GEAR UP stands for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs. It is a national initiative to encourage more young people to have high expectations, stay in school, study hard and take the right courses to go to college.

GEAR UP Massachusetts serves low-income priority students in five cohorts across seven of the Commonwealth’s most impoverished areas: Boston, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, New Bedford, Springfield, and Worcester. Target middle and high schools have poverty rates as high as 93%, and most of the largest are categorized as persistently lowest achieving State Improvement Grant (SIG) schools.

Over the past 12 years, GEAR UP Massachusetts has helped more than 10,000 students chart a path toward high school graduation and college success. In the 2005-’11 grant, students achieved gains in standardized test scores, while comparisons with non-GEAR UP students showed that participants were much more likely to take the SAT, complete financial aid forms, and enroll in college. GEAR UP also offers counseling for our "13th year" students, offering counseling and support to our first year college students.

Examples of services offered are college field trips, classroom workshops, one on one counseling for college applications and assistance with FAFSA and C.S.S. Profile.

ALL TRIPS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY GEAR UP ARE FREE OF CHARGE TO STUDENTS!

To Learn More About The GEAR UP Program Visit Their Website Here