we stayed on campus 3 years ago for DD’s graduation. We were in TD. It was perfectly fine. Not glamorous, but we had two rooms in one entrance way and had the small two stall bathroom to ourselves. Bunk beds, no frills, but a nice big common room for hanging out in (as long as some of you are ok sitting on the floor; a soccer chair wouldn’t be a bad idea 
). Way way cheaper than the walkable hotels.
@CT1417 , graduation weekend was great, although perhaps it might have been too much of a good thing. H’s speech was beyond wonderful, even to a Trump supporter in our crowd.
@jrtgsdrule Staying in the dorms worked out well for us. We were in Berkeley and each had our own room. We did share the bathroom with a family across the hallway which we found fairly awkward and amusing at the same time. It certainly isn’t luxurious, but you can’t beat the price and location. We were basically right between Woolsey and Old Campus, Battell Chapel was around the corner, didn’t have to worry about parking/traffic, and there was a Starbucks down the block for very early morning coffee, I.e. 6 a.m. as Blue State didn’t open until later in the day.
If my daughter ends up attending Yale, we will stay in the dorms again.
@momofmusician17 It was cool weather this year. I heard that the new colleges have a/c they could turn on for parents but I don’t know if that’s true. Do they put everyone in a particular college or are people spread out? Thanks and congrats!
@Musicmom2015. I don’t know anything about air conditioning. We stayed in my son’s residential college. I don’t know if that was true of everyone, but the family across the hall also had a son in Berkeley.
Also, we paid $177 per person. You could check in any time after 10 a.m. Saturday morning and had to be checked out by noon on Tuesday.
Graduation weekend was beautiful. The weather has been very cold & pretty sucky for May. Monday was gorgeous. I can’t believe it’s all over that quickly!! Congratulations to all of you! Job well done!!
We bought a steamer in lieu of an iron and it was the best option for my daughter. She said that those that had laundry service were teased about it and everyone just does their own. She did have a few things taken from the laundry room so she was careful how she washed what and when. She worked graduation this year and was lucky enough to lead her RC in processions and was able to watch the class day speaker as a result. She loved all of that and made a lot of money in a short amount of time. I would highly recommend working commencement. Next year is her turn!!
I found some past posts on this thread about outside scholarships and how it works at Yale. However, I have some additional questions and I’m hoping someone on here has direct experience with this. My DD has received a few outside scholarships. I’m very clear about the fact that Yale allows outside scholarships to fund the student contribution and any funds beyond that gets deducted from the Yale grant award.
My question is more of a logistical one. How does the student access those funds for expenses? And what expenses are allowed – books, laundry, PO box fee, printing, travel back home during holidays? I know you can purchase a laptop and printer as well – how does that work?
I am helping my DD build a budget for her expenses but just want to be clear on how those funds are accessed.
FWIW we are paying our portion of tuition and r&b through the Yale payment plan which is a separate account. All of this feels so confusing and disorienting, so any guidance is much appreciated.
Looking for insight into Yale health coverage - D will start doctoral program now. She technically can stay on our insurance one more year before aging out and she has stayed on it while at Yale for master’s. That worked well since we have Fed. BC/BS. We are spoiled since there are in-network doctors everywhere with this and even overseas could find providers. Some of comments upthread make it sound as though care away from Yale is limited to emergencies.
Yale coverage was described in earlier post as a HMO type of deal. So what does that mean for D when she comes home in the summer (which she still might do for a few summers). So if she had to go to doctor during the summer (or when elsewhere for conference or summer fellowship) for something like sinus infection or sports injury that wasn’t an emergency would it be out of pocket? Or just paying higher percentage. I do realize that for regular care like gyn or allergist she will have to change to someone up there.
@scmom12 — AFAIK, any care outside of New Haven Health would not be reimbursed at all, unless the care were a true emergency. When I inquired about this last summer, I think someone responded that there is some sort of coverage for students who are abroad on Yale-sponsored trips during the summer months, but I do not have details.
Can your D continue on COBRA for 36 months after she ages out?
Individual coverage through Connecticare runs $440/month with a $3K deductible applying to all services, so you might want to see how the COBRA option prices out. Good luck!
Hmmm. She will be in her program at least 5 years, so four beyond when she ages out of ours. I guess we will see what information they give us from her program - there are several examples of people being elsewhere for extended periods so this can’t be a new question. I don’t want to pay for insurance (on our current plan since she’s part of an “and family” thing so we won’t save much when we drop her) and Yale pays her insurance as part of her compensation package but it’s not like they’ll give her the value of that in cash. In other words, we don’t want to ignore a benefit and then have to pay a lot for an alternative. In general it probably makes sense to take it, it’s just not anything we’ve had to think about before (again, I know we are lucky).
I have a dorm question - are students allowed to bring electric keyboards? Just curious as to whether or not our son can/should bring his.
@moosiechica88 keyboards are allowed. Will suite mates be thrilled at it being played in the suite? Maybe not so much. That being said, there are lots of kids at Yale who bring instruments to school, and there are plenty of practice rooms
Electric keyboards can be played/practiced using headphones. Saxophones; not so much
My son plays electric guitar- he brought amps and played with headphones too. Keyboards are not a problem. He may want his keyboard at school to join or start a band!
Hi,
If we send supplies to his Yale Station mail box will the “dorm movers” help transport items to dorm? Want to take train to New Haven and buy everything via Amazon.
thanks
@tdy123 Haha! I thought the same thing but then I remembered that he can use headphones. At home, he doesn’t unless someone is sleeping or watching something on tv.
@jrtgsdrule Not sure if he’ll start or join a band, but he loves to play as a means of relaxation and I don’t think he’ll always want to jaunt down to a practice room. He takes breaks from studying and plays, so it would be ideal to have one in his room He may decide to send it back home after the first semester if he finds he’s not using it or it’s in the way, but I suspect he’ll want it there at least through his first year…
Thanks to all who replied - you guys are keeping me sane in this whole process, and I’m sure I’ll have LOADS more questions as time goes by.
Esteemed Yale parents of graduates: when did you book/plan accommodations and dinner reservations for graduation? We are rising junior parents…should we be on “it” now?
Simple answer: as soon as reservations open. You’ll have to check the policy for the restaurant or hotel in question. Usually one year (plus or minus a week or two) for hotels and two months for restaurants, but it varies. Note that hotels in downtown NH roughly double their prices and most require a three day non-refundable minimum. Consider staying in Milford or other nearby cities, or consider the dorming option (offered fall of senior year).
I’ll also add that you can check things out by trying to reserve a room for next year’s graduation. You could try now and see how things look.