This essay takes up the question of fostering independent student identities and universal student success by exploring Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the first-year composition classroom. To do so, the author first defines Universal Design for Learning and then attends briefly to contemporary English studies research on UDL. The author next analyzes different ways she integrates it in her first-year composition course; then, she discusses some of the complications instructors may encounter trying to implement these strategies. The author argues that although UDL cannot ensure universal student success, the pedagogical practice fosters an inclusive classroom that makes it more likely that higher numbers of students will not only succeed, but also learn in ways that best suit them.