West Virginia students are earning higher grade point averages, successfully completing first year of college thanks to text messaging service

In West Virginia, some GEAR UP students participated in the Txt 4 Success initiative. Findings indicate that students who participated were 6 – 6.7 percentage points more likely to persist from the first year to the second year of college; that number is even higher for students from rural areas. As part of the program, students received text messages…

OU’S GEAR UP program sees record enrollment, changes students’ lives

Oakland University (OU) has 119 new college freshman who are from GEAR UP high schools across Michigan. Starting in the seventh grade, these students began thinking about college, and attending OU felt like a natural step for many – they could already see themselves attending long before they enrolled. Not only did this generation of students experience the impact of GEAR UP, but they are already looking forward to reaching…

Area schools learn how Eastern’s $17 million GEAR UP grant will benefit students and teachers 

More than 125 area public school teachers, counselors, and administrators met at Eastern Oklahoma State College to learn how the college’s $17 million GEAR UP grant will help them prepare students for postsecondary education.       

Lunch celebrates 2017 Bibb graduates now in college

The Bibb County GEAR UP program in Georgia is hosting a special Fall Semester “Survivor” Celebration for 2017 graduates who are now attending college. They’ll have free lunch, hear from others on making it through their first year of college, and see former classmates.

Duval County awarded $12M to help most challenged 7th graders

GEAR UP grant in Duval County, Florida, was approved by the school board. The GEAR UP program there will serve 2,800 seventh-grade students at 10 under-resourced schools in the district to help prepare students to succeed in postsecondary education.

3 Spokane middle schools awarded grant aimed at helping low-income further their education

In Spokane, Washington, three middle schools are excited to implement GEAR UP in their schools. Students will have career and college counselors that will work with them through high school graduation to prepare them for their futures.

Campus visit gives Harrisonburg High GEAR UP students a taste of college life

Virginia GEAR UP students at Harrisonburg High School recently visited Eastern Mennonite University. Students learned about the college application process, various majors at the university, and got to spend time with college students. They were partnered with college student mentors from the Honors Program, Latino Student Alliance, and the Student Government Association.