Residential College ? Re: Transfer & Eli Whitney Students

Colleges & Universities Yale University
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Hi,

I recently applied to the Eli Whitney Students Program. While I’m waiting to hear back about my application I thought I’d ask some questions about campus life as it pertains to transfers and EWS.

So, I know that EWS don’t live on campus but they are assigned to a residential college.
I’m wondering how that dynamic works-- joining a residential college as a newcomer. From everything I’ve read, one of the big pluses for the res college system is that everyone bonds (or at least gets to know one another!) as freshman.
Do any current or former students have an impression of what it’s like having these new students join a res college? Are students like, “Hey, who is that guy hanging out in our dining hall?” Do they even notice? Are the new students just dropped in or are they formally introduced to their college in some fashion the way freshman might be? In general are the students of a res college particularly welcoming or is the onus on the new student to reach out? I know the AdCom takes a lot of effort to factor in the potential for these students to “fit” into Yale life, so maybe they don’t stand out as much as I’d imagine. One of the reasons Yale appealed to me is that socialization seems to be an integral part of the Yale experience. So although, I am significantly older than most college students (as are many EWS) I am hoping, if accepted, that I’ll be able to participate in typical campus life as much as possible without it being strange.

Is there a particular res college that transfers or those in the EWSP are more likely to end up in?

I’d also love to hear some thoughts from transfers and Eli Whitney students, if anyone is out there lurking!

The other non-traditional student question I’ve been pondering is far more logistical… where on earth do EWS park?? Are they stuck using New Haven’s city lots? :frowning:

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In general, Yale students are very welcoming, but it kind of works both ways, you also have to reach out by saying “Hi, Abendstern, I’m new here.” That said: http://admissions.yale.edu/eli-whitney

If you are accepted to the program, jump for joy, and everything will fall into place, including parking.

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Thanks for the reply Gibby!
I hope it didn’t seem that I assumed they wouldn’t be welcoming, quite the opposite. I do know it works both ways. :slight_smile: Was just wondering if there is any sort of formal introduction of non-traditional students. I wanted to get a kind of sense of the atmosphere from far away. It’s difficult to tell what it might be like… especially, when you are many (many, many) years out of the typical college age bracket. Quite honestly, if admitted, I expect to participate in social life as much as possible… but will I join a frat? Probably not. Based on my age alone that might be creepy. But that’s OK. I am just trying to figure out where the that line is. Sort of a way to occupy myself while I wait to hear from adcom. I figured I’d take advantage of the anonymity of this forum and ask those embarrassing age-ist kind of questions.

P.S. I never trust that parking will fall into place… not even at Yale! :wink:

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Yale parking for the academic year costs $707, with the full year costing $921, which is why most Yale students don’t take their cars to school, but instead use ZipCars for $9.00 an hour, which includes gas and insurance. See:
http://to.yale.edu/drive/student-parking
http://www.zipcar.com/yale

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Thank you, Gibby! That link is really helpful!

I love zipcars for college students! So useful! Unfortunately, a zipcar wouldn’t be an option for me. As an ESW I would live off campus (perhaps not even in New Haven) and commute. I have 4 of my own children, typical family life and transportation needs will include the need for me to have my car and coordinate my classes/commute/etc. with and around their pick-up/drop-off schedules. It’s doable but certainly takes coordination. Hence the reason I am trying to get a lot of those kind of details before I’ve even been admitted. Not trying to count my chickens early… just trying to get a jump on planning, just in case!

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For anyone reading this in the future, I found this in a Yale Herald article by Anna Lipin.
Here are some highlights from the article that answered some of the questions I posed above:

“The students are placed into either Timothy Dwight, Calhoun, Berkeley, or Ezra Stiles—even though they don’t live there. Given the small number of students in the program, it makes little sense for administrators, who try to foster a sense of community for the Eli Whitneys, to spread them out over all 12 colleges.”

and this:

“Evy Behling, TC ’17, agreed with Brooks. Last summer, she attended Yale Summer Session in Grado, Italy, along with Kristina Thorson [EWSP student]. Kristina told me that she regards her friends made in Italy as “my little brothers and sisters,” so I contacted Evy to talk about Kristina. Like me, Evy didn’t know that Eli Whitney students existed before meeting one.”

http://yaleherald.com/uncategorized/back-to-school/