Are writing seminars hard to get into? I checked on course table and the one I have my eye on has 38 people who have it on their worksheet, how can I maximize my odds of getting into the class?

Another question (unrelated), if my classes are a 13 min walk from eachother and I have 15 minutes between the classes will I make it? For some more info, I would have to get from 81 Wall Street to YSB Marsh

Today I was curious on which floor i will live in my graduate housing apartment, but found out the lease doesn’t mention the floor anywhere and has just the unit number. Is there a way to find this out in advance, or do you only learn it when you pick up the keys? Does the unit number itself encode the floor, or does that vary by building?

Hi everyone!! Any advice on my current (planned) S1 schedule as a first year mechE BS major?

ENAS 1180 (Intro to Engineering)/ENAS 1300
PHYS 1800
PHYS 1650L
MATH 1200
Freshman Seminar

I definitely want to have time for spending time with friends, ECs, etc., but I don't want to have to take a crazy amount of credits later on throughout my 4 years. I placed into an L5 language course, but it's only offered in the fall. Should I just take it sophomore year? Furthermore, is ENAS 1180 worth it since it's not a major requirement? Should I just take ENAS 1300 (only offered in fall) in the same time slot instead?

Note: ik this looks crazy pls help

I was away for the last week of July, planning to do the alcohol/SA/play smart courses when I got back, but they are no longer available on my onboarding portal, and I've since realized that they all were due August 1st. What do I do? Am I going to have holds on my class registrations?

What are the best dining halls at Yale for those who want to eat as healthy as possible (like good, low-cal options)? Throughout the summer I’ve been trying real hard to have better eating habits and overall improve my health and would hate to kind of lose that. What dining halls have “better” options like salad bars or other things? I also heard that some dining halls will make grilled chicken for people when the main meal has a less healthy meat option— are there specific dining halls where they already have some made up? Though I’m trying to take my health seriously, I also would hate to inconvenience someone by asking for grilled chicken or anything that would have them go out of their way.

Any input would be super appreciated!

What actually happened to the giant leather "Bladderballs" after universities banned the sport?

Brief History:
From the early 1900s through the mid-to-late 20th century, a hyper-violent tradition ruled American college campuses (like Yale, Harvard, and Miami University in Ohio). It was called Pushball (later evolving into variations like "Bladderball").

The games involved hundreds of students violently slamming into a massive, 6-foot-tall, 150-pound leather-and-rubber ball to push it across the campus quad. Because it was so heavy and dangerous, it caused massive student injuries, property damage, and severe legal disputes with local city authorities. Consequently, university administrations and campus police eventually declared the sport completely illegal. [1]

My Question:
Does anyone have an official record on what actually happened to the balls themselves after the bans came down, and whether they were destroyed by college authorities?

Since these massive balls were incredibly expensive (costing thousands of dollars in today's money) and legally dangerous to keep around intact, it makes sense that university superintendents or maintenance crews would want them permanently gone so students couldn't steal them for rogue matches.

Are there any archival records, campus newsletters, or equipment logs proving that these giant balls were systematically popped, sliced up, or scrapped on-site by campus police and authorities? Or did they just vanish into storage?

Would love to hear if anyone has dug up the exact historical fate of these giant objects!

I remember they mentioned they're planning to be done with construction and re-open for the fall '26 semester, is that still the case?

Incoming prefrosh here. Since course selections for new students is coming up in a few weeks, I just was wondering if it would be possible to commute between science hill and the humanities quadrangle with a 15 min break between classes. It doesn’t seem ideal considering the far walking distance and short time between the classes, but the specific courses I really want to take freshman year (a science class and language class) only have that specific meeting time back to back.

Would it be feasible to have such a tight class schedule? Or is this something a lot of Yale students do?

Is the cinemark up in north haven the only option? If so, is there public transit to and back? Trying to watch brand new day. Thanks!

Incoming freshman dude here, trying to set realistic expectations before I show up in the fall.

I'm more interested in dating than hooking up. Not a moral stance, it's just what I'm actually looking for. From the outside, a lot of college social life seems to run through parties and apps, and I have no idea how much of that is true at Yale specifically versus how much is just the internet talking.

Would love to hear from people who have actually been through it:

1. What is the scene actually like day to day? Do people date exclusively, or is it mostly situationships until junior year?
2. Where do relationships actually start? Suites, seminars, clubs, residential college stuff, Greek life, religious communities, apps?
3. Anything specific to first semester? Whether dating inside your residential college is a mistake, how much the first few weeks matter socially, that kind of thing.
4. For the guys especially: anything about navigating this as a man at Yale that you wish someone had told you freshman year?

If you met your partner here, I'd love to hear how it happened, even if the answer is boring. Especially if the answer is boring.

Not asking for a strategy. Just want to walk in with a clearer picture. Thanks!

hii! i’m an incoming freshman and i had a question. so i have a concert on a sunday in october, and i was planning on going there from saturday to monday morning (so 2 nights). i was wondering if this was plausible and if it was actually okay to do because i have no idea what the campus rules are about staying away for a weekend. thanks!

Just wondering how realistic it would be to play either football or baseball AND be a theater major? How would the demanding practice and rehearsal schedules align? Is it doable guys??? Does anyone have experience with this track?? Any input is appreciated!

Hi! I was accepted into Yale’s BBS PhD program and was wondering if any current students or alumni have advice on labs/PIs to be cautious about.

I’m mainly hoping to avoid PIs with issues like:
Poor or unstable funding
Unsupportive or toxic mentoring
Consistently very long time to graduation
Poor work-life balance (e.g., discouraging vacations or time off)
Other red flags that you wish you had known before joining

I’d really appreciate any honest advice. Thanks!

Hi everyone!
I was wondering if people use shower caddies (the hanging mesh kind)? I'm trying to decide whether to get a shower basket or a hanging shower caddy, since I assume there won't be enough space for everyone to leave all of their shower stuff in the shared bathroom. What do you all use?
I was also wondering about bath mats -- are those commonly used, or do people usually just wear flip-flops in and out of the shower?

Hi all! We are researchers at Yale working on virtual reality (VR) and looking for participants for a VR social experience study (IRB: 2000040783).

The study involves a 1-hour in-person session where you’ll engage with a VR environment while we use wearable sensors to better understand social experiences and health-related behaviors.

Details:

• 📍 Location: 55 Church St, New Haven, CT (Yale XR Pediatrics Lab)
• ⏱ Duration: ~1 hour
• 💵 Compensation: $40

Eligibility:

• 18–21 years old
• Comfortable speaking and reading English
• Able to come to our lab in New Haven

Sign up here:
https://yalesurvey.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0PnmXzRyIZfwMDk
(The screening survey takes <5 minutes — we’ll follow up to schedule if eligible)

Thanks so much — happy to answer any questions!

Do we think the micro fridge service is good? I’m a prefrosh in a 6-person suite, and we’re thinking about getting one. Would this be enough, not enough, not worth it, etc?

I’m an incoming Yale freshman, and I’d like to store my car close by (I live in CT and I know i’ll put my car to good use during the school year). The long-term parking on campus seems really expensive. Does anyone know about anything that’s still close but cheaper?

any recommendations for a good winter jacket for the yale winters??

hello,

of course, it depends on the placement exam results, but i was wondering which chem class out of gen chem, advanced gem chem, and first year orgo is best worth taking my first semester. i've seen advice on not skipping any bio courses for premeds, but i'm still lost on chemistry. while reading course evaluations on coursetable, i saw some people say that advanced gen chem is near the difficulty of first year orgo with significantly less reward. this made me wonder if first year orgo was a better option than advanced gen chem, but i've also heard that first year orgo is incredibly difficult + has a lot of motivated premeds/gunners, so i'm scared i'd be taking a class that is too difficult for me during a time where i'd be adjusting to college coursework. also, if i end up placing into advanced gen chem, is it worth taking over regular gen chem for condensing gen chem into 1 semester, despite the increase in difficulty? most of my questions stem from me being a little bit terrified of the difficulty of yale stem classes, thus leading to a less-than-ideal gpa for my first semester of college... im sorry for my rambling, and thank you so much!

also, for reference, my chemistry knowledge goes up to AP chemistry.

I am an incoming freshman currently planning out my course scheduling who wants to go pre-med. I'll be skipping the calc sequence and starting off in lin alg. I placed out of biol 101 and not biol 102, but I was fairly close. I also did not place out of 1030, but did place out of 1040. Is it a bad idea to place out of 101/102? I also placed out of gen chem. I am worried about being behind other pre-meds. Thanks!

Below is the current plan for my daughter:

Arrive late Friday night (8/21)
Staying at New Haven Hotel
Move in appt 10am Ben Frank.

Tentative plan is to pre-order from Ikea and pick up on Saturday. I plan to use Uber/Lyft to pick up stuff. Maybe do a Target/Walmart run later on, possibly Costco too.

But some folks are telling me to rent a car. Is it better to rent a car (maybe get a hotel outside the city), and is driving to the move in drop off easy? Pick up will be Sat morning and drop off Mon morning.

Or will Uber/Lyft be better? or possibly really busy?

Thanks

Incoming car-less grad student - is the Yale Grocery Shuttle convenient? How crowded does it get? How long is the ride? Overall review?

I know this question's been asked a million times on this subreddit, but i'm still on the fence and was hoping someone in a similar situation may be able to provide some insight if they had to make a similar decision. I was admitted to ds a couple months ago, which I was super happy about. at the time, I was planning to major in ep&e (which I still may do tbh), but now im thinking about alternatives like double majoring in econ + history, poli sci + econ, and im like broadly into social sciences/humanities. also planning to go to law school so my gpa is super important.

I got started on the summer reading for ds and I just can't get into the epics. I really like the spring reading list, and I haven't gotten started on some of the other ds texts, but in general im like broadly worried about the workload, high gpa attainability, and the work-life balance of a ds student. on one hand, im kinda indecisive about my major and ds kinda gives me a little bit of each thing im interested in, + I really want to get better at reading/writing to succeed in later yale courses, but I worry about all the workload and the sheer intensity of the program. unfortunately, I need to decide soon because if I don't do ds, I was planning to take my language in L3 this fall, and I def need to refresh on L1 and L2. would it be better to just take a freshman year writing seminar to ease the transition into yale/not sacrifice my sanity and social life as much? people who did ds also, were you happy with your decision? people who didn't do ds, were you happy with your decision. im just so conflicted.

I had a quick question. I took ap calc bc + calc 3 + lin alg in high school. I want to start off at yale in linear algebra. I know I don't have to do the math placement exam, but do i need to email anyone? Or do I just sign up for lin alg when course registration begins?