 Upon her return in the fall of 1894, she was assigned to the same residence hall dining table as incoming student Catharine Bunnell (niece of future Yale benefactor John William Sterling), and the two became lifelong friends.In January 1895, an illness leading to hospitalization led to Gilmour's withdrawal from the college, her transcript citing "reasons of health," although Gilmour's biographer speculates that the expiration of her four-year scholarship the previous year may have been a contributing factor.She never completed her degree.