Gear Up Scholarship Program

The USA Government offers GEAR up Scholarships to college students in other to help them meet their unmet financial need for college. Beneficiaries of this Gear Up Scholarship program get $620 per year for full and part-time students ($310 per semester maximum).

Gear up your future scholarship is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. GEAR UP provides six-year grants to states and partnerships to provide services at high-poverty middle and high schools.

This article explains the Gear Up scholarship program, its eligibility requirements, and how to win one. Reading through this article will avail you of the right information prerequisite to a successful application.

You can also check out our post on The Gear4wheels Automotive Scholarship

What you need to know About Gear Up Scholarship

Two types of grants are offered by GEAR UP which includes;

• State Grant
• Partnership Grant

State grants are competitive six-year matching grants that must include both an early intervention component designed to increase college attendance and success and raise the expectations of low-income students and a scholarship component.

While, Partnership grants are competitive six-year matching grants that must support an early intervention component and may support a scholarship component designed to increase college attendance and success and raise the expectations of low-income students.

The Sponsor: Gear Up U.S. Department of Education

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federally funded competitive grant program.

There are ten GEAR UP programs in Washington State serving a combined 35,000 students in 73 school districts statewide.

GEAR UP programs work with educators across the state to help middle and high school students get ready for college.

The GEAR UP program focuses on students from underserved schools, helping student and families to prepare for college and gain access to financial aid

Students who have already received two or more semesters of the GEAR UP scholarship award prior to September 1 are no longer eligible for additional scholarship funds.

Level/ Field of study

Gear up scholarship program is for college students who want to enter high school and cover high school courses.

Host Nationality

This Up Scholarship is hosted by Gear Up, a US Department of Education

Eligible Nationality

There are different types of scholarships offered by Gear Up, each Gear Up scholarship are meet for a different nationality. For instance

Gear Up Scholarship Worth

INSTITUTION TYPE	ENROLLMENT STATUS
	Full-Time	3/4 Time	1/2 Time
Community College	$400	$300	$200
Public University Regional Campus	$400	$300	$200
Public University Main Campus	$575	$431.25	$287.50
Private, not-for-profit	$750	$562.50	$375
Private, for-profit	$400	$300	$200
	CLOCK HOURS
	900+	750-899	600-749
Ohio Technical Centers	$400	$300	$200

Eligibility for Gear Up Scholarship

GEAR UP scholarships are available to students enrolled in a GEAR UP program.

A GEAR UP student must:

• Have graduated high school
• Be under 22 years of age at the time of application.
• Be enrolled at a public, private, or technical college/university in Wisconsin.
• Have unmet need or have loan and/or work study to be reduced or replaced.
• Have a completed GEAR UP Scholarship Application on file at their local WEOP office PI-5108 GEAR UP Scholarship Application.

Note, The GEAR UP scholarship may be renewed for up to eight consecutive semesters of enrollment at a qualified institution of higher education, as long as the student continues to make satisfactory academic progress according to the school’s standards

How to apply for Gear Up Scholarship

For GEAR UP scholarship funding, eligible students must apply online using the GEAR UP Scholarship Application  located in Naviance.  Eligible students must contact the local GEAR UP Site Director to access the application. 

Once the application is submitted, the Scholarship and Program Coordinator will contact the applicant’s institution. Pending verification of eligibility, the Scholarship and Program Coordinator will send funding to the identified institution during the autumn and spring academic term for up to eight academic terms. 

If the student would like to utilize GEAR UP Scholarship funding during the summer academic term or decides to transfer to another eligible institution, the student must contact the Scholarship and Program Coordinator for assistance with this process.

http://gearup.earlyoutreach.org/

Gear up Scholarship States

Now let’s take a brief look at some of the state that offers Gear Up scholarships

#1. Gear Up Scholarship Ohio

The GEAR UP program is designed to significantly increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education.

GEAR UP provides six- or seven-year grants to States to provide services at high-poverty middle and high schools and through the first year of college.

Services include:

Students who are eligible for GEAR UP Ohio Scholarships may use their scholarship awards at any of the following institutions:

See how to apply

#2. Gear Up Scholarship Oregon

Oregon GEAR UP works with select middle and high schools over seven years to create a college-going culture by providing funding and technical assistance, professional development for educators, and summer opportunities for students.

The goal of the GEAR UP program is to ensure that Oregon’s low-income middle school and high school students are prepared for, pursue, and succeed in postsecondary education whether that be a Bachelor’s degree, Associates degree, certificate, apprenticeship or other training. Read More

#3. Gear Up Scholarship Idaho

GEAR UP Idaho focuses on early intervention strategies to assist students in becoming prepared for post-secondary education. The program will help students meet the standards necessary for high school graduation and provide them with the skills necessary to succeed beyond high school.

GEAR UP provides an opportunity for your student to demonstrate the ability to succeed in college and the option to gain college credits while in high school.

GEAR UP Idaho is currently the only program focused on addressing the growing gap between family income and the costs for postsecondary education in Idaho.

It supports professional development for teachers in order to raise the level of academic rigor in the classroom and provides a substantial scholarship to eligible students who complete the program.

GEAR UP Idaho provides outreach services to increase parent involvement and postsecondary financial planning services to families.

Idaho State University’s Early College Program Office supports GEAR UP Idaho by providing a rich variety of academic and student services to students.

Some of the events that we host for GEAR UP students include Tech Expo, Youth Summit, and individualized campus visits.  At Gear Up Idaho you can:

• Attend an information session
• Take a campus tour
• Meet current students
• Eat on campus
• Learn more about specific

Read More

Gear Up Scholarship Application Deadline

The application window opens on April 1 of each year and closes on July 1. 

FAQs about Gear Up Scholarship

The GEAR UP program is authorized under Sections 404A– 404H of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended, (20 USC §§1070a-21—1070a-28) and the program regulations are located U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34, Subtitle B, Chapter VI, Part 694.

The GEAR UP program is a discretionary grant program that supports efforts to increase the number of low-income students that obtain a secondary school diploma and prepare for and succeed in postsecondary education.

GEAR UP has two authorized grant performance periods: six years (72 months) or seven years (84 months). An applicant can only implement a 7-year grant if the project is designed to provide services through the students’ first year of attending an institution of higher education (IHE).

No. GEAR UP does not have standardized objectives. For more information, please consult the “Purpose of Program” section of the GEAR UP NIAs.

GEAR UP has two types of projects: State and Partnership. State projects generally implement statewide initiatives, such as professional development, parental involvement, and curriculum enrichment, and they support local efforts to achieve the project objectives.
Partnership projects are usually more locally concentrated. These two different types of projects each have their own separate competition and program requirements.

A partnership must consist of (1) one or more local educational agencies (LEA) and (2) one or more degree-granting IHEs (see 20 USC §1070a–21(c)(2)).

Partnerships may also optionally include not less than two other community organizations or entities, such as businesses, professional organizations, state agencies, or other public or private agencies or organizations.
A partnership must consist of (1) one or more local educational agencies (LEA) and (2) one or more degree-granting IHEs (see 20 USC §1070a–21(c)(2)).

ates of the United States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely Associated States (see 20 USC §1003(21)).

An absolute priority describes items that an applicant must address in its application in order to receive an award.
After Department staff has determined that the absolute priority and application requirements are met, an application proceeds to the peer reviewers for a qualitative review and scoring.

Applicants are required to match the Federal contribution dollar-for-dollar. Specifically, the non-Federal contribution must equal at least 50% of the total project costs.
For instance, if an applicant requests a total of $3 million in federal funds, the matching contribution is an additional $3 million.
The applicant is the fiscal agent and is responsible for documenting all matching contributions for the entire grant period.

Sources

Below are the sources from which the information provided were extracted

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