Yale University - Campus Housing

A+

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Quick Stats

On-Campus Housing Available?		Yes
Campus Housing Capacity		4,600
Average Housing Costs		$6,300
Freshmen Required to Live on Campus?		Yes
Undergrads Living On Campus		88%
Number of Dormitories		12
Number of Campus-Owned Apartments		0
Best Freshman Dorms		Vanderbilt
Best Upperclassman Dorms		Berkeley College Branford College Calhoun College Jonathan Edwards College
Best Dorms		Any of the newly renovated dorms Berkeley Branford Saybrook
Worst Dorms		Calhoun Peet
Worst Freshman Dorms		Lanman-Wright Hall (colloquially known as L-Dub)
Worst Upperclassman Dorms		Ezra Stiles Morse

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Yale's on-campus housing system is organized around the concept of the "residential college." Modeled off of the housing systems of Oxford and Cambridge, the residential colleges provide housing, dining, intramural sports, social activities, and community for all Yalies. Most students agree that Yale’s residential college system provides students a place to live and learn that surpasses any other dorm experience. Each college is headed by a Master and a Dean. Freshmen are randomly assigned a residential college the summer before their first year and their college ultimately becomes their family at Yale. Each college is a microcosm of the University, creating the feel of a small college within a larger institution. An expansive renovation project has been in operation for the past 10 years. By 2012, all twelve colleges will have been newly renovated.

When asked to describe her on-campus housing experience, one student replied, "Well, who wouldn't want to live in a castle?" The residential colleges are each unique expressions of various architectural eras, such as the Gothic (Trumbull College), Georgian (Pierson and Branford Colleges), and Modern (Ezra Stiles and Morse Colleges) architectural periods.

Freshmen are housed on "Old Campus" during their first year at Yale in order to facilitate a "horizontal" connection before their move into the residential college, where they develop a more "vertical" social system. Old Campus often boasts many of the most exciting social events of the year, including A Cappella Tap Night, the festivities before Freshmen Screw, and the Spring Fling concert.

As always, rooming varies from situation to situation, but in the end, most students are happy with their on-campus housing. When you look around at your college courtyards, sometimes you can’t help but think: “I live here?!?”

Yale Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Campus Housing at Yale University

marisoldahl

'15

Liberal Arts and Humanities

A

Not Much to Complain About

The housing system is superior to those of many other colleges. All dorms have common rooms and plenty of space.

Jan 04, 2012

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Campus Housing at Yale University

elpres

'15

Engineering

A+

Castles for All

Nearly all freshmen live in housing on old campus. After that you move to your residential college. You do not really have a choice of where to live, but there are no bad options.

Oct 17, 2011

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Campus Housing at Yale University

bashful_bird

'15

Biological Sciences

A

Beautiful Residential Colleges With Common Rooms

All of the residential colleges are beautiful, inside and out. Most freshman are housed on Old Campus, where rooms are a bit smaller (especially in Lanman-Wright), but they're gorgeous compared to a lot of other schools. Most are two bedrooms, with two people each, plus a common room. Some dorms have combinations of singles and doubles (or just singles) with common rooms, and singles increase as you are an upperclassman.

The residential college system is amazing and wonderful. It really seems to work the way it's supposed to.

Sep 12, 2011

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Photos of Yale University's Campus Housing

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Silliman Courtyard

Photo by LD18

Calhoun Courtyard

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Silliman Common Room

Photo by LD18

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate campus housing on the following subjects

Facts

Types of Housing Offered		Coed dorms Special housing for disabled students
Room Types		Singles – Student has private room but no common room Suites – Students live in singles or doubles surrounding a common room but no common room.
Bed Types		Bunkable beds Twin extra-long
What You Get		Bed Desk and chair Dresser or wardrobe Ethernet access Local telephone service with voicemail Wireless Internet access (residential colleges)

Available for Rent

Minifridges

Cleaning Service

Done in public areas only (bathrooms, hallways, laundry rooms).

Did You Know?

The families of the Master and Dean live in the college in designated apartments. These families often eat in the college dining hall and even keep their pets in the college!

Though students are randomly assigned to residential colleges, if one of their relatives was or is in a particular residential college, students can choose to be or choose not to be assigned to that college.

Most freshmen live in the freshman dorm quad (known as "Old Campus") with other students from their particular college. These dorms are arranged into single-sex suites on single-sex floors that can accommodate four to six freshmen in the 10 buildings that make uip Old Campus, which is located directly in the center of the University. Each entrance to each hall has a different name (such as Lanman-Wright or Bingham) and can only be accessed by students who live in that entryway.

Want more info on the residential college system? Check out Yale's explanation: www.yale.edu/admit/freshmen/residential_life/index.html.

DormitoriesWhat's This?

Berkeley College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Built in 1934, Berkeley is located at 205 Elm St. Features include: dining hall, bagel bar, multi-purpose room, music room, kitchen, printing press, woodshop, darkroom, computer cluster, gym, library, reading room, Swiss Room, seminar room, game room, common room, and tunnel.

Branford College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Branford is located at 74 High St. Features include: recycling, laundry, computer cluster, library, buttery, printing press, gym, game room, music room, TV room, bike rack, piano room, and squash courts.

Calhoun College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Calhoun is located at 189 Elm St. Features include: art studio, buttery, cabaret, computer cluster, darkroom, digital studio, Fellows’ Lounge, game room, kitchen, laundry, library, music room, pottery studio, sauna, seminar rooms, squash courts, TV room, and a weight room.

Davenport College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Davenport is at 275 Park St. It has a renovated computer cluster, dining hall, library, basement, and air-conditioning.

Ezra Stiles College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Ezra Stiles is at 19 Tower Pkwy. It features a buttery, common room, computer cluster, darkroom, fitness room, game room, laundry, library, kitchen, pianos, seminar room, and a woodshop.

Jonathan Edwards College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Jonathan Edwards is at 68 High St., and has the JE Movie Suite, a common room, dining room, and a library.

Morse College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Located at 302 York St., Morse features tutors, music room, kitchen, CD Café (venue with seating and kitchen), DVDs for checkout, common room, darkroom, digital recording studio, Ericka’s Room (social lounge), Morsel Snacks, and a weight room.

Old Campus
Residents: Freshmen
Special Features: Old Campus has a bunch of dorm buildings, including: Connecticut Hall, Lanman-Wright Hall, Durfee Hall, Farnam Hall, Lawrance Hall, Welch Hall, Bingham Hall, and Vanderbilt Hall.

Pierson College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Pierson is at 231 Park St. and features a buttery, CD library, digital projector, DVD library, gymnasium, and audio equipment.

Saybrook College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Located at 242 Elm St., Saybrook features a common room, TV room, DVDs for checkout, Nintendo 64, Playstation 2, sewing machine, library, kitchen, computer cluster, darkroom, and the Athenaeum Room.

Silliman College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Silliman is at 505 College St. Features include: common room, dining hall, art room, ballet and aerobic court, basketball court, bicycle racks, book bindery and printing press, SilliBurner (CD burner), Master B’s Buttery, climbing wall, computer room, darkroom, game room, library, Maya’s Room, Silliflicks (movie theater), sound studio, student kitchen, squash court, and a weight room.

Timothy Dwight College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: Timothy Dwight is at 345 Temple St. and has an art room and print shop, buttery, common rooms, darkroom, dining hall, freshman orientation guide, library, tutors, multi-purpose room, music room, and weight room.

Trumbull College
Bathrooms: Shared
Special Features: At 241 Elm St., Trumbull has courtyards, a dining room, a library, and Nick Chapel.

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