In at Yale: Class of 2016 Forum

[pacifica]

Think it's time to get one of these babies started, with class almost 50% filled and all, even if TLS might be a little underrepresented right now.

March 11th, One-Day Admitted Student Program.
April 18th-20th, Admitted Student Weekend.

Housing options bequeathed by current students in Facebook group link.
Roommate search/preferences amongst incoming class available as a spreadsheet in Google Docs, also in Facebook group link.

Financial aid deadline (for FAFSA and Need Access) is March 15th, 2013. FAFSA code is same as general Yale University, Need Access code is specific to YLS.
Financial aid awards have started rolling in as of 3-6-2013.

Let everybody know how your visits go, how your $$ stack up to H and S, your housing preferences, when you commit, etc. Looking forward to it!

[pedestrian]

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[vman21]

Ditto on the thanks to pacifica --!

Checking in. I have yet to read through all the materials, but will soon. We have to get financial aid forms in soon, right?

Since im overseas for a while yet I won't be able to go to either ASW's, sadly, but looking forward to meeting you all eventually!

Cheers

[hopeful16]

Thanks for starting this! I'll be at the April ASW.

[je12345]

I'll be at the April ASW--anyone zipping up to the Harvard one on the Saturday afterwards?

[pedestrian]

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[anela00]

Thanks for starting this! I'll be at the April ASW.

April ASW for me too

[carboncopyx]

I'll be at the April ASW--anyone zipping up to the Harvard one on the Saturday afterwards?

I'll be doing this!

[pacifica]

I'll be at the April ASW--anyone zipping up to the Harvard one on the Saturday afterwards?

I'll be doing this!

You guys driving by any chance, or just taking the bus? I'm coming back to Boston, so would love company regardless mode of transportation, although I'm sure lots of people at the ASW will be doing the same.

[vman21]

thanks pedestrian!

better get cracking on those finaid forms, then...

I hope you all give those of us who can't come a detailed description of ASW. I am sad I won't be able to attend, it looks like a lot of fun.

[carboncopyx]

You guys driving by any chance, or just taking the bus? I'm coming back to Boston, so would love company regardless mode of transportation, although I'm sure lots of people at the ASW will be doing the same.

I think I'll probably either take the bus or the train, depending on timetables, but we should def coordinate something.

[quasars]

Long-time TLS lurker here, excited to meet everyone!

My wife and I will be driving down from Cambridge in the early morning on April 18 and then back on the morning of April 20. We could take two more people comfortably. PM for details, etc.

[pedestrian]

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[je12345]

You guys driving by any chance, or just taking the bus? I'm coming back to Boston, so would love company regardless mode of transportation, although I'm sure lots of people at the ASW will be doing the same.

I think I'll probably either take the bus or the train, depending on timetables, but we should def coordinate something.

I'm taking the train--the 8:33am train from NHV to BOS (I'm not in any way a minority, so the breakfast was pretty meaningless for me.)

[Ti Malice]

Does anyone know if Yale is providing a travel stipend for ASW, or help with locating a place to stay?

The Courtyard Marriot is booked

They provided reimbursement last year. Up to $350, I think. I believe they ask you to submit the documentation before the ASW. I'm also pretty sure that you have to request that they email you the form. My memory's a little foggy on all of this.

Also, I think it's possible to stay with current students for at least one of the nights. I stayed at a friend's place, so I didn't explore that option at all.

You should just call your designated contact person in the admissions office. They'll tell you everything you need to know.

[hdivine]

You can request to stay with a current student through the rsvp form online, but I did this and haven't heard anything from anybody yet. I unfortunately won't be able to go up to the HLS ASW. It's a stretch getting the time off work just to go to Yale's. Plus, I'm living in the Midwest.

I got my financial aid info back from both schools. Although Harvard has a rap for being less generous, they actually gave me about $13,000 more than Yale gave me. Of course, rent costs alone at Harvard almost eat up this entire thing, so it's more of an equalizer than anything else.

[pacifica]

You can request to stay with a current student through the rsvp form online, but I did this and haven't heard anything from anybody yet. I unfortunately won't be able to go up to the HLS ASW. It's a stretch getting the time off work just to go to Yale's. Plus, I'm living in the Midwest.

I got my financial aid info back from both schools. Although Harvard has a rap for being less generous, they actually gave me about $13,000 more than Yale gave me. Of course, rent costs alone at Harvard almost eat up this entire thing, so it's more of an equalizer than anything else.

wow, that's quite uncommon. may I ask if the difference was primarily due to any particular categorical breakdown being tabbed very differently between the two schools? i.e. student budget was higher for H (if so, any category within it really jump out), or parental contribution was lower for H, etc. Or was it all around nickeling and diming that added up to 13K?

[hdivine]

You can request to stay with a current student through the rsvp form online, but I did this and haven't heard anything from anybody yet. I unfortunately won't be able to go up to the HLS ASW. It's a stretch getting the time off work just to go to Yale's. Plus, I'm living in the Midwest.

I got my financial aid info back from both schools. Although Harvard has a rap for being less generous, they actually gave me about $13,000 more than Yale gave me. Of course, rent costs alone at Harvard almost eat up this entire thing, so it's more of an equalizer than anything else.

wow, that's quite uncommon. may I ask if the difference was primarily due to any particular categorical breakdown being tabbed very differently between the two schools? i.e. student budget was higher for H (if so, any category within it really jump out), or parental contribution was lower for H, etc. Or was it all around nickeling and diming that added up to 13K?

The biggest difference was the dependent allowance, which won't be applicable to most people. At least in my situation, Harvard's was about three times the size of Yale's. Even ignoring the dependent care allowance, Harvard had the potential to be a bit cheaper than Yale if one was willing to live further away from Harvard's campus. You can get a much larger proportional reduction in rent price living away from Cambridge than you can living further from Yale, but this financial difference seems to not be large enough to make a significant impact in law school choice.

[Ti Malice]

You can request to stay with a current student through the rsvp form online, but I did this and haven't heard anything from anybody yet. I unfortunately won't be able to go up to the HLS ASW. It's a stretch getting the time off work just to go to Yale's. Plus, I'm living in the Midwest.

I got my financial aid info back from both schools. Although Harvard has a rap for being less generous, they actually gave me about $13,000 more than Yale gave me. Of course, rent costs alone at Harvard almost eat up this entire thing, so it's more of an equalizer than anything else.

wow, that's quite uncommon. may I ask if the difference was primarily due to any particular categorical breakdown being tabbed very differently between the two schools? i.e. student budget was higher for H (if so, any category within it really jump out), or parental contribution was lower for H, etc. Or was it all around nickeling and diming that added up to 13K?

The biggest difference was the dependent allowance, which won't be applicable to most people. At least in my situation, Harvard's was about three times the size of Yale's. Even ignoring the dependent care allowance, Harvard had the potential to be a bit cheaper than Yale if one was willing to live further away from Harvard's campus. You can get a much larger proportional reduction in rent price living away from Cambridge than you can living further from Yale, but this financial difference seems to not be large enough to make a significant impact in law school choice.

Strange. A married friend of mine with children got a much better aid offer at YLS than HLS, but I guess it had to do with factors other than the dependent allowance. It definitely wouldn't hurt to talk to Jill Stone in the financial aid office to see if there's some manner of crunching the numbers that could bring your offer up.

[hdivine]

Anybody have a game plan for finding housing, especially those too far to just drop by New Haven? I've never been in a position before where I couldn't check out places ahead of time, and I'm very hesitant to sign for a place that I haven't yet seen. Any thoughts?

[vman21]

Do you know ANYONE in the larger Yale undergrad/grad community?

I am in the same position you are -- no chance of visiting NH, and almost definitely going to YLS. I reached out via facebook and found a few people that were semi-friends and even a long lost cousin studying at a different graduate school. I then asked them what they thought, and they have been extremely helpful as local liaisons with advice (and my cousin is even going to talk to a few owners for me).

Absent that, get in email touch with some owners via craigslist or the other housing resources and ask for photos/details.

If that is not enough information, you can go onto the Yale FB group and talk to some of the people looking for roommates. Maybe you can call them, strike up a good relationship and hope they can do most of the legwork of actually going and finding a place (I would offer my personal help, but I am living alone).

Good luck!

P.S. I will have some insight into prices/housing stuff on Chapel st. / the Towers as soon as my cousin sends me info on a few places (hopefully over the next few days). If you would like me to share the info / photos I get, pm me.

[carboncopyx]

This might be half-outing myself, but feel free to PM me about housing in New Haven if you want more info.

[pacifica]

I don't know if anyone has any strong preferences AGAINST on-campus housing, but from what I've seen, a room on-campus in the grad student dorms are about $850 all inclusive (utilities, internet, heat, etc.). I'm definitely looking at that as my #1 option unless something dirt cheap comes up in East Rock after extensive Craigslist browsing.

I'm pretty sure I'm already outted, so whatever, but I wrote this on the fb group google doc too: some of the nicer on-campus Yale apartments are in the same price range if we can get multiple people on-board, so if you're interested in that option, PM me and we can maybe look-see if there's mutual interest. IMO, that'd be an ideal blend of apartment flexibility with a responsible landlord (Yale) and no concerns about looking for summer subletters.


p.s. also no exorbitant deposits....

[carboncopyx]

FYI, you probably don't want to live all the way over in East Rock and attend the law school. It's a bit of a trek, and there are reasonable options much closer. A lot of grad students live around Crown and York, and there are also some nice apartments on Park and Edgewood.

[hdivine]

Do you know ANYONE in the larger Yale undergrad/grad community?

I am in the same position you are -- no chance of visiting NH, and almost definitely going to YLS. I reached out via facebook and found a few people that were semi-friends and even a long lost cousin studying at a different graduate school. I then asked them what they thought, and they have been extremely helpful as local liaisons with advice (and my cousin is even going to talk to a few owners for me).

Absent that, get in email touch with some owners via craigslist or the other housing resources and ask for photos/details.

If that is not enough information, you can go onto the Yale FB group and talk to some of the people looking for roommates. Maybe you can call them, strike up a good relationship and hope they can do most of the legwork of actually going and finding a place (I would offer my personal help, but I am living alone).

Good luck!

P.S. I will have some insight into prices/housing stuff on Chapel st. / the Towers as soon as my cousin sends me info on a few places (hopefully over the next few days). If you would like me to share the info / photos I get, pm me.

Unfortunately, the only person I know in the Yale community no longer lives anywhere near New Haven. She can speak to good and bad areas of town but not to any properties specifically. And of course my problem is exacerbated because I'm married and won't be looking for a roommate. I think Pacifica's right; living in university-owned complexes wouldn't be too bad. You have reasonable assurance since Yale is the landlord.

There are definite downsides, though. If I recall, the leases run from August 1, to June 30, so you'd be paying for about two months that you probably wouldn't be living there. If you do find a local internship, then you still have July to worry about. In addition, I think the university-owned apartments are acquired on a lottery-based system.

P.S. I don't think I would mind living in East Rock. It doesn't seem to far away. At my undergrad, I lived about three miles out and just biked everyday. It wasn't bad (even in the winter).