TARGET POPULATION
- Current rising ninth, tenth, eleventh, or twelfth grader in the Hartford, Lawrence, Covert, or Bangor school systems.
- Participants must have a desire to attend an institution of higher education.
- Participants must be income eligible, potential first generation college student or both to fully receive Upward Bound services (low income as documented by parents’ or guardians’ current tax return; first generation means that parents or guardians did not attend college and do not hold bachelor’s degrees).
- Must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
- Students must have a desire to participate in all college preparatory activities and have a willingness to dedicate themselves to the program. Once accepted into the program, students will receive service until their high school graduation, unless otherwise noted.
- Students who can prove that they are at-risk for poor academic performance based on adverse circumstances (e.g., migration, predominantly low income area, foster care youth, etc.). Contact our office for more information.
BENEFITS
- Tutoring, grade monitoring and other formal types of academic support.
- Mentoring, advising and assisting students with the path to higher education.
- Stipend for participation three times per calendar year ($40 per month during the academic component and $90 maximum during the summer component).
- Exposure to various university programs and services.
- Exposure to cultural activities on campus, locally in Van Buren county and nationally across the country.
- Career explorations presented by scholars, graduate student panels and professionals working in the different fields of study (e.g., engineering, aviation, business, etc.) .
- Six-week summer program on Western Michigan University’s campus designed to simulate the college learning environment and expose participants to what college life is like before they enroll on a prospective campus.
- Financial planning for our participants and their family, as well as help with the search for funding support for our participants.
- Assistance in completing college entrance forms, scholarship application, and financial aid applications.
- Assistance in preparing for college entrance standardized test, such as the ACT and SAT.