We’re here to help! Being a first-generation college student may present its own challenges, but UCI has various resources to help you thrive!
First-generation Student Resources
There are many resources and support programs available at UCI to assist first-generation students in navigating the transition to college life at UCI.
Most first-generation initiatives can be found within the Student Success Initiatives (SSI) office.
Student Success Initiatives’s Summer Bridge Scholars are students who are awarded a scholarship to attend the Freshman Edge Summer Program, a 6-week program designed to provide incoming UCI students an opportunity to make the best possible academic and social transition to UCI. Students earn UCI credit and get a head start working towards their degree while meeting other new students, staff and faculty. After the summer, Scholars receive additional benefits including personalized guidance from a professional staff member, peer mentoring, priority enrollment, tutoring scholarships, skill-building workshops, and community-building opportunities.
Housed within Student Success Initiatives in the Division of Undergraduate Education, the TRIO Scholars Program offers approximately 140 participants academic, social, personal, and career advising and support from orientation until graduation. The TRIO Scholars Program is a federally funded program, awarded by the U.S Department of Education, that was established in 2015. Funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, Student Success Initiatives provides opportunities aimed at enhancing students’ academic development, assisting students with their academic progress, and motivating students towards the successful completion of their post-secondary education. Participation is based on eligibility requirements.
The First Things First project is an evolution of UCI’s First-Generation Faculty Initiative, and is designed to help first-generation students overcome the challenges brought about by the pandemic. This new virtual mentorship program pairs two incoming UCI first-generation students with first-gen faculty members for a year-long, social-media-distributed conversation about the transition to university life. The goal of First Things First is to help UCI’s entire first-generation population, as well as first-generation students throughout higher education, build a sense of community—even in this remote college environment.
We Are UCI: Redefining Student Success is a podcast where the students can share their stories of strength and resilience. Episodes feature candid conversations with students about the personal, social and educational experiences that have shaped their pursuit of success at UCI. We Are UCI: Redefining Student Success is available to stream and download at iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and wherever else you listen to your podcasts.
The Gateway Initiative is a set of services designed to provide low-income, first-generation students with the necessary resources, academic skills, and appropriate referrals that will allow them to reach their maximum personal, academic, and career potential.
Academic Schools at UCI offer specific mentorship, tutoring, or other opportunities within their schools. Below you will find a few schools that offer these services: