Hi @jrtgsdrule! Thank you so much for your kind words and pleasant welcome.
It’s really ease our minds to know that our daughter will be in a place that she can call home away from home.
We are going through a mixed of emotions but it’s nice to hear nice words from our now Yale family.
Please, don’t hesitate to give us your advices, we will be more than welcome to receive them and make the process easier and smooth.
A bunch of us first-year parents are hanging out on Facebook at “Yale College Parents and Families”
@jrtgsdrule, yes, it does go quickly, but there seems to be something in the water they feed the seniors, because my son and his friends were (with an occasional exception) ready to open new chapters in their lives.
They are well prepared for life after undergrad (killing it!). What a great 4 years it has been for him, and for us watching him.
@IxnayBob - My son felt the same way. He like being at Yale and took advantage of the many opportunities that are available to Yale students, but was also very excited to move on to the next stage of his life.
He started his job in California at the beginning of this month. However, he hasn’t completely escaped the study environment as he just started a twelve week training course that is 11hours a day six days a week. The big difference being that he is getting paid to study this time!! 
@jrtgsdrule - @IxnayBob is absolutely correct. We have watched our kids go through four years of Yale with all the tears and triumphs. The Class of 2018 has scattered all over the world in post graduate studies, working and traveling. I am loving hearing about the grads, especially those who are in NY spending most of their paycheck on an apartment smaller than a Yale suite. But they are loving it.
You will get to know the parents on this forum over your child’s four years. They will share your triumphs, frustrations, fears and always be a listening ear. Welcome to the Yale family.
Ok, I need some rowing parents to help me out here. My son was hoping to be a walk-on for lightweight crew this year and spent all summer in contact with members, new recruits, and the captain. But he said that ever since move-in, all the crew team does is party and drink. He is SO not a party kid and is really disappointed, so much so that he’s thinking of not rowing after all because he feels he won’t fit into their party culture. The whole party thing is one of the reasons he refused a recruitment offer at another school. Is it always like this, or is this more of a “blowing off steam before school starts” kind of thing? I’m not worried about my son - he is his own person and makes his own decision. But he came to me for advice and I don’t want to encourage him one way or another unless I know more about the culture of Yale’s rowing program.
I’d put it down to exuberance by some at being back on campus, before the real work (in the classroom and on the river) starts. There’s a reason they call this time of year “Camp Yale” (https://admissions.yale.edu/bulldogs-blogs/joshua/2010/11/15/camp-yale)…
I happen to know (slightly) a current Yale lightweight oarsman who I don’t believe is as described; at least one parent on this thread has a lot more direct exposure, though (I believe). I’d encourage your son to give it a little time.
I don’t know anything about crew specifically. But I agree that Camp Yale week is more of a party week than is typical during the semester.
@moosiechica88
As described above Camp Yale is the period before classes begin and tends to be the time people catch up, socialize and yes some drink. The LTWT team is not a party team and is, in fact, dry most of their season…unlike some other teams and most HWT teams elsewhere. If your son is interested still I’d encourage him to contact the current team captain. I’m a bit biased but that team is filled with really great guys who are very focused and mature. It’s an amazing team culture.
@tonymom That’s good to hear. My son was relating horror stories that I won’t share here but it seems like the drinking with the LTWT team has been off the charts this past weekend. He’s not one to exaggerate or be judgmental, so if he’s saying it was uncomfortable, I take him at his word. His friend is a women’s rowing recruit and she said she was experiencing a similar environment in the women’s team. It just seems more than just “normal” partying. There has been a very “out of control” level of intoxication from what they both have said. But I was encouraging them along the lines of what you stated, that the group is most likely not normally this way and it may just be the typical “let loose before school starts” kind of thing.
Another suicide. Just heartbreaking. Prayers for the family and friends who will meet this new school year with heavy hearts.
@tonymom Did you get an email about this? I only heard about it through the Yale Parents FB page but people there were saying they got an email from Yale. If so, how do I go about getting these emails? My son is JE and i wish I would’ve known before finding out on FB 
We got an email about it from Yale. If your son is a freshman, I think he may have to add you to the email list somehow. I can’t recall the details.
@moosiechica88
Yes I got info through email. I’d email JE dean and ask to be added to Yale parent email list. Think it’s easy enough…
It’s surprising that you didn’t get that e-mail, @moosiechica88 - in addition to the people on this thread, I know other Yale parents who received it. As @Musicmom2015 says, your son may need to take steps to ensure that you receive these kinds of communications. I’m guessing somewhere in all the forms that are filled out as part of the matriculation process, there’s something where parents’ emails are specified.
This bears on the larger point that Yale and other universities are compelled to treat students as adults for purposes of things like HIPAA, and your son needs to take affirmative steps to ensure that you have access to certain information, can make treatment decisions, etc. It can be jarring when you first realize that your child has no obligation to share his grades with you!
That aside, the Yale College Dean’s Office tends to be very proactive in communications around sad events like this, e-mailing everyone on campus and the parents to provide all kinds of detail about on-campus counseling/chaplain services/hours/telephone numbers/locations, etc. The Head of JE, Mark Saltzman, also invited everyone to join him at his home last night. There’s a pretty strong focus on community at Yale, in Yale College and in the smaller communities of the residential colleges, which becomes especially apparent in these kinds of circumstances.
According to this morning’s issue of the Yale Daily News, “in an email to his college, Head of Jonathan Edwards Mark Saltzman wrote that Lawrence suffered from bipolar disorder and “struggled valiantly to live with the pain of his affliction.” Saltzman included a message from Lawrence’s family thanking members of the Yale community for their understanding. It remains unclear precisely when Lawrence died, where he died and how old he was.”
I agree with everything @DeepBlue86 wrote above. The Heads, Deans, FroCos and Health Services staff will do everything they can to provide emotional and practical support for students and staff. And from what I know about Yale students, they will be a tremendous source of strength, kindness and caring for one another.
I follow a few Yale groups and the Yale Daily News on FB. It allows me to feel that I know what is taking place on campus, even if that is just an illusion.
I also received the email, but have no idea where the picked up the email address they are using as it is not the same one linked to the bursar bills.
Yale parents I need some help for ideas…
Kiddo has Strep and I want to send him a care package but it can’t be delicious food as he is a student athlete who does a weight cut sport. Looking for fun ideas for care package that aren’t foodie focused…
Old fashioned comic books. One of my classmates used to bring in boxes of them during the reading period. Great retro diversion.
Order him a live plant/succulent, easy to care for, both DS and DD have them in their rooms.
You can also have Get Well Soon balloons delivered.