Thanks for all your collective wisdom! It reassures me that our son chose well and that Yale will be the ideal learning environment for him. I heard back from the person who PMd me and she said that she meant more that the classes themselves are competitive and difficult, so it’s not the students themselves that are cut-throat but the classes. She said that whereas other classes at Yale may seem to be graded with a little less rigor, STEM classes are graded much more harshly. I went back and re-read her original message, and the way she worded it definitely made it sound as if she was referring to the students. But she did clarify to me that she meant the classes and professors and that the students themselves were actually very eager to work together. That’s a HUGE relief! Again, not that my son wouldn’t have been OK, but it is a huge relief to know it will be a highly ramped-up version of his high school learning environment 
^ I’m not sure that the non-STEM classes are so much less rigorous, but that is, IMO, a more reasonable position reported to you. That said, I think most students at Yale, STEM or non-STEM, want to take challenging courses.
My son’s most challenging class thus far has been Latin. He’s Econ and Stats. I think it’s all subjective; some things will come easy, others not so much. Isn’t that part of the point?
@IxnayBob Agreed! My son accepted Yale’s offer of admissions in great part to BE challenged, so I’m not worried I was more worried when I thought the STEM fields would be more competitive from a collaborative perspective, but I have no concerns about classes being difficult. I think he’s prepared to not be the smartest kid in class anymore
@tonymom - One of my son’s close friends is at MIT as a freshman, and his hardest classes are the non-STEM ones bc they don’t come naturally to him! My son had to take a required art class his Freshman year and he worked his tail off just to get an A-. Meanwhile, he got A+ in all his STEM APs!!! Again, I’m not stressed about it. I know he has the pressure of having to have a high GPA to get into grad school, but we have told him time and again to take some risks and try new things, and not to worry too much on his GPA. College is for going outside your comfort zone!
@moosiechica88, your son will find challenges at whatever level he wants/needs. I predict that, 4 years from now, you will feel similarly to what I feel now: Yale has been the best thing for my son. Yale has made choosing graduate courses easy for him when he wanted additional theoretical study. Anecdotally, I understand that some of the larger STEM schools have a more prescribed course load, and customization can be more difficult.
Ultimately, GPA’s can stay high enough for future employment and/or grad school, even if there are a couple of dings in the record. My son had no experience with proof-based math when he took Math 230 (a notoriously difficult class, which perhaps in retrospect he should have taken later, as a sophomore). He got a B+, the worst grade he’s ever received in a STEM subject, but it hasn’t kept him from a great post graduation job offer, and he is glad to have taken it.
The latest data on the happiness of Yale students: https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2018/04/04/most-students-happy-at-yale-survey-shows/
@IxnayBob - you’re right. Any course that is outside of a student’s comfort zone may be seen as rigorous. Also, Non STEM classes can have tons of reading and papers to write. Might not be P-sets, but staying up 48 hours to get a paper written is no cup of tea either. But, I am glad that the person who PM’d you cleared up what she meant. It gives even more credence to the comments others had made in response to your question. Your son is going to love Yale. See @DeepBlue86 post above. Yale students are generally a happy bunch though there are definitely rough patches along the way.
This is my first time posting on CC after 4 years of snooping through the threads. Common story, I know. I was admitted early action into Yale, and will be attending in the fall. At first, I thought I was certain about my plans. I planned to follow take the pre-med courses through either the MCDB or MB&B major, possibly even Neuroscience. I still have these notions, but was introduced to the idea of Directed Studies the other day, which really caught me eye. I have always had a love for literature, thought, and analysis, and feel Directed Studies would be a fantastic journey for me my freshman year. I was also recently made aware of the fact the Yale has tracks in the MCDB and MB&B majors that allow undergrads to graduate with a M.S. as well as a BS. With all this being said, I have a few questions for those who attend, or have attended Yale, or simply anyone who knows more than I do on this topic!
- In what ways will doing DS limit my opportunities in a MCDB major, as far as research opportunities, or anything else?
- What are the advantages of doing the BS/MS track, what is it like, and how manageable is it? Particularly, could I do DS and pursue this track, or would that be too much? Does the BS/MS track give opportunities for learning in the grad and med school that I wouldn’t have otherwise as an undergraduate?
- I would appreciate any other thoughts, such as a suggestion for first year courses, with DS or without.
Thank you! I apologize for the long post. Also, anyone else going to Bulldog Days, PM me! I’m so excited to be a member of the class of 2022! It truly is a dream come true.
Does anyone have any recommendations on summer storage? My daughter has managed to acquire a couch, coffee table, and two bureaus—none of which are going to fit in the six boxes that Silliman lets students store in its basketball court over the summer! Any idea whether furniture can be left in next year’s suite, or the names of local storage companies?? Thx!!!
Some furniture can be left in next year’s suite. The kids should know exactly what’s allowed but we definitely stored a couch that way and plan to do that again. My son also stored a dresser with one of the storage companies that comes on site. He had to drag it to cross campus. There are other companies that offer door to door for furniture and storage but those weren’t worth the cost to him.
Re: storing furniture during the summer in next year’s suite.
I recall reading here last year that furniture sometimes goes missing and/or is moved elsewhere. I would prefer to not have to move the futon & fridge home, but was concerned my son might not find them in his suite in August.
Interested to see that both @BulldogJumboMom and @musicmom1215 have dresses to store. Did your children purchase a dresser in addition to the one provided in the room?
@BulldogJumboMom - Dorm Room Movers is the best. My D is graduating this year so we are not using them. But we have used them for all three summers. So as not to bore the group with a repeat response, check out my answers. They have been a god send and, unlike move in freshman year when there are many hands, moving out is often a lonely task as folk are either still in the middle of finals or gone home.
Would not suggest leaving furniture in the room. My D left her couch in the room over the summer. During summer classes, someone broke the frame. Yale maintenance jerry rigged it and it was usable (heck, the furniture is beat up to begin with), but they were not happy campers when they got back and saw it. My advice is to definitely not leave any good furniture in the room over the summer. Yale will not be responsible for any damage to it.
Thanks for the input @Tperry1982 , @Musicmom2015 and @CT1417! Sounds like it’s time to call Dorm Room Movers! And yes, @CT1417, my daughter did have an extra bureau and another storage-type unit. She has WAY too much stuff and had to share a closet, so we got her a bureau she could slide under her bed. Hopefully next year we’ll be able to cut back on what she brings, although the pics she’s sending of next year’s likely suite suggest she’s going to have lots more room to store things
We lost a lamp and the big cube storage unit from ikea by leaving it on campus. That said it was cheaper to store them both and a couch in the new room than it would be to store somewhere else and less hassle to bring home.
yes my daughter lost something (don’t recall what it was) storing in a room over the summer. Of course often that stuff was something they bought for 20 bucks from some graduating senior so…
We purchased an inexpensive dresser for my son during sophomore move in. He had less furniture than freshman year and it was a wardrobe closet/drawer combo with three really small drawers. We were going to get more plastic storage drawers but decided to get a real dresser instead. Now he has room for his clothes. I only need it to last thru college. The couch was fine over the summer but it is huge and it would have been very difficult for someone to have moved it. I do think a lamp was missing though so we won’t store anything but the couch this year.
In less than 6 weeks our boy will be graduating 2018! It was a fun journey and my heart is full. Moving to work in DC
@Saona63 - we should have a get together of the CC parents over graduation weekend. Maybe coffee one morning at the Church Street Starbucks!! And welcome to DC. I work here too.
Question about storing items at residential colleges. I know they allow a certain amount of boxes…
Has anyone ever had a problem with boxes going missing? And when they say boxes is that strict? Could it be say two large suitcases as substitution?
We did storage unit last year but I’m thinking we could easily get away with storing items at TD if they are flexible…
For my D they actually provided the boxes so I don’t think a large suitcase would work.
The first year she took everything home so gave to boxes to a friend.
I don’t think the boxes go missing. I don’t ever remember hearing that. The boxes are stacked in a basement room that is locked. What has gone missing are items in the suites. One year we lost a chair and gained two lamps.