History of the Upward Bound

Upward Bound (UB) emerged from the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 in response to the growing disparity among graduates of higher education. Two other programs were created by the Higher Education Act in the late 1960's, so the term "TRIO" was coined to describe these three educational opportunity outreach programs. Upward Bound is designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds, assisting them through the pipeline from high school to college. Upward Bound is funded by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) and spans across the nation. It includes the highest number of participants of any higher education program in the United States.

Mission of GWUMC - UB

Upward Bound (UB) at The George Washington University Medical Center (GWUMC) declares its commitment to provide supplemental education, extracurricular resources and opportunities for low income, potential first generation college students to facilitate their matriculation into a post secondary institution. Our program primarily identifies students having an expressed desire to pursue medical and allied health careers and offers extensive exposure and accessibility to these disciplines.

What is Upward Bound at GW Medical Center?

UB is located at the GW Medical Center to better serve the needs of the program participants. This allows for provision of practical support and state-of-the-art resources to the participants. Not only do we provide access to the GW Medical Center, but we also can grant exposure to many of the Medical Center's collaborative partners in the area. GW offers undergraduate programs to which Upward Bound participants can aspire.

Objectives/Plans

• To achieve our enrolled capacity of 60 eligible participants that will benefit from supplemental academic courses and individual resources, i.e. academic assessment, college guidance, career planning, etc., that will aid in their successful completion of high school and subsequent transition into college
• To prepare seniors for their matriculation into a 4 year college by providing supplemental instruction, tutorial services in core subjects, specialized monitoring from the Academic Advisor, SAT preparatory workshops, college bound seminars, financial aid workshops, etc.
• To maintain and/or show appropriate academic achievement in reading and mathematics
• To retain at least 70% of participants through high school by offering additional instruction in core subjects in the Saturday Academy and Summer Institute, tutorial services for academic support, mentoring, leadership opportunities, and college tours
• To ensure that at least 80% of graduating seniors will enter postsecondary education
• To ensure that at least 65% of Upward Bound students who enter postsecondary education will graduate with a degree within 6 years through academic tracking

Target Schools

The Upward Bound Program at GWUMC currently serves grades 9-12 from these five schools located in the Washington, D.C. area: McKinley Tech High School, Dunbar Senior High School, H.D. Woodson Senior High School, M.M. Washington Career High School, and Spingarn Senior High School. We have the opportunity to service any public high school in wards 5, 6, & 7.

Eligibility and Commitment

Each interested student must complete an application, be interviewed, and be accepted into the program before joining UB in activities. An eligible student is:
• Currently enrolled in one of the listed target schools
• Student in grades 9-11
• U.S. citizen or national, permanent resident of the U.S. or other as designated
• Potential first-generation college student
• In academic need
• Intention to extend education beyond high school
• 2.5 overall high school grade point average (GPA)

For every UB student each year, we will provide valuable services, instruction, and programming to help each student strive for excellence at no monetary cost. In return, students must commit 100% participation and attendance during their time in Upward Bound. This means that they are committed to pursue academic success and college admission during their four years in Upward Bound.

Parents

We need your support and commitment so that this experience for your son/daughter/ward is most successful. We solicit your help, ideas, and whatever you can contribute to enhance the potential for all UB students to graduate from high school and attend college.