UI REACH Housing
Residence Halls
In their first and second year at UI REACH, students live in a fully integrated, on-campus residence hall with a trained UI REACH Resident Assistant (RA) on each floor. They share a room with other UI REACH students and live on co-ed and single gender floors. University of Iowa Halls have amenities including a fitness room, computer lab, floor lounges, and a multi-purpose room for weekly student activities.
RAs are undergraduate students who live in the UI REACH community, lead activities for their residents, support students in their transition to college, and provide support during situations that may arise in the hall. A professional UI REACH staff member is on-call 24 hours a day for emergency situations.
Apartment Living
In their third and fourth year at UI REACH, students live in the Aspire at West Campus apartment community. They share a unit with another UI REACH student, which includes a shared kitchen and living room as well as individual bedrooms and bathrooms. The apartment community also includes common spaces, such as a 24-hour fitness center, an outdoor patio, and a dog park.
Students at Aspire experience what life can be like for them after graduation. With staff support, students focus on developing independent-living and household management skills, navigating meal-planning, cooking, cleaning, and more. With a university CAMBUS stop at Aspire, students also learn how to navigate the bus system to get to-and-from campus.
Campus and Community Life
UI REACH students experience campus life with other University of Iowa students through participation in cultural and social events, student organizations, and sporting events. Students are encouraged to participate in recreational opportunities offered on the university campus to explore their interests as well as new opportunities. Living at the University of Iowa encourages students to apply their social and independent living skills through real-world experiences.
A variety of activities and learning opportunities are offered every day, organized by the university community, the UI REACH program, and by students themselves. Weekly events are often led by UI REACH student mentors or partners within university organizations (e.g., Art Hawks, Homecoming, Dance Marathon, National Speech Language Hearing Association), offering integrated social experiences to students in the program. Students can receive further campus engagement advising through the Division of Student Life.
Developing community life skills enables our students and alumni to live with greater self-sufficiency and to contribute to their community through successful employment and leisure activities. Students gain self-confidence, interpersonal skills, knowledge of community resources, and an awareness of personal safety as they explore the city for work and leisure activities.
UI REACH Student Joins the Hawkeye Marching Band
Read about Jack Emptage's Hawkeye Marching Band dream opportunity in Iowa Magazine.
Note: Students in the UI REACH Program must follow the expectations and policies outlined in the University of Iowa Code of Student Life, Residence Hall Policies, and UI REACH Program Handbook. UI REACH students typically have the same consequences as do traditional students for code violations as prescribed in the University of Iowa's disciplinary process.
