<p>My son did the FOOT trip and enjoyed it very much. I don’t think my daughter is going to do any of the programs, though.</p>
<p>My daughter did FOOT last year. She’s definitely not the outdoorsy type, but she’s on the shy side, and we thought it would be good for her to get to know some other students ahead of time. She chose a “middle-of-the-road” (Vermont), but 6 day trip. To be honest, it was a bit beyond her abilities/stamina. The leaders were more than nice to her, but she felt exhausted and somewhat frustrated. So if your kid isn’t necessarily a hiker, you might opt for a shorter/less-strenuous trip, or do one of the other pre-orientation activities (or none at all-- my daughter doesn’t feel it helped her particularly, since once she arrived in her RC, that was the focus of her social life). So I’d say if this activity has big appeal for your kid, go for it, but otherwise, don’t necessarily feel that it’s “required”.</p>
<p>S2 didn’t do a FOOT trip- he had work up until mid August and then wisdom teeth out after that. One of his suite-mates did it and appeared to be well bonded with his FOOT group for the first month or so, but then drifted into his own suite/res college group. I think it’s a fine activity to ease your way into Yale, but not absolutely necessary. S2 has never said “I wish I did FOOT”, but that being said, I’m sure it’s fun.</p>
<p>My daughter did not remain friends with her FOOT group after a month or so of college. She also came back to move-in with a bad reaction to a spider bite that made it hard to walk. So I think it was a mixed experience. That said, DS will decide for himself. The Harvest trip sounds really different and fun to me. One downside of the trips is that (at least for Harvest) the kids can only bring what they need for the trip which takes away from being able to cram a lot into suitcases to save on shipping.</p>
<p>I believe they tell you they cannot store your stuff for any of the trips but since parents need little for those two days of move-in, we just checked and brought DS stuff with us. Unless you have FF status and flying in with your kid entitles you to free baggage check-in for all, sending stuff UPS ground is pretty competitive with checked baggage fees for continental US travelers.</p>
<p>Our student didn’t do FOOT because K1 had been away all summer and only came home for 10 days to shop/pack for college. So getting to FOOT would have been hard and not given us any time together.
Also with team - that created an instant group. And FroCos certainly have the kids all plugged in a busy right away.</p>
<p>As for packing for college etc–K! packed and moved to college in only 3 duffle bags–which included sheets/towels/office supplies and 4 seasons of clothes/shoes etc. etc. Carried on the laptop and I carried on the monitor. </p>
<p>In route to New Haven we stopped by the BB& B and picked up the lamps, comforter, area rug and also got some odds and ends at Walmart like laundrey detergent and shampoo etc.</p>
<p>Now with storage and moving etc into the RC from Old Campus – K1 said they (k1 and roommate) will fit all they need to in the boxes allowed by the RC. And the futon is being moved over to the room etc. The flat screen and k1’s monitor will be put in “valuable storage”. In fact, K1 said given that everything will be over at the RC, there won’t be any real reason for us to go in August to help with move-in.
I had planned on replacing the rug…yet k1 says they will figure it out.
So organized and independent! I really wanted to see the new suite–which I think should be pretty amazing.</p>
<p>hey all,
so i wanted you parents to look at this thread and help me with some querys?
please?
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1333164-17er-yale-16er-yale-supplement-answers.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/yale-university/1333164-17er-yale-16er-yale-supplement-answers.html</a>
thanks! :)</p>
<p>I noticed that FOOT and Harvest Programs before freshman moving in day, so where should the students put their stuff. Should parents wait there to help them move in or support them emotionally?</p>
<p>
The way it worked for us a couple of years ago is that our son packed for the FOOT trip, and we brought the rest of his stuff up on move-in day. There were a bunch of people from his residential college there to help unload the car and bring everything up to his room. Then we unpacked his stuff and put it away. About noon he arrived from the FOOT trip. His mom had even made his bed. What a scam! Seriously, it all works very smoothly.</p>
<p>On the housing form, it asks if you are claiming the right to live in a particular residential college because of a parent, sibling, etc. People have made comments that if a legacy doesn’t want to live the parent’s RC, then they will get assigned to another RC. But the way the question is written, it seems that if you are a legacy and you put nothing down, then you still have an equal chance to be assigned to any of the 12 RCs, including the one that you didn’t exercise your right to live in. Or is Yale somehow cross checking this, noting that the student is a legacy and has not opted to live in the parent’s RC, and limiting their random assignment to the other 11 RCs. </p>
<p>My kid has nothing against Dad’s RC, but seems to feel that the assignment to a RC should be left to the fates (although I think she envisions it more like the sorting hat). I’m just trying to understand how this works.</p>
<p>My understanding is that if you don’t put anything, you will be randomly assigned, and it could be to the legacy RC. As a legacy you have the option of being in the legacy college, or of being in any college but that–but I don’t think you have to exercise that option. I don’t think the sorting is entirely random–for example, the colleges are all gender-balanced. But they don’t do things like put all the athletes in one college. Each one really does have a cross-section.</p>
<p>mother<em>of</em>perl, we went down this road last year, as my daughter had legacy through her father. She wasn’t particularly thrilled with his RC, so she didn’t elect to live there. She did not, however, state that she didn’t want to live there. </p>
<p>Partly her rationale was like your daughter’s - to let fate decide her RC. It was partly strategic, however, as taking her father’s RC out of the running would have increased the odds, very slightly, of being placed into one of the two other colleges where she definitely did not want to live.</p>
<p>It’s interesting that you should mention the Sorting Hat, because at 11:55, 5 minutes before the decisions were available, we found ourselves standing before the Sorting Hat in Harry Potter World. She ended up getting sorted into her father’s RC.</p>
<p>Thanks Hunt and CCParent. That is very helpful.</p>
<p>^in the true sorting-hat spirit one must consider the fact that even without requesting a family RC, one might be ‘destined’ to be in it! :D</p>
<p>Hunt, your FOOT/campus move in story is so funny. I had wondered about that and how the kids arrive after the parents have brought in the gear.</p>
<p>In our case, we arrived with K1…who hopped out of the car to get the key etc.
K1 was in front of the Old Campus bldg before we were pulled up as we had to go around the block… The upperclassmen had our rental car unloaded and everything was up 3 flights of stairs amazingly fast.
K1 and the roommate went to the post office for their keys.
The only thing we did was help assemble the futon.
Other than that–K1 absolutely positiviely didn’t want anything done.
I did however pick up trash and stuff as things got opened/emptied and took it to the entryway landing.
We got a bite to eat at the lunch/snack tent on the green in OC and then did a walking tour because DH and k2 hadn’t been there before. During that time I think K1 did some unpacking.
We met K1 at the Masters Tea and then K1 split for a team mtg…we met up for dinner…and then didn’t see k1 til the next morning for convocation at which time the kids were already making friends and it was obvious that they were all ready for the parents to leave.
Lunch at the RC and off we went.
This fall K1 expects to fly in alone and get the room set up–as now the stuff will be stored in the RC so alot less has to be brought in from elsewhere. Too bad that the U doesn’t do a shuttle to the Walmart etc. as it would be cheaper than the more local Rite Aid or whatever…</p>
<p>You can definitely state that you do not want to be in the RC of a sibling or parent so that you are randomized amongst the remaining RCs. My guess is that most legacy or sibling students either want that connection or don’t want it and use that space to denote that preference.</p>
<p>My understanding is that you can definitively request to be <em>in</em> a parent’s RC, but you can not ask to NOT be in a parent’s RC – you’ll be randomly sorted. This is in opposition to treatment of siblings. You can request to NOT be placed in a sibling’s RC.</p>
<p>According to my D, you can only request not to be in a sibling’s RC if the sibling’s time at Yale overlaps. She said there did not appear to be a way to opt out of my RC.</p>
<p>Hunt,
Did you and your S know his exact room assignment before you arrived? When does Yale give that info out?
How did you get into the room? Did you pickup your S’s key or was the room already open?
How did the “choosing” of the bed, desk, room (if applicable) work? Was it first-come first-served or did these decisions get made when everyone was there? Did you decide for your S?
As a veteran of college and BS move-ins, I cannot imagine doing the unpacking, choosing and organizing for my child… go figure!</p>
<p>Current parents,
What is the story with PRINTERS?
In Old Campus, most especially.
Did your child find it useful to have his/her own printer in the room on OC? What are the rules at Yale about this?</p>