Does anyone know why the residences open almost a week before classes resume? Are students on campus for clubs & activities? Is there a need to arrive early or do students return just to hang out with friends? I suppose I should find out when meal service resumes.
Freshmen students will have a pretty long orientation to go to, so do need to move in as scheduled. For upperclassmen, it’s a lot more flexible, but generally if you’re in certain clubs or activities you will need to be on campus (either for orientation activities with freshmen or the extracurricular bazaar). Many upperclassmen like to return to campus early, because it’s one of the only times at Yale where you get to chill with friends without essays or problem sets looming over your shoulder.
@CT1417 there are various reasons for kids to be back on campus. Many are club related, some are for flexibility with travel and some just want to get back and settled. Because there is still a shopping period, there is also time to research. My daughter will return on Saturday because that is when her a Capella group returns from tour.
Just wanted to come on here to say “Hi.” Our son’s a Yale Junior and I’ve been quietly reading cc posts and appreciating your insights 
I read through the old posts for best airport ideas, but I’d appreciate any additional insight. My son is going to attend a seminar (for math PhD students; it’s his second year) in Tucson just before spring break. I think he’ll be able to come straight home for break from the trip, so returning to Newark makes sense. Should he fly out of Newark, too? I saw the comments that Hartford was a great option, but the flights from there to Tucson make two stops. He normally takes the train or gets a ride home, though he did fly up to Boston for the MIT puzzle challenge last weekend before returning to New Haven by bus with a group of Yale friends. Any input? By the way, he had a great time as a math TA last semester. Prior to that, he had been a coach (like a tutor, which he’s been for many years). Thanks for any help!!
isn’t it possible to take Amtrak direct to Newark airport? That would be rather simple, if perhaps a bit costly.
Yes, that’s an option, even if he takes the cheaper trains through NYC to Newark, using MetroNorth and NJ Transit (he uses those two trains to come home normally, just doesn’t get out in Newark - much cheaper than Armtrak). I’m just trying to confirm that Newark is the best airport before making suggestions to him. He could have gone out of someplace closer to New Haven, but it seems like all of those flights have two stops. I don’t think there’s any advantage to JFK (and I don’t think there’s ever an advantage to LaGuardia). At least he’s familiar with Newark. Just wondered if anyone knew better about the options.
@NJCornellMom Southwest flies with one stop to Tucson. I know this because I travel there for work. There may not be a lot of options for the shorter flights however. Tucson is a very small airport. Amtrak does not go direct to Newark, you will still have to take transport form there via another train and Amtrak is not the best price nor as reliable. As a CT mom, I would suggest a shuttle to BDL and fly via Southwest. By the time you take a train, busses or subway to the NY airports and the 3 hours in travel time to do it… Bradley costs the same and is much faster. Just my opinion.
@memmsmom Amtrak certainly does go between NH and EWR. As I said, it’s not inexpensive, but it’s easy. The cheapest I saw (didn’t look hard) was $42. It’s a bit more than two hours.
I would just caution that Amtrak is unreliable. My son’s girlfriend missed her flight out of Newark bc the train out of New Haven was canceled at the last minute. The next train got her to Newark too late for her flight and she missed it.
Thanks all. Yeah. I know that Amtrak does run that route but not often. NJ Transit is more frequent. I’ll help him look at the options. There’s one other student going, but I’m still not sure if they need to get back to campus for a day before spring break (nor where that student goes for break).
@donnaleighg I must have been thinking of JFK and LGA. We are flying my daughter out to CA next month and we looked at every option to get her there and the flights out of Newark must have been more at the time. She is taking Amtrak to the LRR and then to the airport. That was the best solution for the cheapest air that we found at that time. Because of her flight time, the BDL options were not good because there was a lack of transportation to BDL at very late and very early hours.
@ourtown Welcome! My son is a junior, too. Over halfway done. Hard to believe.
@Community2605 Thank you! True, and how lucky we are to have our sons at such a fine place.
Well I’m originally from Newark so very familiar with Newark Airport, NJ Transit and Amtrak, but my son use to travel from NC to Yale through JFK and then Uber , but you can get there just as fast from Newark airport via Amtrak from Penn Station it’s really a matter of choice
Here is my suggestion. If you fly to LGA and JFK, take the shared shuttle ($55 one way): http://www.2theairport.com/ You can book it online and they will pick you up at the terminals in LGA or JFK and drop you in Yale campus. They are very reliable. If you choose to fly to BDL, the shared shuttle does not work very well. You better use Uber (about $60 to 70 one way) to Yale. I prefer LGA. The smaller airport is very convenience to catch the shuttle.
I can hardly believe that my D returned to Yale for her eighth and final semester. Going back over my posts, I have been on CC since before she started even looking at colleges. You guys have been with me through high school, the application process, the summer before freshman year preparations and nervousness, the first days of crushing sadness missing her and the sad calls home, the angst as she decided over and over to leave the country for time abroad and scare me to death, the triumphs, the down days and everything in between. Am I being sappy - yes I am. I was a little weepy as she left this time. Not because I miss her per say, but that her going back for this last semester is really a line in the sand - she is really crossing over into adulthood. I know there will be other posts as the semester winds down. But I just wanted to say thanks to all of you!! You get me. We may not have always agreed, but we all had one common goal - the well being of our high maintenance but lovable offspring. Happy second semester everyone!! =D>
@Tperry1982 I wish I could love your post like on FB. I wish I could offer you love and support and comfort. Be proud and be happy knowing that she not only represented you well in her experiences but you represented her well here to us at CC and the Parents thread.
It really is an incredible place, even in today’s dreary sleet/snow/rain. I was up there this afternoon and evening to take my son out for dinner for his birthday. A couple of his friends emailed me last night and arranged a little surprise party. I brought up cake, snacks, drinks, decorations, etc, and left them all in the suite with the friends while they arranged for my son to be elsewhere. I did not stick around for the party, but it was fun being with the friends as they hung the birthday banner and chatted about shopping classes. Wonderful students, friends, opportunities.
An interesting piece about on/off-campus living: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2018/01/18/nierenberg-the-new-old-campus/
Our personal experience has been that, for DS, living in an off campus (but close by) apartment has been beneficial to him. YMMV.