May 10, 2024
Dear Class of 2028,
Welcome to Yale.
We in the Office of First-year Affairs are looking forward to greeting you on move-in day, August 18. To help you prepare for your arrival, we will be sending messages to you every Friday this summer, sometimes with information, sometimes with instructions, so please keep an eye open for them. You can expect to hear more about academics, health, public service, arts, and athletics. You can also find plenty of information on the first-year website.
We will also be sharing these emails with the family members and guardians whose email addresses you have provided, so please make sure that information is accurate. To update or add addresses, use Yale Hub.
This week, here is a general overview of academic summer planning, moving in, and Camp Yale (our name for first-year orientation).
Academic Summer Planning
You will be hearing several times from the Office of Undergraduate Education, which will introduce you to Yale’s approach to undergraduate education and all the resources available to you as you plan your academics for the fall term.
From mid-June to mid-August, you will be able to schedule one-on-one video conferences with a recently graduated first-year counselor (FroCo). The FroCos know the Yale curriculum well, especially courses that first-year students typically take. You will also be able to view a series of videos on specialized topics, such as crafting a good first-year course schedule, Yale’s distributional requirements, and the purpose of a liberal arts education, plus subject-specific videos on the arts, math, writing, and many other topics. We strongly encourage you to take advantage of these resources.
We will also offer webinars if you want to learn more about majoring in fields that have specific requirements in the first year, such as the sciences and engineering programs, or if you are thinking about applying to medical school.
Finally, we will ask you to complete a the High School Math and Science Survey, writing habits survey, and online placement exams wherever those apply. These are great tools to help you enroll in courses at the right level.
Residential college, housing, and First-Year Counselor assignments will be communicated later in the summer.
Moving In
You should arrive on Sunday, August 18, between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Later this summer, the housing office will ask you to sign up for a specific move-in time slot.
Upper-level students from your residential college will be here to welcome you and to help you move into your room.
Other than your scheduled move-in time, the daytime Sunday events are optional. The first required meeting will be in your residential college at 8:00 p.m.
View the Calendar of Opening Days→
Parents and family members will be welcome at in-person events on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Most families who come to campus depart by mid-afternoon on Monday, after lunch in the residential colleges.
Camp Yale
You will spend your first few days of Camp Yale together as a class, getting to know your first-year counselor (FroCo) and your residential college community, as you learn about Yale College's opportunities, expectations, and values.
Then, on Wednesday afternoon, you will join a second community in your Camp Yale Program (CYP), one of nine that provides unique experiences and an early sense of belonging. Each program forms a distinct community that connects you to your new classmates and to upper-level students, the university, and the surrounding communities across New Haven and Connecticut.
On Sunday evening, you will reconnect with your residential college community at Yale’s annual Bulldog Bash, a community-wide outdoor celebration to mark the start of the year. Starting Sunday, you will resume shared orientation activities. Over the following three days, you will have more time to get to know your new classmates, including upper-level student leaders, as you learn more about Yale resources and prepare for classes to begin on Wednesday morning, August 28.
Camp Yale will keep you very busy! Avoid making any other plans for this time period. You are expected to remain on campus at least until Labor Day weekend.
A more detailed schedule is available on the first-year website, but here are some important dates you can add to your calendars now:
- Aug 18–27 (Sun–Tue) - Camp Yale (required)
- Aug 28–30 (Wed–Fri) - First days of class (required)
- Aug 31–Sep 2 (Sat–Mon) - Welcome Weekend
This weekend includes events highlighting the arts, civic engagement, Yale Athletics, and student organizations. It is optional, but strongly encouraged—you won’t want to miss it!
Subscribe to the Camp Yale Calendar→
Finally, if you have not yet completed your housing, advising, and Camp Yale forms, which were due yesterday, please complete them now.
Complete your housing, advising, and Camp Yale forms →
Until next week,
The First-Year Affairs Team
Hannah Rose Peck
Associate Dean of Student Affairs
Yale College Dean's Office
Coming Dates and Deadlines
- May 9 - Deadline to Submit Housing, Advising and Camp Yale Form
- May 31 - Deadline to apply for Directed Studies (DS)
- Jun 25 - Earliest date to enter vaccination record information and upload all health-related documents (applies only to incoming students not participating in Early Start or Yale Summer Session). Link coming in late June.
Have a Question? Write to us.