In May 2011, the first class of students for the grant cycle period 2005-2011 graduated high school. At that time, there remains three classes of students, grades 10th - 12th. Below is a summary of this cohort of students, including rates of graduation, college credits earned from dual enrollment and college matriculation.

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Colorado’s colleges and universities began the fall semester in August 2011 and we wanted to provide you with an update on our successful entering freshmen cohort of GEAR UP students.   We believe our data for helping underserved students can be compared with any pre-collegiate program in the nation. 

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics the proportion of high school graduates going directly to two- and four-year colleges has increased from 50 percent to 70 percent from 1980 to 2009, however the socioeconomic disparity among students is huge, in 2009, 84 percent of enrolled college students were considered high-income compared to 54 percent of low-income students. Colorado GEAR UP had 96 percent of our seniors commit to attend postsecondary institutions.  The committed to attend rate is an important indicator, with  students actually showing up for classes is  the next step.

To help students get prepared for college matriculation, Colorado GEAR UP students compared award packages with their Pre-Collegiate Advisors and selected a college to attend in the early spring.  Colorado GEAR UP seniors spent the rest of spring semester working on the Colorado GEAR UP Senior Checklist.  The checklist consists of twenty items including: orientation and course registration, deposits, immunizations and health insurance, financial aid including work-study, campus resources, and many other items that are pertinent to college enrollment.  Colorado GEAR UP Pre-Collegiate Advisors oversaw each task to ensure students were on track for college matriculation.  The majority of Colorado GEAR UP seniors graduated from high school prepared and ready for fall enrollment.  In the summer, Colorado GEAR UP Pre-Collegiate Advisors continued to work with graduated seniors on any missing task items and maintained relationships with those who completed the Senior Checklist.

To support transition and campus retention efforts, Colorado GEAR UP established memorandums of understanding with local two and four year institutions in Colorado and supplied Colorado GEAR UP College Advisors at area colleges around the state.  In August of 2011, Colorado GEAR UP held program orientation meetings to get students acquainted with their new GEAR UP College Advisors and campus resources.  Colorado GEAR UP College Advisors provide students with mentoring,  academic advising, and serve as a resource to help students learn to navigate college.  Colorado GEAR UP students will  meet with their college advisor at a minimum of twice a month.  

Colorado GEAR UP offers a number of benefits to help its first year college students navigate the finances and financial aid in college and university.   Ninety percent of Colorado GEAR UP students  have a 0 Expected Family Contribution (EFC) as calculated by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), placing them in the lowest income, highest need category.   Many students are confused by the  financial aid process or often miss notifications requesting specified documents. Colorado GEAR UP has assisted all students in completing financial aid verification, without which, would have left students with no financial aid. 

With all of the early prep work and established partnerships, Colorado GEAR UP students were not immune to barriers or obstacles at the beginning of the semester.  Some of the classes were canceled, making it difficult for our students to find a new class that worked with their schedules.  Other students did not have enough money to purchase items for dorm living.  While other students lacked funds for transportation, books, or student identification cards.  We also found that some of our students had issues that had to be cleared up with financial aid or holds on their accounts for concurrent enrollment issues. These barriers inhibit the progress of the large majority of low-income students (most often 1st generation college attenders), but they are all barriers that inhibit their progress, and many choose to give up. We have numerous stories of how our college advisors helped students to navigate these barriers.