While 21 percent of college students attend high-graduation rate colleges or universities like Wesleyan, only 10 percent of veterans do so, according to a 2019 report by research group Ithaka S+R. The Posse Foundation, in conjunction with the University of Chicago, Vassar College, the University of Virginia, and Wesleyan University, aims to boost those numbers.
Since its foundation in 1989, the organization has sought to increase accessibility to higher education, particularly for demographics that often end up slipping through the cracks of elite college admissions. Veterans are one of those groups—alongside first generation, low income, and racial minorities—who can apply or be nominated for the program, which is a year-long application process. If selected, finalists attend pre-collegiate training in New York, which builds on the leadership abilities of scholars and prepares students academically, socially, and culturally prior to matriculation.
