GEAR UP summer group at Detroit School of Rock.

2025 - 2026 Events and Activities

College Visits

Participating Schools: Please contact our office if you would like us to schedule and coordinate a campus visit to Western Michigan University or any Michigan college or university of interest at (269) 387-3366 or @email. We can host up to two college visit per GEAR UP high school; preferably one in the fall and one in the spring (Dates to be determined by school).

Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025: Hartford HS at Western Michigan University
Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2025: Kalamazoo Central HS at Michigan State University
Friday, March 20, 2026: Hartford HS at Grand Valley State University
Wednesday, March 25, 2026: Fennville HS at Michigan State University
Monday, April 6, 2026: Benton Harbor HS at Ferris State University
Monday, April 20, 2026: WMU GEAR UP hosts FSU GEAR UP students at Western Michigan University
Thursday, April 30, 2026: Kalamazoo Central HS at Michigan State University

Tutoring

Tutoring at Kalamazoo Central High School on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the school library, from 2:30 - 4:30 p.m. Tutoring sessions will begin Tuesday, September 23, 2025 and will continue until April 2026. Tutoring at Kalamazoo Central is a collaborative effort with the Office of Pre-College Programming and Upward Bound.
Online Tutoring is available through our Office of Pre-College Programming for our GEAR UP high schools. Please contact our office to sign-up at @email.

In-School Activities

August 13, 2025: WMU GEAR UP at Benton Harbor High School Back-to-School Bash and Community Fair
August 20, 2025: WMU GEAR UP at Hartford Public Schools Back-to-School Bash
October 6, 2025: FAFSA Night for Seniors at Fennville HS Parent Teacher Conferences
October 22, 2025: FAFSA Night for Seniors at Hartford HS
October 23, 2025: GEAR UP tabling at Benton Harbor HS Career Fair
March 18, 2026: FAFSA Night for Seniors at Benton Harbor HS in collaboration with WMU's Financial Aid
March 18, 2026: Resume 101 Workshop at Fennville High School
March 26, 2026: Resume 101 Workshop at Fennville High School
March - April 2026: GEAR UP school drives for senior nominations to Michigan Student AID (SSGO) and Michigan Education Trust (MET) award opportunities
May 1, 2026: WMU GEAR UP certificate & pin presentations at Hartford HS
May 8, 2026: WMU GEAR UP certificate & pin presentations at Benton Harbor HS
May 15, 2026: WMU GEAR UP certificate & pin presentations at Fennville HS

Student Leadership and Career Activities

September 18, 2025: Michigan GEAR UP Kick-Off to College, Lansing, MI. Benton Harbor HS, Fennville HS, Hartford HS and Kalamazoo Central HS
October 23, 2025: WMU GEAR UP at Benton Harbor HS Career Fair
February 27 - March 1, 2026: GEAR UP students at MI-CAPP Student Leadership Summit
March 10, 2026: DAPCEP STEM Day at Western Michigan University (Collaborative event with DAPCEP, GVSU GEAR UP and WSU GEAR UP)
Friday, April 24, 2026: Health Careers Exploration Day (Collaborative event with AHEC WRCC, Beacon Health System, WMU Upward Bound)

Summer Program

Summer College Tour is tentatively set for July 6-10, 2026. Applications are available at your school's counseling office. Deadline to apply is April 27, 2026.