This summer, I’ll be living in Branford College at Yale. Whats it like/how is on-campus living at Yale? I heard yale dorms don’t have A/C, is that as bad as it seems? Whats there to do? How big is Yale’s campus? I pretty much have no idea what to expect so any comments/experiences on Yale living are appreciated.
Look under SPACES for photos: https://branford.yalecollege.yale.edu
In terms of living in a pretty place at Yale, you can’t beat Branford. It’s one of the oldest colleges, built in the 1920s, before the college system was even in place. It’s all Collegiate Gothic, with a level of detail in the architecture you could never get today, even with the close-to-a-billion dollars they spent on the new colleges. Yale’s most prominent landmark, Harkness Tower, is part of Branford, right at the main entrance. And you get a view of two smaller towers on the border between Branford and Saybrook, too. It’s a pretty magical location.
There are four internal courtyards – one huge one that’s one of the best public spaces at Yale, and three small ones from which most of the rooms are accessed.
I don’t think any of the entryways are more than three stories tall, and that’s nice, too. Most of the rooms will look out on the internal courtyards, on the large courtyard, on the Old Campus, or on Jonathan Edwards college. Only a few rooms windows will overlook busy York Street. The dining hall is beautiful (if it’s in use during the summer).
Having recently carried a refrigerator, microwave, and a (seemingly) limitless pile of books and bags down from a fourth floor suite, I can categorically state that there is at least one entryway “more than three stories tall” in Branford.
I looked recently. There are a couple. But it’s not like Saybrook (which is contiguous with Branford), where practically every entryway is at least four stories, and a few are five.