In 1999, Fairmont State College (West Virginia) received a Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) grant for a 5-year program designed to encourage college aspirations and preparation among disadvantaged rural youth. During the first 2 years, parents and students in nine counties were surveyed to determine their…

In the second year of a federally funded program encouraging disadvantaged youth to prepare for college, 1,955 parents and 1,520 students at 23 middle schools in southern West Virginia were surveyed concerning their perceptions of and aspirations for postsecondary education. Findings indicate that students and their parents had a generally…

West Virginia received two grants from the U.S. Department of Education to encourage disadvantaged youth to have high expectations, stay in school, and take academically rigorous courses to prepare for college. A total of 17 counties were served by these grants. As part of the program, surveys were completed by 3,716 students in 54 middle and…

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federally funded program aimed at encouraging disadvantaged middle and high school students to have high expectations, stay in school, and take college preparatory courses. The West Virginia Department of Education received funding to conduct the program in eight rural…

Project GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federally funded program focused on encouraging disadvantaged youth to have high expectations, stay in school, and take academically rigorous courses to prepare them for college. A 5-year GEAR UP grant in rural southern West Virginia funds academic and support…

Project GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federally funded program focused on encouraging disadvantaged youth to have high expectations, stay in school, and take academically rigorous courses to prepare them for college. A GEAR UP grant in rural north-central West Virginia funds academic and support…

A study examined rural students' academic aspirations and expectations, their perceptions of their parents' aspirations and expectations, and their parents' actual aspirations and expectations. Surveys were completed by 3,733 seventh grade-students in 54 schools in 17 West Virginia counties. Parent response rates were lower, with approximately two…

In 1999, the U.S. Department of Education funded 21 state and 164 college and middle school partnership grants for Project GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), which encourages disadvantaged youth to prepare for college. As part of its grant, Fairmont State College (West Virginia) surveyed parents and…

Parent and student surveys were conducted in nine primarily rural West Virginia counties to gather baseline information on incoming seventh-grade students' and parents' awareness of and aspirations for postsecondary education. The surveys are administered each year as part of Fairmont State College's GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness…

Project GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) encourages disadvantaged youth to stay in school and prepare for college. To gather baseline information on incoming seventh-grade students' and parents' awareness of, interest in, and aspirations for students' postsecondary education, surveys were administered to…

In 1999, Fairmont State College (FSC) received a U.S. Department of Education grant to implement Project GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) in nine primarily-rural counties of West Virginia. GEAR UP encourages disadvantaged youth to have high expectations, stay in school, and take academically rigorous…