Yale University
What Yale says
Exact quotes from Yale’s official pages, checked word for word on Oct 22, 2026.
Students who wish to take a leave of absence must petition the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing through their residential college dean.
— catalog.yale.edu ↗For a spring term leave of absence, petitions must be received by 5:00 p.m. (EST) on the fifteenth day of the spring term.
— catalog.yale.edu ↗Students are eligible for a total of four terms of leave of absence. These terms need not be taken consecutively.
— catalog.yale.edu ↗To return from leave, students must notify their residential college dean no later than the first day of the term in which they wish to return.
— catalog.yale.edu ↗Students who wish to take a leave of absence must petition the Committee on Honors and Academic Standing through their residential college dean.
— catalog.yale.edu ↗Written by AI from the quotes and pages we read. It may be incomplete or wrong; the school’s own pages win.
- Yale College appears to require a leave petition through your residential college dean.
- For spring, the petition looks due by the fifteenth day of the term.
- Leaves seem limited to four terms total, and approval is needed.
- Reasons accepted: dean's approval (Ordinarily approved if in good standing).
- Time away allowed: Up to 4 terms total.
- Classes start Jan 19.
Before you decide
Check on the following…
- Will my spot be held?Check how long your school keeps your place and whether you have to apply to come back.Ask: Registrar
- Will I graduate later?A term off can push back your graduation. Ask which required classes only run in the spring.Ask: Academic advisor
- Is there a deadline to ask?Some schools want your leave request before January. Find out the exact date and the form.Ask: Dean’s office or registrar
- What happens to my scholarships and aid?Ask whether your scholarships and grants pause while you’re away or end, and what you need to do to get them back.Ask: Financial aid office
- When would I have to start repaying loans?Student loans usually stop being deferred when you’re not enrolled. After a short grace period, often six months, payments can start.Ask: Financial aid office
- Will I still have health insurance?A student health plan usually needs you to be enrolled. Make sure you’re covered from January to April.Ask: Student health office
- What about my housing?Ask whether you can leave your housing contract without a penalty and whether you’ll get housing when you come back.Ask: Housing office
- I’m on a student visa. Does this affect it?For F-1 students, not enrolling usually ends your visa status. Talk to this office before anything else.Ask: International student office
Hackathon
Student founder community
- Helix ↗Calls itself Yale's only undergraduate-run incubator (software, health, biotech); listed on Yale Engineering's clubs page.
- Yale Entrepreneurial Society (YES) ↗
Entrepreneurship center
Hard-tech team
- Bulldogs Racing ↗Yale's all-electric Formula SAE team since 2006.
- Yale Undergraduate Aerospace Association (YUAA) ↗Builds and flies rockets, planes and drones; open to all experience levels.
- Yale Undergraduate Robotics ↗Builds rovers for the University Rover Challenge.
Why 87
Spend the winter building. Southbound runs Jan 11 to Apr 11, 2027 in Miami. Acceptance is rolling.
What we could find (checked Oct 22, 2026). Not final: confirm dates and aid with your school before you act. Source pages look current for 2026–27. We date pages from server timestamps, page metadata, “last updated” text, PDF dates and the Wayback Machine.