<p>mmm...I wouldn't say I'm pro-JE, I just really like how JE does Culture Draw.</p>
<p>To be fair (tee hee), JE's old Master just retired and over that very dinner we had in New York, he mentioned that he's not sure how Culture Draw is going to change now. Other colleges see Culture Draw as a chore or an impersonal event (ie. yay...20 people go to a Yankees game and that's it), but our Master saw it as a fun, engaging event (4 people join him for dinner and a show each week-ish, even hit up MoMA afterwards). </p>
<p>He was seriously dedicated to the events, but there's actually no guarantee that upcoming generations will have a comparable experience...! Although the Master did mention that future event hosts may trade off between our Dean, fellows, and any future Masters, which is interesting. Will we get as many events as before? Will they be as exciting? Who knows.</p>
<p>So...come to JE at your own risk. And who knows, maybe our renovations will actually be done by the time YOU graduate! Actually, do go to JE for Freshman Year to live in Farnam. It's the best.</p>
<p>JE/TD: Do you guys know which residential colleges are left to renovate and how much longer they will be going on? Do many colleges annex juniors? Thanks.</p>
<p>Morse and Stiles will finish off college renovations, and the 2 newest colleges should begin construction soon after. I believe Morse will be up next after Calhoun finishes. A YDN article from 9/11/08 "Morse, Rethought" (I don't believe we're allowed to link directly on this site) says the grand renovation cycle ends in 2011 when neo-Stiles unveils.</p>
<p>And that's another negative for JE, actually: Err'body gets annexed. I am one of the very few JE '10 people to <em>actually</em> live in JE; pretty much no one else in JE '10 has lived in our college yet.</p>
<p>Fun Fact: JE '10 (plus perhaps Morse '12 and Stiles '13) is a class that is fully capable of never actually living in its college during its time at Yale. Freshman Year: Old Campus (Farnam for JE). Sophomore year: Swing Space (during renovations). Junior year: annexed to Old Campus (McClellan Hall) or live off campus. Senior year: Off campus or be a FroCo (live in Farnam again).</p>
<p>Many sophomores didn't even apply for JE rooms during room draw because of the astronomical odds that they'd get actually get a spot, so they rather applied straight for McClellan rooms or just rejected that whole mess and just lived off campus. My Swing Space roommate last year moaned that he had decided on Yale after hearing how great its residential college system was, and then followed that statement with a sarcastic chuckle, knowing he was likely to get annexed this year--spoiler--he DID get annexed this year! </p>
<p>So from what I've heard, I believe Davenport also has heavy annexation as well but I don't believe it's <em>too</em> much of an issue for most other colleges, at least compared to JE and Davenport(?), but don't quote me on that. Quote me on this: JE annexes like it's going out of style. </p>
<p>Note: living on Old Campus is a beautiful thing (notably Freshman Year), but be warned: TD/Silliman people never get to experience that...!</p>
<p>That stinkss. I saw a video on a random site where a student was giving a tour and he said Berkeley has the same problem. One of the big reasons I like Yale is b/c of the RCs. I know I'll love whichever I'm in (lol you hear that a lot), but I wish we could know before we decide if we're in one of the ones that gets renovated/annexed. :)</p>
<p>JE has suffered due to its longer than usual renovations. However, my time there (when its physical plant was at its nadir) was ironically, very good. Farnam freshman year, Entryway C or D Soph and everyone was a Soph there so it was lots of fun. My mates and I chose to go McClellan both Jr and Sr years, the last year taking the Octet (yes, a suite for eight people: 6 singles and a huge dbl, 2 bath, 2 floors, 2 fireplaces and skylights). I loved my time in JE and our "lessor" status on campus gave us a rebellious edge vis a vis the other colleges. We even managed to be 3rd in Tyng cup my senior year.</p>
<p>I have two sons at Yale. Both are quite happy there. The only negatives I can think of are that Yale will only accept 2 courses for credit from other colleges, and that there are so many distributional requirements. If you understand the requirements going in, you shouldn't have any problems.</p>
<p>This year Calhoun is undergoing renovations. I think Morse is next year and Stiles is the year after (although i could have switched that, but i think that's what it is). and they are the only two left. Non-freshmen in the college that is being renovated live in swing space and the back part of commons dining hall (the main dining hall on campus) is "their" dining hall for the year, but really they just go wherever. </p>
<p>Annexing is something different. There are too many people who want to live on campus for them to fit in the colleges. Freshmen are guaranteed housing on old campus (or in silliman or TD). Sophomores and seniors are guaranteed housing in their colleges. But since there isn't enough room for everyone in the colleges, some juniors are annexed. The number depends on the college-- at least half of JE is annexed junior year i believe, and a lot less for some other ones. The Juniors are still given housing on campus, but not in the colleges. Some are housed on old campus (I know JE goes to McLellon) Some, like Morse, are put in a separate building somewhere. and Others, like Davenport, are in Arnold Hall, which is actually connected to davenport. I think that all colleges have some annexing junior year, but it depends on the college what proportion of the people are annexed. </p>
<p>(this problem should be fixed when the new colleges are built so there is less overcrowding)</p>
<p>So, given the annexing that goes on, how does this impact the residential college experience? Do the students that are annexed still feel a part of their RC? I wasn't aware of the overcrowding situation. At the info session and tour they don't tell you that. They just say that housing is guaranteed for all 4 yrs, and then rave about the residential college system. I therefore drew the logical conclusion that each student lives in his/her RC for all 4 yrs, unless they wanted to move out. To be honest, this completely changes my perception of life at Yale. Can current students please weigh in on this and help me understand the situation fully. Thanks.</p>
<p>And with the economic downturn hitting Yale, I doubt very much that the 2 new RCs will be built anytime soon. So the overcrowding will not be alleviated within the next couple of years.</p>
<p>I was in JE and we chose our annex housing which was in Old Campus both Jr and Sr year. We had no prob feeling fully part of the greater college -- we just had to cross one street to go to our dining hall and visit with our buddies. We loved being JE people in McClellan and were as loyal as those who lived in JE proper. If you get a bad perception of the RC system then you're basing it on wrong info. Read my post above about how NICE McClellan was for us in JE.</p>
<p>As for the new RCs, the enormity of the project (the single largest construction project in the history of New England) has a life of its own despite the hit to Y's endowment. It'll still go on and I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't go off schedule. Y is that rich.</p>
<p>Thank you, T26E4, for your insight. I just wanted to understand the RC system more fully. I was unaware of the annexing that goes on and just wanted to make sure that it doesn't ruin the RC experience.</p>
<p>It shocked me when I first saw it too Desi, just b/c it was never mentioned anywhere. I'm glad I know now, and don't get a shock later on. I also can't help but hope I don't have to be annexed.. :)</p>
<p>araventin: Incoming frosh are more or less randomly assigned their colleges. You select nothing. The exceptions are if you have a sib or legacy parent in a college: you can choose to be in or opt out of a particular college. The Masters prepare their lists sometime in the summer...</p>
<p>Dazzler: the annex for JE in McClellan Hall was prime real estate -- I can't speak for the other residential colleges but we lived like kings, smack in the middle of all the freshmen. People envied us.</p>
<p>I would say being annexed into McClellan Hall, at least how I observed it during this most recent housing cycle, is like giving birth. It is extremely painful, there are tears, shouting, blood...ok not really blood...but after it's all over, the good times begin again.</p>
<p>People actually cried, there was infamous animosity between people who some felt "cheated" their way into JE by making deals to live with seniors on top of the <em>usual</em>, happens-every-year clique-politics when people have to concretely commit to paper, "Yes, I want to live with you" and "No, I do not live with you." </p>
<p>JE is famed for it's incredible spirit, but my goodness, people got really mean towards each other. One suite of particularly attacked people sent out an email to the rest of JE '10 calling out the inappropriateness of the bitterness, citing several expletives they felt were undeserved.</p>
<p>I don't have much JE spirit, so for a second it was nice to see other people stop smiling for once, and realize how messed up college can be. But even I was shocked at how vicious people got over die-hard desire to live in JE. Honestly, I was happy getting to live in JE just because everyone else wanted it so badly and I didn't particularly care. </p>
<p>But anyway, now the baby's born. It's been over a semester in everyone's new homes, and the McClellanians seem happy enough, as are the JEers of course. A senior last year noted that McClellan's like living in Farnam again, and it actually seems like an accurate description. </p>
<p>SO! Right before annexation is dreadful. Survive that and it looks like good times any way you slice it.</p>
<p>Ummm... about 95% of the inhabited surface of the earth?</p>
<p>There are cockroaches if you or your nearby neighbors have food issues. That'll be anywhere -- like your summer apt or your first loft once you graduate.</p>
<p>I never saw a one in my entire time there. A few mice my freshman year -- that was it.</p>
<p>Gah. Cold weather. I think that’s the biggest of my worries. I live in Hawaii, where the temperature rarely goes below the mid-sixties, even in the winter. Usually we stay near high 70s - mid 80s. </p>
<p>If I go to the east coast, I’m going to freeze to death. Either that, or dress like an eskimo come winter time.</p>