<p>What are the pros and cons of attending Bulldog Days? We visited Yale on 2 separate college evaluation trips and I was analytical and deliberate in forming the list of schools to apply to. I am still waiting to hear about acceptance from 1 other school that, if accepted, will make the decision difficult. Bulldog days sounds like a lot of fun. But I'm concerned about the additional cost of travel if I already know that I want to attend Yale.</p>
<p>Only you can decide about the cost–but my son, who had already accepted his early admission, went to Bulldog Days and found it very useful in terms of meeting people and finding out about different activities.</p>
<p>My son also went after he committed. The schedule of events was incredible and I wish I could have gone as a student. I agree with Hunt that it is more than just a means to decide if Yale is for you but your finances will dictate if the extra visit is a luxury you can afford. By all means do attend if you are considering another school since many students find these events helpful in their decisions. It really is different going back as an admitted student and seeing lectures, activity fairs, more extensive tours, and social events with much of the future class of 2016 than the experience you get on two college evaluation trips.</p>
<p>yohoyoho: If $$ is a consideration and if Yale is your first choice then don’t worry about it, skip Bulldog days.</p>
<p>Here’s our experience. We and our son attended the Bulldog days. For us, it was a very positive useful experience. We got a lot of questions answered. Before the Bulldog days, we were unsure. After the days, we were all for Yale.</p>
<p>Our son had the opposite experience. Not a drinker, he ended up in a room full of drinkers, who did everything possible to unimpress him. He seriously considered not attending Yale because of the Bulldog days and we discreetly passed the information on to Yale. It was all the way Yale for 4 months before the Bulldog days, and then Yale almost lost him!</p>
<p>In the end, fortunately, he decided that the experience must be an aberration and that it must be overlooked. Today, by a complete coincidence, he is in a suite full of non-drinkers and he’s loving it at Yale! But he sure has his share of drinking friends. He sees that all kinds of people can get along just fine there. So if you go to the Bulldog days, use it to learn about Yale and enjoy your time there, but don’t let that experience alone make your decision for you. </p>
<p>If you get in the other school (whatever the other school may be), regardless of your major, pick Yale and you won’t regret it!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>And we had the almost same experience - except at Princeton. My son was more on the fence, but leaning towards P’ton. He had a great experience at Bulldog Days, but his suite at Princeton during their admitted students days was decorated in vodka bottles, which helped push him over to Yale. </p>
<p>Of course he called me the first weekend to tell me “Everybody’s drunk! This is a party school!”. Once classes started everything (including my son) settled down and he absolutely loves Yale.</p>
<p>I’d say, OP, that you don’t need to be at Bulldog Days to make a good decision.</p>
<p>I was accepted EA and my parents and I are wondering whether we should all make the trip for Bulldog Days…does anyone know whether parents usually attend or if it’s more of a “student thing”?</p>
<p>Having attended Yale, Harvard and Princeton’s days for accepted students, my advice: Do not go! Each university puts on “a show” to woo prospective students, but it’s really not a realistic way to judge a school. A better approach is to visit the school on a weekend when nothing “special” is going on.</p>
<p>With regards to whether Bulldog days is mainly for students or parents – it is for both. Here is the schedule from last year: <a href=“Admitted Students | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions”>Admitted Students | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions;
<p>My family attended Bulldog Days last year. Even though we had visited Yale at other times, and even though my husband is an alum, we all got a lot out of the visit. If travel is a hardship for the OP, then this event can be skipped, but if the OP needs to decide among schools, I would recommend going.</p>
<p>We attended: lectures by faculty on topics in economics and engineering; a presentation by students about their projects in art and architecture; a very informative panel session (student panel) about many aspects of campus life; a panel session on support resources (advising, security, etc.); a session on study-abroad options; a residential college tour (this time actually getting inside a college); an academic fair. We also attended the signature evening event where, in addition to the standard talks, Yale student musicians, singers, and dancers put on a most amazing display of talent.</p>
<p>We could have done more, but were hampered by the presence of a younger child, who had patience for only so much.</p>
<p>My daughter was on her own track. She stayed in a college with a host student. She did some of the things we did and many more that we did not, especially in the evening. There were all sorts of social activities, and there were talks by high-profile speakers. During the daytime, she also attended the activities fair. She was also able to attend a Directed Studies section with a host student, which was most helpful to her.</p>
<p>Like others ^, my D attended after already committing. She had a wonderful time. The only negative comment she had was that some of the attendees who were still deciding between Yale and somewhere else were critical about everything and not much fun. If you are in that camp and go, please be courteous to those students who have already made the decision and are ecstatic about it, and don’t be a downer.</p>