Of Interest to Veterans

For U.S. Military Veterans

Yale welcomes applications from veterans. Most veterans interested in Yale’s undergraduate program submit applications to the Eli Whitney Students Program for nontraditional students. A Yale education is very affordable for veterans as Yale is a participant in the Yellow Ribbon program, a provision of the 9/11 Veterans Education Assistance act. Yale has also partnered with Service to School’s Vetlink program which supports veterans in their college search process. In addition, Yale participates in the Marine Corps Leadership Scholar Program.

Approximately 1/3 of current Eli Whitney students have served in the U.S. military. Links to in-depth profiles of two veterans, Ryan Pearson and Robert Henderson, can be found below. Examples of other veterans at Yale College include a former USAF cryptologic linguist; USMC Corporal; Navy Journalist; and Army Ranger. Most of these veterans took college classes while on active duty and/or pursued full-time college study at community colleges after being discharged.

Resources for Yale veterans:

Of particular interest to veterans:

  • Yale partners with Service to School, a non-profit organization providing free college search and application guidance to U.S. military service members and veterans. Learn more about the partnership.
  • The US Army profiled Eli Whitney student and Army Ranger veteran Jared Smith in July 2017.
  • USMC veteran Adrian Hale was profiled by Yale News at the 2017 Yale Commencement.
  • Ryan Pearson, a Navy veteran and an Eli Whitney student was featured in the Yale Alumni Magazine, June 2016.
  • Air Force veteran and Eli Whitney student, Robert Henderson was featured in the New Haven Register, February 2016. 
  • Warrior Scholar Project, an academic “boot camp” for veterans interested in attending college, was co-founded by an alumnus of the EWSP. The program was featured in a July 2014 U.S. News article.
  • Adrian Hale YC ’17 gave the keynote speech at Yale’s 2016 Veterans Day Ceremony. Adrian is an Eli Whitney student and Marine Corps veteran.
  • Service 2 School interviewed veterans at Yale: Hillary Browning, a former Navy Mass Communications Specialist and Anthony Grant, a former Air Force Arabic Cryptologic Linguist, both entered Yale College in fall 2016.
  • The Yale Alumni Magazine conducted a Q&A with Yale President Peter Salovey in April 2017 about WWI, Yale, and a Tradition of Service.