History
History
Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) was established in 1998. Grantees may work with cohorts of students starting no later than the 7th grade in middle schools with 50% or more free and reduced lunch. The University of North Carolina System Office has administered the state GEAR UP grant for North Carolina since 2000.
2000 to 2006
15
school districts
8000
students
7.5 mil
in federal funding
2005 to 2011
19
school districts
15,627
students
19.2 mil
in federal funding
2012 to 2019
16
school districts
22,000
students
28.6 mil
in federal funding
Successes
2005 – 2011
- GEAR UP North Carolina high schools experienced a 10.3 percentage point increase in the percentage of students graduating from high school during the six-year program.
- Outpaced the state in improving high school graduation rates; narrowing the gap between GEAR UP high schools and the state by almost half.
- College enrollment rates increased by almost 10 percentage points across GEAR UP NC, growing from 52.4% to 62.2%.
2012 – 2019
- GEAR UP North Carolina high schools experienced a 11 percentage point increase in the 4-year graduation rate during the seven-year program.
- Completed FAFSA applications submitted increased by 19.5 percentage points from 41 to 60.5%.
- College enrollment rates increased by 18 percentage points across GEAR UP NC, growing from 32% to 50%.
- 82% of the 2018 Seniors who enrolled in a 2-year institution and 94% of the students in 4-year institution persisted to their second year of college.