My daughter was assigned Davenport and will be in one of the Princess suites in a single. She won the lottery on one hand but on the other, the only thing she found out about her suite mates is that none of them are from CT. She is so she will end up being the one to bring the furniture, fridge and larger pieces. I asked her if she knew anything else about them or if they were communicating and she said no. She didn’t feel the need to because whatever colors she picks wont clash because she is in a single. As if that would be the only reason to talk to them in advance. Teenagers are so frustrating!
Now, I am a little bit confused. Are we supposed to bring in furniture? how to deal with those items in the summer? is that the reason why they (most of them) chose to stay for 4 years (so that they don’t have to spend time figuring out who to keep what or how to split the cost?)
The suites are equipped with beds, desks, desk chairs, and a small chest of drawers for each student. Most suites have a common room, which has no furniture. One good reason to communicate before showing up is to see if anybody is bringing stuff that would go in the common room, like a couch, coffee table, lamps, etc. If nobody is bringing anything like that, parents may want to plan for an IKEA run. (There is also Target, etc., not too far away.)
This is from the Yale site:
“The University provides each student with a desk, a chair, a bureau, and a bed (extra long, 80” by 36”). The beds have mattresses, but no pillows. In some dormitories there are additional furnishings. These will be noted in your room assignment. Almost all freshmen live in suites in which they share a living room with several roommates. Consequently, it is a good idea to consult with your roommates over the summer about bringing furniture, stereos, telephones, rugs, televisions, etc. Many rooms have no overhead lighting, so you should plan to bring some lamps with you; halogen lamps, however, are fire hazards and are not permitted.”
Again, Im sorry to be dense, but in the experience of the old hands does this mean that if no “additional furnishings” are noted on the assignment that there are none? A couch is kind of a big deal to lug around, arent there a few “floating around” i.e. abandoned by graduates or left by the previous residents? My sphinxlike incoming freshman has told me that nothing was noted on his assignment other than the assignment and roommate names, who, of course, he is too cool to contact.
Yale seniors and graduate students who move out of their dorms after graduation who don’t want to take their furniture home, place it outside their entryway and the Salvation Army, which Yale contacts out to, takes the good stuff and brings it back to their store to resell to freshman students in September.
My son and his roommates waited until they all were on campus and then went en masse to the Salvation Army store a couple of blocks away and purchased furniture. They were able to get a dolly from the Master’s Office and literally rolled the furniture on wheels to their house. The kids also went on Craigslist and found sellers who would drop the purchases furniture off at their dorm. Sometimes it’s best to wait and let the kids figure it out themselves.
@gibby Waiting is obviously not my strong suit but of course you are right. I just know my wife is going to blow a gasket in a few days and Im trying to head that off. Thank you.
Note: the Salvation Army store near campus has closed, so that’s no longer an easy option.
One thing we did for our kids was to buy a bunch of folding camp-type chairs, which are all on sale in the fall anyway. They used them in the common room, and could also take them out on Old Campus if they wanted.
^^ I didn’t know. FWIW: According to the Salvation Army website, there is still a “Family Store” at 274 Crown Street, which is several blocks from campus. Maybe they haven’t updated their website: http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/plugins/gdosCenterSearch?mode=query_2&lat=41.308&lng=-72.928&code=US&query=New%20haven
Fortunately, there is still craigslist, and as I said, some sellers will deliver to the college: https://newhaven.craigslist.org/search/sss?sort=rel&query=couches
Also, at least in my DDs case (TD), the freshman “common room” was pretty darn full with four desks and four desk chairs, since the bedrooms were too small for that stuff (2 kids to a room, with bunkbeds and armoires). So it’s not like it was a completely empty room. I don’t think they “needed” anything extra first year, other than a floor lamp or two. One girl rented a refrigerator from the college (a good solution if you don’t live within driving distance and don’t want to deal with it) Later, it tends that the rooms are more or less the same size, with fewer people in them, for my DD three, then two then two over the four years, so desks tend to migrate to bedrooms, and couches, coffee tables etc get accumulated. It will all work out!
Yeah, that Salvation Army site is out of date: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/salvation_army_closes/
S has facebooked with 3 suitemates (Timothy Dwight) and is also now convinced that TD is superior bc freshmen move straight into the college. They decided who is rooming with whom when one of them said he likes bunkbeds and another said he definitely does not like bunk beds and the remaining two went with their not-as-emphatic-but-slight preference for bunk beds versus no bunk beds.
What is driving me crazy is not being able to plan for decorating anything other than his bedding. He does not want to be the one to ask everybody else what they are bringing. Rug? Couch? Curtains? Bookcase? Shelves? I am biting my tongue and will NOT interfere but…if there is a crack in that window of opportunity you can believe I will be shopping at Marshall’s before you can say “bulldog.” 
Is there even a point to doing this without seeing the space? I can sorta see “Who has a floor lamp to bring,” but aside from not knowing if it will fit, who wants to haul a sofa with them?
To skieurope’s point, we expected to be bringing in possibly a sofa, likely a TV, fridge, etc. In the end, there was barely room for a small (rented) fridge.
^^ A very good point . . . and a funny story.
At the end of my son’s freshman year at Yale, the girls in his soon-to-be sophomore year suite (the 12 pack in Saybrook) asked him if he wanted their large sofa. My son eagerly said yes, so a tag was placed on the sofa with my son’s name and the summer maintenance crew left it there.
When my son moved in sophomore year with his 11 roommates, the space was nicely furnished with the previous student’s very large couch. Over the course of the year, with 12 boys using and abusing the couch, when my son made the same offer to the student’s who would have the suite the following year, the student’s didn’t want the couch.
So, when we moved my son out of the 12-pack at the end of sophomore year, we had to take the couch out of the dorm. But . . . it would not fit out the door. For the life of us, we couldn’t figure out how they got the couch in the dorm, but they must have taken the door off the hinges. We didn’t have the tools to do that, but I did have a saw on my folding pair of pliers and my son and his fiends had to saw the couch in three sections to get it out the door.
Given that many of the freshman dorms in the old yard are smaller than those in the residential colleges, I would really wait to see the space. And make sure whatever furniture you bring is portable, or can be taken apart to fit in the door – and will fit into the common room. And bring a tool set from home, including a hammer, screw drivers, pliers and maybe a saw.
I was (am) one of those hyperorganized parents who wanted to be all prepared, so I sympathize with those who want to have everything purchased in advance. But it is really best to wait and see the space. My son was the only kid in his suite who didn’t come from flying distance away. Only thing he coordinated with them was fridge and microwave. (Fridges can be rented, and I wish we had done that, as moving one up and down stairs and back and forth to home each year has been a pain.)
IKEA is the way to go for any larger items once you have seen the room. His freshman suite had the standard Yale blue curtains provided. Bring a fan, lamps, and maybe a microwave. Also cleaning supplies! Room was kinda grungy (in my opinion) at arrival and everything (including floors) benefitted highly from a wipedown. A swiffer is a good idea, as well as the tool kit advised by Gibby. Also note that if there is a bathroom in the suite, the students will be responsible for cleaning it. They will be provided with basic cleaning supplies for that, but summer is the time to give them some practice if they are not already experienced in this area!
Yes unfortunately (according to my way of thinking!) we have to wait, bc who knows what the space will be like. They know that they have a suite with 2 bedrooms and a common room, so somethng to sit on and some shelving would be nice. S is a packrat and a clutterer (wonder where he got that from). And a rare books addict (hence needing bookshelves and an artist (= where do the art suppplies go rather than the floor)
I wish I knew the window length so I could get curtains but we will have to wait. At least we know the color theme! Bulldog blue. Thankyou thank you for the tip re cleaning supplies.
I wish I were hyperorganized bookmobile. Our issue is more like any $ will go toward his books and not Ikea. So the more I can get from discount stores near home, the less $ at Target.
PS Love the couch story! Great anecdote. We stumbled across notices via internet where seniors are offering their furniture so re couches and big chairs that sounds like the way to go, esp if they have more space in future years.
+1 on renting the fridge. Whatever financial inefficiency was involved, it was priceless to have it in the room when we arrived and to leave it there when we left.
+1 on a fan. If you’re driving up, bring 2. They will be used only for a few weeks, but they will be appreciated.
Bring a good power strip. A USB charger for 3 or 4 cables. Extra charging cables.
DS appreciated his LED desk lamp with adjustable intensity and color (ie, warm, cold) settings.
Agree with everything @gibby said–except for referring to Old Campus as “the old yard.” They have a “yard” up at that other school.
^^ Please forgive me indiscretion, as I had a kid at that other school and tend use “Old Yard” and “Old Campus” interchangeably, just like I do “residential houses” and “residential colleges.”
If I remember correctly, all residential colleges have curtains, and I believe that is true for the freshman dorms on old campus.