“I couldn’t have finished school without those scholarships, to be honest,” says Correa, who graduated in 2017. “I couldn’t have even paid rent over the summer.”
UCI’s efforts to recognize and address the unique needs of U.S. servicemen and women have drawn national accolades. In 2019, U.S. News & World Report ranked UCI 13th best college for veterans, and the summer 2018 issue of U.S. Veterans Magazine named the campus a “top veteran-friendly school.”
Beyond mission-critical scholarship support, UCI offers a host of accommodations to help veterans transition smoothly and succeed. UCI guarantees on-campus housing for veterans, offers flexible policies when students are deployed on short notice, and provides special training to help faculty and staff address the unique needs of veterans, including addressing mental health.
“We really try to look at it holistically,” says Adelí Durón, director of the Veteran Services Center. “Acknowledging that veterans are usually older than traditional undergraduates, often have families to support, and may have reason to resist seeking help with some issues, we want to help serve their unique needs.”
That includes setting veterans up for success upon graduation by facilitating career fairs and sending them to conferences. Earlier this year, the center funded a trip to the Student Veterans Association of America National Conference.