<p>Thanks for the tip, @Tperry1982! We’ll have to see what happens as the time gets closer–who else is going from our area, whether he’ll be considering any other schools, etc. </p>
<p>I’m of the school of thought: “let 'em go by themselves.” Feb of my senior year, I visited Yale and the other proximate schools that I had applied to by myself. I was 17 at the time – never traveled alone before, never been to metro NYC. Worked it out by myself – trains, flights, arrangements at the schools. It was good for me – I expected myself to be able to do it since I was going to be a college freshman in 7 months, anyway.</p>
<p>Thank you all for the tips and suggestions!</p>
<p>Bulldog days was a great experience. I know that’s it’s probably not fair for me to weigh in because I can walk to campus but if you can swing it financially, go. OTOH, I agree that students should learn to travel solo. DD had traveled solo previously, so that was not an issue either. She did the admitted students events @ UPENN alone. I had already visited and didn’t see the need to return. </p>
<p>I found the parent events at BDD to be extremely informative. The forums were jam packed with parents and I was also able to chat with the adcom who reads for this region. I feel that move-in weekend is entirely different. Just as nice, but a different agenda on Yale’s part. </p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom - point taken. But you’re right, you went right up the street. I think the OP said that money was an issue so if that is the case, I think the kid will need her more on move in day if she can’t swing two trips to New Haven. If she can swing two, then Bulldog days may be great but there are a lot of kids there alone for the very reason that their parents can’t afford to be there too.</p>
<p>One additional comment about Bulldog days–if the cost isn’t prohibitive, I would suggest that admittees go even if they have already decided to accept Yale’s offer. They meet a lot of people, and learn a lot about school organizations.</p>
<p>If the attendee needs financial help, Yale will provide it. If they have been offered financial aid, the Admissions Office will work with them. That information is contained somewhere in all the info that was sent to the home and on the website. Also, they can ask that question on the Admitted Students Facebook page. The school will pay for the travel for the student, not the parent. Since they get room and board while there, everything would be covered except if they wanted to buy some Yale gear or something while there.</p>
<p>Every kid should attend Bulldog days. It is a great time, even for those kids that are very familiar with Yale. You get a different feel for the school when you are actually in and you are seeing it through the lens of whether you can actually see yourself among these students. And, with the pressure and stress of applying gone and parents not around, they can get a real feel for the school. I say go for it!! There’s a reason Yale’s freshmen were voted the Happiest. They will see that when they get there.</p>
<p>During BDD, many students clung to their parents, believe it or not. They even stayed with parents in hotel rooms. I dropped DD off that Tuesday afternoon, and only heard from her twice. On the first day to say that her host was amazing and the second time was at 3am, on the third day, announcing, “Mom, I’m going to Yale!!!”. I picked her up on the last day of BDD from her hosts RC. </p>
<p>Yes, parents do need to know their kid and whether they think the time is right to send them off on their own. Again, for this OP, I thought the biggest consideration was money, not that they thought their kid needed them. If the parent thinks the kid needs them there, then I am sure they will figure out a way. I guess it is hindsight when I say it may be time to cut the cord though. My H and I had a terrible misunderstanding about my wanting to send her off alone. Even though she is my only child, I thought it was time. She also traveled with other kids from our area, so she was not really alone.</p>
<p>@NewHavenCTmom - we are lucky that we live close by and can jump in the car (or in your case walk) to our kids in a relatively short amount of time. I have seen too many kids that weren’t ready for college have real problems being that far away from home. I would rather find out now that being that far away is going to be problematic instead of being there with them for Bulldog days so they have a security blanket, and finding out in September that they cannot handle it alone.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone! We can swing it financially, but it definitely would be a lot cheaper just to send our son. I’m actually very interested in attending Bulldog Days too but was feeling like maybe there wasn’t much point in parents being there and I could save the money for tuition! It sounds like there is, though, so that’s what we’ll plan on. Although my son would be perfectly fine on his own after arriving in New Haven, I do have concerns about him navigating the trip from JFK since he’s never done anything like that before. Like @T26E4, I went off by myself years ago as a high school senior, making all my travel arrangements from the Midwest to two schools on the East Coast (unfortunately, Yale wasn’t one of them!). But I’d been on my own for years and was very street-smart. My son, like many kids these days, has grown up in a much more sheltered environment, being shuttled from one place to another in a car by us. Although he’s been to JFK a few times, he’s always just gotten into a cab or gone on the subway with us to New York. Maybe we can use the Bulldog Days trip as a way of getting him familiar with how to do it by himself after he’s at Yale.</p>
<p>I must say that as the possibility of him attending a school on the other side of the country has become a likelihood, I find myself wishing that we lived closer, like @Tperry1982–or even @NewHavenCTmom!</p>
<p>@Planner - I am glad that you have decided to go to Bulldog days. I must admit I really didn’t feel the need to go since I went to Yale myself, do interviews and have been on campus a lot over the years doing alumni stuff. I am excited for you to see it for yourself and if money is not the deciding factor, then go for it!! You will love it there and I am sure your son will. </p>
<p>Some of our kids like IxnayBob, NewHavenCTmom and me have freshmen there now. So, if your son is interested in seeing some things that our kids do, I am sure we can make it happen. My D is interested in Literature and has some interesting ECs. One that she belongs to actually performs at a Bulldog day function. I can talk to you PM if you want.</p>
<p>My son went to BDD by himself. Yale provided and airplane ticket, and a ride on a shared shuttle from LaGuardia.
We helped him feel comfortable traveling alone, and he did well. I think that traveling cross-country a good first step to adulthood. It was worth the time and effort. Three days at Yale vs. three days at … High School?</p>
<p>@planner, if you attend, try doing a joint airfare-car rental (from the airlines website vacation planner)-- it can be pretty cheap — no need to get two round trip shuttles from airport to New Haven… Try flying into Hartford or White Plains. Lot closer than LGA, JFK or Newark.</p>
<p>Thanks, @Tperry1982–I’m really looking forward to it, and I’ll talk to my son about this. @ElMimino, that’s great that your son was able to do it on his own, and I agree that traveling across the country would be a good first step to adulthood–maybe with a trial run-through for us first, though! @T26E4, thanks for the tip about the joint airfare-car rental–I hadn’t thought of this, and it makes sense since the shuttles aren’t cheap.</p>
<p>My first-year now takes the train to the 125th-street/Harlem station, and then the M60 bus to LGA. It costs $16 each way, and we save some cash. It’s also a confidence-builder.</p>
<p>planner, the individual airline websites have “vacation deals” that combine air and car rental. Good luck</p>
<p>Hi @ElMimino, is your child taking the Metro-North train from New Haven (Union Station) to Harlem/125th-street? </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.mta.info/mnr”>http://www.mta.info/mnr</a> </p>
<p>How far is from the Union Station to Yale campus? walkable distance?</p>
<p>@buttercreamlilac </p>
<p>DO NOT walk from Union Station to campus. A cab ride from the station should be roughly $7.00. Maybe less. The Yale Shuttle also makes frequent trips to campus.</p>
<p>Taking the M60 is not for the faint of heart. If your child has never traveled alone, it can be tricky. DD & I have done the M60 several times and they arrive sporadically and are always VERY crowded. The last time we caught it, we waited an hour for it! Then 7-8 came in a row and they were terribly crowded! The M60 is very popular with airline employees, commuters & those traveling to the airport. Yes, it’s doable, but it can be quite frustrating. You have to leave your luggage in one spot and move back. Often times your luggage is out of view. Until you retrieve it prior to disembarkment. The bus stops at all of the airline terminals and sometimes the buses speaker is not in the best working condition. </p>
<p>I have found that the ride back from the airport an easier voyage. Not sure why. </p>
<p>An easy way is to take a cab from LGA to Grand Central ($35) and then hop on a Metro North train to New Haven $(16). The trains depart for Union Station every 30 minutes or so. Pretty painless. </p>
<p>One tip for families going to Bulldog Days who may need a hotel room: you may save money by renting a car and staying outside New Haven (in Milford, for example). Parking is not too hard to find near campus. But have your kid stay on campus, not in the hotel with you.</p>