<p>My son went by himself to Bulldog Days and loved it. I don’t recall if they have parents’ activities or not, but you don’t really need to go.
As for parent’s weekend, we enjoyed it freshman year, but didn’t spend much time with him because he was in a concert, marching band, etc. You probably won’t go in the later years, so I would say go.</p>
<p>Some parents do accompany their kids to Bulldog Days, but many students go on their own. My son preferred to go without parents in tow. </p>
<p>It’s fun to go to the official Parents’ Weekend at least once; there are panel discussions and other events designed for new Yale parents, and the campus is bursting with activity, especially in the performing arts. It’s worth going just to see the YSO/Glee Club/Concert Band perform (and I don’t have kid in any of those groups). But as others have mentioned, hotels that weekend are very expensive and the campus is a zoo. So I think once is enough. </p>
<p>Fogfog – Is your son a recruited athlete who has already gotten the nod from Yale?</p>
<p>We did go to Bulldog days. They have a few events for parents including a reception where you can meet the Dean and other people from the admissions office, and also meet other parents. There may also be an event in Woolsey Hall, though if it happened I can’t remember anything about it. We did not see our D during the event- she stayed with a student host. </p>
<p>Bulldog days is primarily a recruiting event. If your kid has already decided to attend Yale then there is probably not much reason for you to go. For a parent, it would be worth going if the kid is trying to choose between Yale and another school <em>and</em> if he/she would value input from you <em>or</em> if you are trying to decide whether you want to fund your kid’s attendance at Yale. Or, as was true in our case, for logistic reasons- it would not have been convenient for our non-driver D to quickly transport herself to (and between) the three colleges she was visiting that week. Having a parent to drive her around helped her focus on making her selection, and minimized the number of days she missed from high school.</p>
<p>Hi Again
Thanks. May consider the Parent Weekend next fall and if our student wants to go to Bulldog Days for the fun, then fine. If our student would stay with a host student–then there is no need for me/us to come up except to enjoy the museum, restaurants, New Haven and the Omni ;o) Our student is chomping at the bit to GO ;o)
Yes our student is recruited and chose Yale. Very exciting here.
I just thought that if there were any reservations I need to make–I should do it before the SCEA results come out and it gets harder to make those reservations/bookings.
I now have a res for move in weekend. I will check Parents Weekend–if that posted date is correct.</p>
<p>I would strongly urge you to send your student to Bulldog Days, even if the decision to attend is already made. My son met a lot of people there, and learned a lot about the different campus organizations.</p>
<p>Thanks Hunt^ and all
I think it would be great for kiddo to go–
Any clue when that weekend usually falls? The only conflict could be a sports related event since its not like juggling SAT/ACT testing or such like the spring of Jr yr. and AP exams are in May. Did you say April?</p>
<p>Bulldog Days are always in April, but the week has varied I think. All three of us went with our older son, as he was one of those who had applied to schools without actually visiting campus (couldn’t afford many college visits) and before he made his final decision wanted to make sure it was all he had hoped for. (It was). We parents had a great time, seeing everything for the first time, attending the panel presentations for parents, etc. For second son, however, we didn’t go along. He was pretty familiar with Yale, of course, from his older brother–but went to Bulldog Days anyway, and it was well worth it.</p>
<p>I guess I would modify my advice if the parents haven’t visited Yale at all–if that’s the case, as Clarimom suggests, you might get a lot out of Bulldog Days, too.</p>
<p>As others have said, some go with parents, some without. Ours did the later. If he is leaning towards going by himself, definitely encourage him to do so! </p>
<p>Congrats btw, from what I’ve heard he should expect to have a great time!!</p>
<p>I went with my child to Bulldog Days, though to say I went “with him” is not exactly accurate. We traveled together, but that was about it 
We arrived on campus and he was greeted at the gate and off he went. We passed each other on Broadway the next day; he was walking with a group of kids and he gave me the “hi, I see you, but please keep walking” look…<br>
The main reason that I went is because although he had visited the campus, he went with my husband (who is an alumnus); I’d not been on campus in about 17 years. It was great for both of us to go. Even though Yale was his first choice, it helped for him to go to confirm that he was making the right choice and it was good for me to see it as a parent. There were some events for parents and I did a few of them, but I also just spent some time walking around the campus.<br>
If you don’t live too far away and haven’t been, it’s worth going. As for the student, I think it’s worth going even if they have already visited.
Good luck and congrats! Yale is a wonderful school.</p>
<p>Other suggestions on places to stay near Yale: We have stayed in a Hampton Inn and in a Residence Inn in Milford, CT, which is not too far from Yale. I think there is also a Springfield Inn and Suites there. The motels are located at Exits 35 and 36 on I-95, while the Yale exit is 48 or 49. (I had read some negative reports on a Hampton Inn that is closer to Yale–the issues may have been fixed by now.)</p>
<p>These hotels are fairly typical of their chains. They do seem to raise the rates during special Yale events such as Parents’ Weekend and graduation, but they are still relatively reasonable. </p>
<p>I originally got these suggestions from CC, and am happy to pass them along.</p>
<p>Thanks, Quantum! We stayed at the Hampton Inn in West Haven during move-in this year (don’t know if that’s the one you’re referring to) but it was fine.</p>
<p>Only issue that we have is that we prefer to take the train vs. driving to NH, esp. just for 2 days (6+ hour drive v. 4.5 hours by train - and no stress!) so we pretty much need to stay in one of the local hotels if we do that. Guess we’ll figure it out soon. Thank you for the suggestions though; may need them if we do indeed drive up next fall.</p>
<p>One option I have used is taking the train, and then renting a car right at the train station. That allowed me to stay at more reasonably priced hotels in West Haven, Milford, etc. and even with the rental car costs it was w-a-a-a-y cheaper than staying at one of the bumped-up priced New Haven hotels. When the weekend is done, drop off the car and hop right on the train. Very convenient.</p>
<p>That is very smart, Clarimom. It is easy to forget that cars can be rented at many train stations.</p>
<p>Wow, Clairmom - I think you may have solved our problem! I really never thought about that we could rent a car at the train station. I’m going to look into it. Thanks!</p>
<p>Glad I could help! I think it was Avis if I’m remembering correctly.</p>
<p>The New Haven Hotel is excellent, and very convenient for Yale…less than 10 min. walk. Stayed there for Move in weekend…got a great rate. However they do hike prices for Parents weekend erc.</p>
<p>D is Coca-Cola semi and SCEA hopeful. We know it’s a long-shot, but if she gets both, Bulldog Days and Finalists weekend conflict. Any others who hope to have this problem?</p>
<p>“If advanced, the students will be among a total of 252 finalists who will travel to Atlanta April 14 17, 2011 to attend the Coca−Cola Scholars Weekend.”</p>
<p>“April 13, 2011-April 15, 2011 Yale Bulldog Days 2011 Description: Admitted students weekend.”</p>
<p>^A nice problem to have. My son had a conflict for a portion of BDD and attended only part of it. That worked out fine. Lots of flying, but perhaps your daughter could split her time between New Haven and Atlanta?</p>
<p>SO
For Parents Weekend–If you are staying outside of New Haven…how difficult is it to park and then walk around the campus? The Marriot room goes rom 159 per night to 359 per night!
And outlying area hotels do that too.
Omni shows no availability already and one of the hotels wants prepaid in full…</p>