“This is a light on this disparity, illuminates it in particular in this moment…There’s no guise of safety. If Yale cares most about the people who make up its community, releasing students from a nominal contribution to its budget…It makes such a difference in the lives of students to not Read more…
People told me that I would find the support that I needed at Yale as a first-generation, low-income student. Advertisements from the University made it seem like I had little to worry about—that despite my lack of knowledge on how to succeed as an undergraduate, the school would help guide Read more…
I feel like I’m in a very good position because I was able to use the DSA and get paid research work over the summer. But I know some of the people I’m planning on living with next year are just planning on getting our apartment to live in and Read more…
As a low-income student, I was constantly aware of what could happen if something drastic occurred to change my status from poor but doing okay to downright struggling. That “something drastic” has occurred, and no one knows when it will end. I am constantly paying for my parents’ groceries to Read more…
“I have been working at Yale since before classes started my first year. I spent Camp Yale scheduling job interviews, as my number one priority was to get an on-campus job. Going to this school would not have been possible unless I could make money. I felt lucky that I Read more…
I’ve had a lot of experience with mental illness; I have depression and anxiety, and I have been in an intensive outpatient program. I think it’s very important to have timely access to mental health professionals because in my experience, I didn’t want to get help until I was already Read more…
“I’m driving distance from Yale, I live off campus, so I never had to deal with the stress of getting stuff out of my room… In many ways I was in a situation that Yale assumed many of its students would be in, and even then didn’t feel supported by Read more…
“Transitioning to Yale from a public high school in rural Wisconsin posed both academic and cultural challenges that exacerbated my anxiety and imposter syndrome. I struggled everyday with homesickness and depression but still refused to reach out to Yale Mental Health and Counseling to avoid false hope of getting actual Read more…
I think the thing I see most visibly is how race and class shape one’s ability to decide whether take a gap year because of of COVID-19 for the 2020-2021 school year. A lot of people I know who would love to take a gap year for mental health reasons, Read more…
I have no job, and may not be able to find a job into the semester depending on Yale’s social distancing policies. With all the uncertainty and so many out of work, I believe it is completely unfair to ask low income students to contribute to their education when families Read more…