? Feelings can get hurt as the juggling act occurs. My D’s closest friends were in other colleges and were from her ECs. She did find people she could get along with in a living situation in her RC, but they were not her closest friends.
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/10/31/off-campus-housing-rate-falls/
This year, 26.2 percent of juniors and 39.8 percent of seniors chose to live off campus, a slight dip from last year when a record 17.2 percent of all students — 28 percent of juniors and 41.5 percent of seniors — opted to live outside of their residential college dorms.
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/09/29/chun-weighs-how-to-keep-students-on-campus/
Chun said he hopes the completion of the new colleges will reduce the need for annexing and drive down off-campus housing rates. But he acknowledged that the University will not be able to assess the effects of the new colleges on these issues for another one or two years. Fulton said he believes fewer upper-level students will move off campus this year because the new colleges gave upper-level students the opportunity to live on-campus with friends from different residential colleges. But he emphasized that this effect will only be temporary and that changes must be made if Yale wants to maintain the spirit of the residential college system.
https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2017/10/09/schick-our-broken-college-system/
Part of the problem is that the cost of living and eating at Yale is too high, and moving off campus offers students an alluring chance to save on housing and food. The YCC report notes that the high cost of the meal plan ($3,325 a semester) has made students feel that Yale Dining is a waste of money. Between their Blue State coffee and their unused breakfast swipe, most Yalies living on campus find themselves simultaneously pampered and overcharged.
Ironically, as New Haven has improved (dramatically in the areas closest to campus) and become more livable while rents remain relatively low, living off campus has become a more attractive option for many - particularly those with food preferences that the dining halls don’t cater for, those who think the dining halls are expensive for what you get, and those with wealthy parents willing to pay for somewhere palatial. The increasing presence of frats - and the off campus culture that comes with them - has something to do with it too, I think. It’s a pity - the residential colleges, particularly their facilities and the communities they create, are some of the best things about Yale.
Anyone start the FAFSA yet? Saving it for holiday family fun time?..
@tonymom I considered it yesterday but decided I would rather do laundry instead. LOL
Hello fellow Yale parents, it’s been awhile since I’ve stopped in to say Hello! These four years are flying by. This is her 2nd year off campus and she loves it. She is currently in a beautiful brownstone a block over from Chapel. Even though we are 14 blocks away, we barely see one another!! Yale has been a great experience for her!!
RE:living off campus. I asked my kid her thoughts. She has several friends that live off campus for various reasons. She said its not something she would even consider because she knows more that are unhappy than happy. The general consensus is that they thought they would cook more and save money but that its not really the case because they spend all day on campus and little time returning home to cook. The social life is so busy that unless you are the person that does not really get involved in many things, you wont have time to go home for meals. The take out bill was considerably higher once added up. One of her friends actually ended up paying for the meal plan on top of living off campus for this reason. She has a few friends that live together and they end up hosting most of the parties because have the space to do it. I am not sure if that was meant to be a plus or not though. There are even a few times she has had friends stay over so they would not have to go home to their apt. I think that they really should think about the reasons for wanting to move off campus. My kid is very involved in her RC and on campus activities so she isn’t interested in off campus living at all.
@Memmsmom - my daughter agrees with yours. One of her freshman , sophomore year roommates moved off campus last year. As a STEM major she was on campus so much for classes, labs and study groups she ended up in the dining hall most meals. My D used up her guest swipes and the only way she ate most times was that the dining hall person let her enter for free most days (putting her job in real jeopardy). She is back on campus and happy (and my D’s suitemate) this year. This was a kid on full financial aid that thought living off campus would be cheaper. It wasn’t.
I’m happy to report that, based on the texted photos of DS’s creations in his apartment kitchen, he has not only learned how to cook as a necessary act, but that he has discovered that it can be pleasurable to cook, and that it’s a fun thing to organize a date or double-date around. As a male “homemaker” myself, I am proud 
The off campus decision sounds very personal. My daughter will not live off campus. She realizes that she has the rest of her life to live in an apartment and cook for herself. She lived on her own last summer and had to cook most nights (after returning home at 6:30 pm or so) so she fully appreciates having all of her meals prepared for her in the dining hall!
Also, the residential community is one of the reasons my daughter really liked Yale; she wants to be fully part of that. So many schools do not guarantee housing all four years.
My son also prefers to stay on campus. His suites have gotten nicer and roomier each year. I do wish the common rooms had sinks at least but he doesn’t care. All u can eat every meal is great for him.
I have a question about parents weekend. I know this year the date was changed. I’m looking to plan something for next fall and I want to make sure it doesn’t conflict with parents weekend. I’ve found the calendar online but I’m wondering if I can trust it. Does anyone remember when the date was changed for this year? Thanks!
@musicmom1215 - The change in date was posted in March on this thread, but i believe the decision was made in December. I think it was a very unusual situation - it had something to do with the ribbon cutting event for the new residential colleges and scheduling conflicts.
So… How about that game?
My daughter tried to go to the students tailgate but after waiting an hour in line with zero movement, she gave up. Apparently there was intense security with metal detectors or something like that because of Melia Obama being there. I’m not sure that this was handled appropriately as it eliminated so many students from attending. I get that she wants to be a normal student but this caused so many more to not participate in a normal student event. My daughter had many friends that waited for so long and had prepaid for alcohol but never got in because of this. They also shortened the duration and in any normal circumstance it would have been fine but the security issue made that nearly impossible. Luckily she had other tailgate parties she could visit and did but I can see how this would be very upsetting for many others. I’m curious about any other stories.
Hi we went and had a great time!! of course we weren’t tailgating with the students though but I didn’t hear about any troubles with that - They had articles that week about the shortened duration of tailgating to be in line with Harvard’s at only 2 hours versus before it was always 3 and half at Yale. I’m sorry about your daughter and her friends. The Game itself looked pretty packed. Fun game at 24-3 complete with a prank on Harvard by Yale and seeing Handsome Dan and Saybrook up to its usual antics. We picked a good year to go! And I should add that Harvard’s Marching Band was a real class act continuing to play when Yale stormed the field to have great background music. That was great sportmanship shown by Harvard.
The metal detectors were a pain. We did not factor that in when we left our tailgate and missed most of the first quarter. D and S said the students eventually “rushed” the metal detectors and knocked them down. In the day, during the Saybrook Strip the YPMB played “The Stripper”. I didn’t hear it this year, but could be because the student section was towards the end zone, and I could not hear those familiar strains. Funny to watch a majority of the football team looking in the stands during the Strip. Classy of the Harvard Band (like the band on the Titanic), but less classy for the Harvard coach to prolong the last minute by calling time outs when we went into the Victory formation, especially as it was about to rain.