How busy are the downtown restaurants over graduation weekend? Some friend wan to meet us for dinner Sunday night while we’re there and I wonder if we can even get in somewhere in town. D is grad Divinity school so we were kind of planning to avoid the fray over the weekend and stay at top of hill - maybe go somewhere in hamden. Suggestions appreciated ,
I know I made reservations as far in advance as possible-- I would not count on getting a reservation at this late date. I would bet that out of the downtown area would be easier.
@scmom12
Milford is just down the road and has quite a few dining options. Quaint Colonial square etc.
Two or three weeks ago, my son made reservations for dinner Sunday night and the time slots available were 4:15 and 8:30. I don’t think there will be many open reservations at this juncture.
Thanks. We got something and not too late
Anyone have the extended Yale Health insurance as their student’s only form of coverage?
@tonymom --No. I looked at it and could not believe they wanted to charge as much as they do for coverage that only provides access to care in New Haven, or in a true emergency. I believe someone commented that athletes and international students sign up for it. Perhaps also those covered by group model HMOs with no out of network coverage?
Older son has excellent coverage through his university which provides generous reimbursement even when away from the area around his school.
@CT1417
Thanks! We are actually two years into opting in for the coverage but I’m considering having it be his only coverage as it spans the entire year not just the semester. We have kaiser so it wouldn’t work for purposes of coverage at Yale. He is an athlete so it has been useful.
Does he come home? While I could reasonably drive up to NH in less than an hour if my son had to see a doctor, neither of us wanted coverage that can only be used in NH. He doesn’t have any ongoing condition, so it is really just annual physical and dermatologist, but I didn’t like being limited to the Yale NH system, even though that is where I took my children for any pediatric speciality care when they were very young.
@CT1417 good point!
He is currently covered by both Yale and my hubby’s med coverage but he will most likely be on east coast next summer 
Just don’t want to double pay if it can be avoided.
@tonymom Hello! My DD is a student-athlete too. She’s always had Kaiser (Nor Cal) coverage through my employer’s healthcare benefits. Her first year at Yale, we opted out of the extended Yale Health coverage and managed well without it. So we opted out again at the beginning of this year (sophomore year Fall Term), but unfortunately she suffered an injury (on the field) playing a fall pre-season game. Yale Health recommended an MRI but since we had opted out of the extended coverage, they wouldn’t do it unless we agreed to pay out of pocket. I must have called everyone at Kaiser’s HQ to get them to approve the MRI for her to get it done in New Haven to no avail (they would not recognize her injury as “an emergency” even with Yale Health’s doctor’s note from urgent care). Kaiser would only cover the MRI (at our co-pay charge) at a Kaiser hospital. As you know, there are no Kaiser hospitals in the East Coast. Kaiser warned me that if DD was to get the MRI in New Haven (at a non-Kaiser facility) without proper Kaiser approval, the bill for the total MRI cost would have to be paid by us (out of pocket). For my DD’s MRI scan/procedure, the cost of a round trip flight from BDL to SFO was much less than paying for the MRI out of pocket, so my DD waited until Thanksgiving Break (two weeks post injury) to come home and get the MRI at our local Kaiser hospital. Needless to say, DD was very upset as it delayed her recovery. When she returned for Spring Semester we added the extended Yale Health coverage as we knew she was going to need extended care (post injury). Yale prorated the extended Yale Health cost to half. Since my Kaiser coverage"family plan" (to keep DD on it) through my employer is not much more than what I would pay for just me + spouse, I kept DD on it in case she ever needs to go to Kaiser when she’s home visiting (Thanksgiving & Christmas Breaks). She’s staying in New Haven this summer for internships, and I suspect that will be the case next summer as well, so, we plan to continue to keep her in the extended Yale Health plan until she graduates, particularly because of her sport. It truly was a major inconvenience what we experienced during Fall Semester when she injured herself. It was so frustrating in all fronts for obvious reasons. We wouldn’t want a repeat of that. This is a long answer to your question, but I just wanted to share our experience in hopes it might help save another family some headaches.
We looked into this in the fall. As it turns out our family plan would reduce by only $7 month. Now our son has both. Honestly, the Yale health has been wonderful and I prefer it over our regular Insurance. After a short hospitalization, we quickly realized what a value this coverage can be. You can and should contact them but I believe there is emergency coverage out of new haven.
First, congratulations! Now on move in…we are a family from the Midwest so I completely understand where you are coming from on move in.
For starters there will be a camping trip the week leading to move in. I highly recommend that you pack exactly according to the packing list for 2 reasons. 1. It is correct. 2. Your kid can get a lot of there stuff there with them. Including boots and rain gear.
Husband, sibling and I flew Day prior to check in. In our case it was $59 more to fly first class. This allowed us each 2 packed suit cases (6) and (3) carryon. For our checked suitcases, we purchased boxes at Home Depot that fit the exact measurements and packed them. We filled 2 carry ons with our students items and we all shared 1 carry on as we were there only 2 nights. I recommend 2-3. It was just about perfect volume possibly too much.
We used the bedding company I believe it’s called ocm and purchased bedding, towels, trash can, fan, light etc package. It was an awesome value and is delivered to campus at the right day and time. You just pick it up on campus.
A few surprises. Mail boxes cost extra. Laundry service is pretty expensive but with a son, a necessity.
We rented a car but you could just as easily Uber.
Our airport of choice is Ewr. Amtrack goes to it vs other Nyc airports.
Ship first treat package before you leave - yale snail mail is just that. Slow!!!
@SoftballFan
Your story is not unusual as my son has reported similar experiences from other athletes. I think it’s a good investment for student athletes as their risk of injury is higher than others. Thanks for your story. Kaiser is a particular situation and while I’ve been happy with the care here (NorCal as well) I don’t trust their coverage on eastcoast issues.
I suggest that you just trust me on this, as our son seems to be one whose need for a laundry service was second to none. They’re smart; they can learn to do laundry. They are more likely to do laundry than get the dirty stuff into the service bag in time. Doing their own laundry will be added to their “checklist for ‘adulting’” [apologies for the verb].
Fwiw., DS disparages the two people he knows who continued to use the laundry service for all 4 years. In our experience, it is used by half of first years, and only a tiny fraction of second years and above.
Lesson: don’t send kids with many clothes that require complicated laundering, and send almost nothing that requires dry cleaning or ironing.
@IxnayBob – How was graduation weekend? So happy the sun came out yesterday.
Agree about laundry. It is a rite of passage that every student should experience. The boys had an iron & small board in their suite. I don’t know how often it was used, but one of the roommates brought it.
The P.O. box thing ticks me off.
I also agree about the laundry. Everyone should know how to do their own laundry and not rely on a service or spouse!! It is an important life skill that advances independence. About ironing- I brought an old ironing board and iron for my son for those one or two occasions I thought he might use it. He said it was set up in the common room the first week of classes and used constantly by everyone all year long! I never would have guessed, but his suite of 9 guys found it immeasurably useful! Who would have thought??
I sent my older son to college with an iron but did not think to buy a board. Fortunately, someone else on the floor had a board but did not have an iron, so they were all set!
Congrats to all the senior parents! I’m wondering if anyone stayed in the dorms this year and if so where they put you? I’m stressing already about next year!
I too am curious about staying on campus next year! I just got 4 rooms at the Graduate Club, but they are super expensive so I am hoping to give up the rooms if it is okay staying in the dorms