<p>No transportation, Debruns. That rules out quite a few.</p>
<p>TutuTaxi: Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll check them out. D is not in either Silliman or TD but she walks everywhere. If anyone else has suggestions, I’ll add them to the list and let you know what I find out:)</p>
<p>[Jobella</a> Salon & Spa - New Haven & Branford](<a href=“http://www.jobellasalon.com/manicure.html]Jobella”>http://www.jobellasalon.com/manicure.html)
There is a hair place on Broadway, I don’t know if they do manicures.</p>
<p>Hi there…can I revive the post office issue? S is a freshman, so we’re new to all this. I read some posts about how awful the PO is, but I thought perhaps they were exaggerated. Well, I sent a package USPS Priority Mail from Washington DC area. Normally if I’ve sent something this way to CT (I have family there), it takes as little as one day, but two tops. It’s now been about a week and no package in sight. Any advice on getting packages to them? He’s in JE (Farnam for this year); I know that different residential colleges have different rules on where packages may be sent.
Thanks! If I get any good answers, I’ll tell S to share his now-stale cookies with you :-)</p>
<p>My2sunz, Did you do delivery confirmation? We have sent packages via USPS and DS has received ok. However, for convenience we have since sent fedex (ground) to his college, and he gets an email advising package is there and he picks up in his same building.
BTW…if this is deemed a good answer, I’ll have your son keep those now-stale cookies. Afterall, who wants to deprive a college student of now-stale cookies from parents :D</p>
<p>I always use the USPS Priority flat rate boxes for care packages and haven’t had any problem, usually takes 3 days from the west coast. However, as stated before, we have had problems with opened mail that my D1 has mailed from Y. While I have used FedEx/UPS to the RC, that has only been in instances where it can’t reasonably be shipped to a PO Box, like a recent external HD ($3 to send UPS and $32 USPS).</p>
<p>Sorry about the stale cookies, but he’ll know you cared enough to bake for him!</p>
<p>My son wound up deciding against the PO Box this year. We’ve sent packages to the RC Master’s office (it’s not JE) via FedEx or UPS, or we’ve sent them to the office of a student organization where he spends a lot of time.</p>
<p>I have also used USPS Priority Mail, usually the flat rate boxes, with no problem–but I always get the delivery confirmation so that I can track the box. That way I can see exactly when it is delivered to the Yale P.O., and let my S know. Occasionally there is a delay on them getting the notification slip into the mailboxes, even though online it shows that it is there. Once, I even called up the postmaster there to have him check for sure and he went immediately to put the notification slip out. But, boxes have always gotten there, and for us (and his residential college) it’s the best method to use.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info on mailing packages! The good news is that he did get the box, later than I would have expected, but not as late as I had thought (ie - he called today and when I asked him about it he said “oh yeah…I did get that…forgot to tell you…I think it was on Tuesday” grrrr…)<br>
But good advice for future mailings :-)</p>
<p>On the plus side, I’m sure he didn’t think to tell me because he is in heaven and having a wonderful time…I’ve never heard him happier. He LOVES Yale. :-D</p>
<p>Hello all…now that the freshmen are settled in how are they doing? Mine is very happy but seems sleep deprived!</p>
<p>My daughter told my husband yesterday she was taking a rare mid-day nap, exhausted, but happy. I hope once she settles in more, her sleep patterns will improve a little (but I doubt it) She likes 3 of her classes a lot, says the food is great and most things are “awesome”.</p>
<p>My D loves everything- her classes, extracurriculars, her suite and suitemates, even the food. She has not encountered much alcohol or drunkenness and she feels relatively safe. We knew that Yale was going to be a great fit for her, but did not anticipate that it would be so perfect.</p>
<p>My S has basically the same experience as vicariousparent’s D (though he has not mentioned the alcohol factor…hmmmm.) He literally said “This is like Disneyland - the happiest place on earth”. And he is not generally a “glass half full” kind of guy. We are thrilled that he is so happy there.<br>
BTW - about food - did you know that you can subscribe to the menu and every day Yale emails you what’s being served that day? I want to go there just to eat the food - it sounds amazing!</p>
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If your D/S is still a freshman, it could be even better in sophomore. DS said the sophomore year was the best year because all suitmates know each other very very well by that time, and no one starts to study abroad yet.</p>
<p>My D didn’t bring up the alcohol factor, but I have asked her now a couple of times about whether she has encountered it in any significant way- and she said “Not at all”. And it isn’t as though she is deliberately trying to steer clear of alcohol or that she is not a social person. She has made plenty of new friends and enjoys hanging out with them. </p>
<p>I am sure there are times and places where alcohol flows freely, and I’m sure my D will encounter drinking and drunkenness in her four years, but her initial experience suggests that it isn’t a dominant part of the campus culture. What does seem to be a dominant part of the Yale culture is music- lots of it, in many different forms. And that suits her just fine.</p>
<p>ETA:
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<p>Maybe its the alcohol talking 
Just kidding.</p>
<p>Not to burst any bubbles, but D1, a froco did send one frosh to the hospital after they passed out from drinking. Luckily they had a suitemate that was responsible enough to report the incident and make sure the kid was taken care of. This was during Camp Yale week, and it seems things have settled down some with the onset of classes. I asked her how kids get alcohol, fake IDs and Greek parties she said.</p>
<p>I’m bored enough to bring some truth to you guys:</p>
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<p>He sleep patterns will not improve, she will tire of the food by November, but should remain happy at the awesomeness of the place as long as she doesn’t encounter terrible people (which sadly are admitted here in higher than desirable quantities), or get screwed over by a class.</p>
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<p>That is because she hasn’t gone out ever or was placed into an entryway in which drinking does not occur frequently, the latter of which is a rarity at Yale. She also might be hiding it from you - don’t assume anything from what she says.</p>
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<p>Alcohol is as much a dominant part of the culture as is music. If you don’t want to find music, you can avoid it, just as you can avoid alcohol. In both cases they are not entirely unavoidable, and in both cases, they are very prevalent across a variety of social scenes. A capella groups have inductees drinking on Tap Night - if any of you saw the YDN picture of the girl with the jug, you can be well assured any liquid contained therein was comprised partially of ethanol. Drinking laws are not enforced here - please don’t pretend that underage drinking does not occur in large quantities.</p>
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<p>That is, quite likely, because he is drinking. If you PM a name I can confirm for you.</p>
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<p>The incompetence of Yale Dining is embarrassing, honestly. The food is given ornate names, but is generally is the same chicken on pasta dressed up slightly differently or given another terrible sauce with crappy vegetables or uninspired presentation. It sounds great, but after a couple months you learn to read past the facade they produce and realize “yay, another day hitting up the salad bar/grill for a hamburger”.</p>
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<p>I know a kid who went to the hospital three times for alcohol poisoning - its not unprecedented. Even though its Yale, it doesn’t change the fact that a lot of young adults like drinking. Generally, they are just more intelligent about it, have a better support network, and know how to handle themselves when inebriated. It’s why Yale treats us like adults rather than immature kids like most universities.</p>
<p>I agree, the food will become less exciting, (I actually thought it was so-so when I ate there but that was at an orientation) but she is a vegetarian and likes her options very much.Compared to other colleges we looked at she is eating very well.
I know quite a few Yale police officers and you have to report and take a student to the hospital if they are very intoxicated or passed out. Yalies drink like everyone else but they also have many bar options around the campus, so you might not see it in residence halls the same way as a more isolated campus. They have cracked down though on bars that let underage drinkers in though. Yale doesn’t disicpline the same way as other colleges so their numbers are a bit lower, but it will never be Dartmouth, never known as a “party Ivy” .
My daughter doesn’t drink (none of my children seem to like it) and said her suitemates don’t seem to either, but others do. Intelligence doesn’t mean someone has common sense and believe me the stories over the years from staff can support that, but most students understand the implications of letting someone very sick or passed out, stay that way.</p>
<p>My S, a junior, has really liked the food for two years and has found the kitchen staff to be wonderful. This year, however, he is really disappointed with the switch to premade salads instead of a standard salad bar.</p>
<p>Food quality is relative, no? Certainly the meals can be uninspiring at times but compared to the general slop I’ve seen at other colleges, I can say Yale surpassed all I’ve seen.</p>
<p>I do recall humping out to the nearby KFC with 3 roomies and pigging out on some fried chicken – kept a bag at the end of the table and just tossed bones into it. Hmmmm… great food memory. Unhhh… chick-en (in a Homer simpson voice)</p>
<p>Students complaining about campus food? Gambling at Rick’s? I have heard more than one college president say that as long as it’s food they are complaining about, there is no need to worry. (Not an attitude that helps, but that’s the way things are.) I suspect that anyone reading this would tire of even a 5 star sooner or later–probably later, if restricted to its menu. This doesn’t mean things couldn’t be better, it only means that complaining about food is part of what students do.</p>