I was a “grandma.” I said “William Harkness Hall” instead of “WLH,” and “Linsly-Chittenden” instead of “LC.” And in an application for a prize, I literally wrote down under “UPI” the following sentence: “I’ve looked through Google and the Yale website. I’m also a first year getting used to Yale abbreviations. I don’t know.” I know that learning Yale lingo is a gradual, tough process, along with transitioning to college. Fortunately, Yale has a website where they try their best to list them all, but they forgot some details. Although I’m not fluent in Yalese, I feel that it is my responsibility to help you, young first years, avoid my embarrassing mistakes. 

Let’s start from the beginning of your first-year. Before the term, you will be randomly assigned to your “resco” — your residential college. You’ll think that your resco is “objectively the best” for a variety of subjective reasons that you will probably list whenever anyone says otherwise. A couple of colleges have their own abbreviated names (there’s no logic to them; I don’t know why Benjamin Franklin isn’t “BF” when it has one more syllable than Timothy Dwight, my resco):

Davenport = Dport 

Jonathan Edwards = JE 

Timothy Dwight = TD or The Dreamy resco

Depending on where your resco is located, you will frequent some local coffee shops or The Good Nature Market for a late-night snack. But don’t ever call it The Good Nature Market. It is GHeav (or TDHeav, because they felt the need to name one of its locations after The Dreamy resco, duh).

You will also be randomly assigned a “FroCo,” a first-year counselor, at the beginning of the year. They are your guide during and after “Camp Yale,” the period before textbooks and “P-sets” (P for peer) become a part of your friend group. FroCos will help you with “Bluebooking,” an online process where you research courses and you become more “blue” because you will realize that the application process didn’t stop when you got into Yale; it has only begun. Learning how to register for classes in “SIS,” Salovey is Super, is a separate class.

Once you’re at Yale, you will meet your “HoC” (your Head of College), your Dean, and various other students who will convince you to “rush” and try out their extracurriculars. For your convenience, I have provided a list of examples:

“YDN” = Y’all Don’t Nerf

“YCC” = You Can’t Cook

“TGS” = This Guy Stinks

“RHP” = Repping Hot People

“YSO” = Yodelling Sea Operas

“WORD” = Whales Only Read Descartes 

“JAW” = Jellybeans Are Whack

“TUIB” = The Unknown Is Boring

“YMUN” =  You Must Understand Nothing

“YUPP” = Yale Union of Proud Parents

“YHHAP” = Yale Has Handsome Amazing Puppies

“Whiffs” = the name is self-explanatory 

From there, you will be expected to know them all. And while you’re writing these down, remember to LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE (Love Immunity and Vaccinate Early, Let All Universities Go Here, Lux Or Veritas Excelsior).