The Rural Area Student Initiative, or RASI (pronounced rah-see), is a Registered Student Organization founded in February 2022 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. RASI supports UIUC students from rural areas as they navigate the transition to higher education while also providing resources to rural high school students interested in pursuing higher education.

The culture shock rural college students experience when they first step onto campus is seldom talked about and causes many students to struggle silently. RASI seeks to create a "home away from home" at UIUC-- a hub for rural students to support one another academically, professionally, and socially. 

Additionally, RASI believes every underrepresented student (rural or otherwise) deserves the right to an informed decision concerning higher education. Many barriers, including but not limited to high cost, poor academic opportunities, hometown culture, no past precedent, and lack of resources inhibit rural students from simply considering college in the first place. RASI is directly combatting these educational inequities via the Liaison Project, the program we designed to connect rural high school administrators to RASI members and their college access materials. 

Rural Area Student Initiative

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