Vet Up!® Eligibility Requirements

Vet Up! is open to individuals who are:

  • U.S. citizens
  • Non-citizen nationals
  • Foreign nationals who possess a visa permitting permanent residence in the United States 

Participants must also establish an educationally or economically disadvantaged background by meeting two or more of the following criteria: 

  • The individual is an underrepresented minority with respect to race or ethnicity.
  • The individual is from a rural background.
  • The individual is the first-generation in their family to attend college (neither parent nor legal guardian completed a Bachelor’s degree or higher).
  • The individual graduated from (or last attended) a high school that, based on the most recent annual data available, had:
    • Less than 60% of seniors receiving a high school diploma; or
    • Less than 60% of graduates going to college the first year after graduation; or
    • Over half of the enrolled students eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.
  • Low family annual income based the 2024 Poverty Guidelines and validated by federal income tax return. A family is a group of two or more individuals related by birth, marriage, or adoption who live together. A household may be only one person.

Low Income Levels** Based on the 2024 Poverty Guidelines

Size of Parents’ Family* 48 Contiguous States and D.C. Alaska Hawaii
1 $15,060 $18,810 $17,310
2 $20,440 $25,540 $23,500
3 $25,820 $32,270 $29,690
4 $31,200 $39,000 $35,880
5 $36,580 $45,730 $42,070
6 $41,960 $52,460 $48,260
7 $47,340 $59,190 $54,450
8 $52,720 $65,920 $60,640
For each additional person, add $5,380 $6,730 $6,190

* Includes only dependents listed on federal income tax forms. Some programs will use the student’s family rather than his or her parents’ family.

Questions about Vet Up?

Email us at VetUp@purdue.edu or call us at 765-496-1908.