I am visiting Yale later this week and will be able to spend pretty much the whole day there. In addition to the campus tour and info session, what should I be sure to see/do while I’m there. I really want to get a sense for what the general campus/student vibe is, which I know is difficult to do on a college visit sometimes, especially when most of the students are home for the summer.
Any insight or advice on the matter is very much appreciated.
One thing that’s unfortunate is that you won’t be able to get into any of the residential colleges, but at least try to peek through the gates to see how nice they are (courtyards etc). If you’re into science, I would take a walk up to science hill since you’ll be doing that a lot! The Yale Art Museum is really nice but is not a student-y thing (my daughter, just graduated, never set foot inside). Maybe visit Atticus Bookstore, get some fro-yo at one of the shops, hang around the Yale Bookstore…
I think JE will be open starting today with a combination of high school students attending Yale Young Global Scholars and staff (current Yale students). You might be able to take a peek.
^^ too late to edit: the high school kids arrive Tuesday, but it will house staff beginning today. It’s probably your best bet for getting to see a residential college. Yale kids are pretty friendly if you’re friendly, so give it a try.
FWIW: Yale’s campus tour includes a walk through of old campus and the courtyards of Branford and Saybrook. On the summer tour we took about five years ago, our tour guide took us through the first floor and dinning hall of Saybrook. So, even though the school is not open, parents and students do get a peek at the residential colleges.
“The Yale Art Museum is really nice but is not a student-y thing (my daughter, just graduated, never set foot inside).”
This is an amazing feat. But not all Yale students are like that. Some appreciate having Van Gogh painting 500ft from their bed.
Maybe it’s because her bed was always in Timothy Dwight, much further away 
I’ve been to the museum several times, I’m just noting that most of the visitors I saw there were my age or older.
Supposedly spending 10 min in front of the paintings before the final produces positive results. Maybe your daughter just did not need this additional help :-*
We took our D to the art museum during family weekend freshman year. The whole family enjoyed it. Not sure if she has ever been back since.
I’m also planning to take my daughter (2017) to visit Yale later this week. Can anyone tell us about the “Student Forum” that’s offered? How large is it, what is the typical dynamic in the session? My daughter is going for an initial feeler visit to decide if she might be seriously interested. Should she attend the Student Forum?
DS thought his was useful, more so than the “info session.” My recollection is that he told me it was moderate in size.
Maybe this is too late, but the student forums are GREAT. It’s just student (high school and Yale) in a room together for 45 minutes talking about anything the high schoolers want to know about. There’s no structure to it like the info session and the size depends (3 to full house) on the day. Highly, highly, highly recommend.
Both my kids bounced out of that session determined to go there. I do not know what they do but by the time it was over they had joined the Cult of Yale.
@myyalieboy, same here! They must teach them the secret handshake or something.
I hope you visit was successful. As IxnayBob said, there should have been plenty of students there. My daughter was there living in Stiles while she took German.