Upward Bound, a financial aid program that includes a roster of famous clients, including Oprah, is available for early college high school students at EPCC.
The college was recently awarded a $250,000 federal grant for the program and will begin implementing it with the Mission Del Paso’s Early College High School and will work with Clint, Horizon, Mountain View and San Elizario high schools.
“The goal of Upward Bound is post secondary enrollment. We’re trying to help these students get into college,” said Eduardo R. Servin, director of Upward Bound.
According to the federal government, qualified
applicants must be a first generation student in the U.S. and have a low-income status.
They must be at least 13 years old and entering the ninth, tenth or eleventh grade.
Classes for Upward Bound take place September through May, three Saturdays a month, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The summer program is six weeks long, held Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Subjects include mathematics, English, reading, writing, study skills, computer literacy, career awareness and other academic subjects.
During the summer session, Upward Bound will offer field trips to other college campuses to expose young students to a post secondary environment.
Statistics from the Council for Opportunity in Education show that students in this program are four times more likely to earn an undergraduate degree than those with similar backgrounds who do not participate in the program.
Upward Bound was created during the Lyndon Johnson Administration to fight the ongoing war on poverty.
The program is now offered at more than 1,000 universities, community colleges and agencies nationwide, including UTEP since the late 1960s.
It is also a part of TRIO, a program for low-income individuals.
