Eligibility

The Eli Whitney Students Program is designed for adult students who do not hold a bachelor’s degree.

the sky and Yale’s buildings reflected in a pool of water

You are eligible to apply to the Eli Whitney Students Program if you will have been out of high school for at least five years by the time you would enroll at Yale and do not have a bachelor’s degree.

You may be eligible to apply through multiple pathways - including first-year, and transfer. Most adult students find that the Eli Whitney Students Program is right for them.

For admissions eligibility, there is no minimum or maximum number of transferable credits. Enrolling students may transfer up to 18 course credits earned at one or more colleges and must complete a minimum of 18 course credits at Yale.
Eli Whitney students may take classes full or part time and have 7 years to complete their degree.
Eli Whitney students are not offered undergraduate housing. Most live in New Haven within walking distance of campus.

All new students begin in the fall semester

All prospective students apply for enrollment beginning in the fall semester. Yale does not offer spring term admission.

The full Yale experience

Eli Whitney students are fully integrated into the Yale College community, taking the same in-person classes as other undergraduates and accessing to the same majors, faculty, extracurricular activities, research opportunities, and international experiences. All students are affiliated with a residential college.

Yale College offers nearly 2,000 undergraduate courses and 80 majors. Students complete 36 course credits to earn a degree and complete distributional requirements in humanities and arts, sciences, social sciences, quantitative reasoning, writing, and language.

Browse Yale courses with the Course Search Tool

Comparing Yale’s transfer and Eli Whitney students programs

Some prospective students are eligible to apply to the transfer program and the Eli Whitney students program, but candidates may not apply to both simultaneously. Yale accepts the Transfer Common Application for both programs, but there are several key differences:

Component	Transfer Program	Eli Whitney Students Program
Education interruption	None or minimal interruption	Have been out of high school for 5+ years
Required testing	ACT or SAT	Optional
Credit transfer	1-2 years transferable college credit	No transferable credit floor or ceiling
Enrollment	Full-time only	Full-time or part-time
Housing	On-campus housing available for single students	Most live off-campus; a few live in graduate housing. Undergraduate housing is not available.
Financial aid eligibility	Need-based financial aid	Need-based financial aid
Financial aid coverage	Meet 100% of financial need; awards based on full cost of attendance	Meet 100% of financial need; awards based on full cost of attendance for students enrolled at least half-time.

Fee waivers

Yale does not issue its own fee waivers, but it is easy to apply for free if you meet any of the eligibility criteria for your chosen application platform. Follow the instructions when completing the Common App to request your fee waiver.

U.S. military veterans and active-duty service members receive automatic application fee waivers.

Common Application