Old Campus Dorms

Colleges and Universities A-Z Yale University
1

I was doing some research and I came across the fact that students in Silliman and Timothy Dwight live in their colleges for all four years, while all other freshman live in Old Campus dorms before their colleges (only 3 years in their college). Does this ostracize the students in Silliman and TD? I would think that all freshman activities would probably revolve around Old Campus, but what about the freshmen that aren’t on Old Campus?

Thanks in advance!

2

I asked this to my interviewer, who is a senior at Timothy Dwight, and she said no. She told me that she felt instantly welcome by the student body at her residential college, and that besides this both Silliman and TD are only a 5-10 minute walk away from Old Campus and people from different colleges will often interact anyways in class and across the campus. Your mileage may vary, but everyone I’ve talked to has told me the just about the same.

3

If you are placed in Silliman or TD, it will be immediately clear to you that it is much better to be in the college itself as a freshman.
If you are placed in any of the other residential colleges, it will be immediately clear to you that it is much better to start out on the Old Campus.

4

^ what Hunt says seems silly, but trust all of those who say it, which residential college or which campus won’t be an issue. There will be swings and roundabouts, but it all works.

5

They are correct. Whatever college you are assigned to instantly becomes the “best”.

6

Whatever college you are in, you will be rooming with other freshmen from your residential college, and those are the people you will initially get to know and hang out with. D1 had a good friend from high school who started at Yale with her. They both lived on Old Campus, but never really saw each other there (different RC’s). They are no longer close. This is not to say that you will only make friends within your residential college at Yale, but rather that you are likely to make your first friends within a few nearby freshman dorm entryways, as well as within your classes and EC’s.