Internal Support

In order to ensure the continued success of high-achieving foster youth, emancipated minors, unaccompanied minors, and estranged LGBTQ+ youth at the collegiate level, the program will provide financial assistance and social support to Yale students of this background throughout their undergraduate career.

Financial Assistance

Even with Yale’s need-based financial aid system, students who lack familial support, are constantly faced with the stress of additional expenses not covered by financial aid. Common among those of this identity is difficulty committing sufficient time to a wage-earning job to be able to afford the cost of academic fees, books, and supplies during the academic year, as well as food, rent, utilities, transportation, medical bills, and other living expenses while on breaks. To alleviate such stress and allow for greater attention to be paid to collegiate academic rigor, Harbor Fellows commits to supporting members with stipends to cover such expenses that are extraneous to the average college student.

Social Support

Details pertaining to familial dysfunctionality or foster care are often sensitive to students faced with such issues. Harbor Fellows seeks to foster such a community on campus so as to allow students of these backgrounds to find solace in the company of those who faced similar struggles.

Temporary Housing Assistance

Students that are not permitted to remain in their on-campus housing during Winter and Summer breaks can take advantage of any of the 110+ volunteer housing units across 37 municipalities that Harbor Fellows has sourced and approved for this program. To ensure that students have a stable place to live and study that is closest to the existing peer and support networks that can optimize their success, Harbor Fellows is committed to continuing to expand this network to offer a more expansive array of locations and will make every effort to accommodate student requests as we grow.

Support Across Connecticut

Yale volunteers, either of the identity or interested in supporting the program will organize members to provide mentorship and college counseling services to Connecticut high school students in out-of-home care so as to pass down the skills and insights that were integral to their own success. The nature of the mentorship will adapt to those individuals seeking support so as to ensure an experience tailored to their needs and aspirations. Harbor Fellows is committed to mitigating the challenges of this identity and reducing the factors that may hinder such students from realizing their full potential.

This initiative will take place throughout the academic year. For identifying high school juniors, the program will encompass facets of the college application process. They will be offered guidance and support so that they may find the college that best suits their academic and professional goals. Each mentee will be paired one on one with a Yale-affiliated volunteer dedicated to tailoring the program to suit their individual needs. A large portion of the initiative will consist of comparing academic programs and prospective financial aid packages across colleges to best match their needs. Mentors will help review and develop college applications to ensure that students of this identity effectively present their strengths and character to admissions officers.

As for Seniors of this identity, Yale mentors will assist them in understanding and negotiating their financial aid package. The organization strives to guide and support such individuals in deciding which college to matriculate to—particularly given the unique background that these students come from—and help them best prepare for such matriculation thereafter.