Penn forms partnership to enhance admissions access for military veterans and service members.

The University of Pennsylvania has taken a significant step towards enhancing undergraduate admissions for military veterans and service members through a newly launched initiative. This program, announced this week, involves a partnership with the national nonprofit organization, Service to School, which operates the VetLink program. The primary aim of VetLink is to provide free application counseling, mentorship, and networking opportunities for veterans and active-duty service members, thereby facilitating their transition to higher education.

This initiative comes in response to the unique challenges faced by veterans as they navigate the college application process, particularly those who may have enlisted directly after high school. The admissions dean at Penn, Whitney Soule, emphasized the value that veterans bring to the campus community and expressed the university’s commitment to welcoming them. Under this initiative, veterans will apply alongside other first-year students during the traditional, competitive admissions cycle at Penn. For its fall 2025 admissions, the university accepted just 4.9% of applicants, underscoring the competitiveness of the process. However, Soule assured that each candidate would be evaluated within the context of their life experiences.

This announcement follows recent developments in higher education related to military tuition assistance. The Pentagon had previously listed certain institutions, including Princeton and Carnegie Mellon University, from which military officers would be barred from receiving tuition assistance for graduate programs. Fortunately, Penn was not included on that list. Despite the timing, Soule clarified that the partnership with Service to School exists independently from the Pentagon’s decisions.

Service to School, established in 2011 by a group of veterans and an admissions expert, now partners with seven of the eight Ivy League institutions, including the University of Pennsylvania. The organization advocates for veterans, providing them with essential resources and guidance while ensuring that partner institutions offer robust support for veterans’ educational needs. This includes higher education institutions that boast at least a 70% six-year graduation rate, with partner schools currently averaging a 92% rate.

Penn has been active in veteran support through various programs, including an established student veteran network. Currently, the university has 268 student veterans utilizing educational benefits, though the majority are graduate students. With the implementation of this new partnership, both Soule and Lynn Manuel, Penn’s inaugural associate director of veteran and military engagement, expect a marked increase in the number of veterans within the undergraduate programs, paving the way for more veterans to consider higher education at elite institutions.

By collaborating with Service to School, the University of Pennsylvania aims not only to enhance access but also to reaffirm its commitment to recognizing the contributions of veterans and integrating them into the academic community. This initiative signifies a broader effort to remove barriers and encourage veterans to pursue their academic aspirations at prestigious universities like Penn.