What is CUNY GEAR UP?

GEAR UP at CUNY

CUNY GEAR UP was funded from 2000-05 by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), the lead GEAR UP agency in New York State. CUNY GEAR UP was made up of seven CUNY colleges and the Office of Academic Affairs, and served more than 2,000 students from middle school through high school—first at nine middle schools and later at 23 high schools. Project services included tutoring, college advisement mentoring, college awareness, parent/family outreach and professional development.

CUNY GEAR UP students had better grades and attendance than non-GEAR UP students. They also had a better graduation rate: 72% graduated ontime in June 2005 vs. 58% across New York City. In fall 2006, more than 80% of CUNY GEAR UP gradutes are attending a post-secondary program. To learn more about our NYS GEAR UP grant, please see our research report: An Evaluation of CUNY GEAR UP. To see a published research report on CUNY GEAR UP (in PDF format), please click here.

GEAR UP Nationally

GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) is a federally funded initiative targeting middle school students from communities with traditionally low levels of participation in higher education.

GEAR UP Sector Services for New York State

CUNY continues to serve as a New York State Sector Partner through the Higher Education Services Corporation. As a sector partner, we provide a range of direct and support services to the GEAR UP community in New York state. Among these are:

• Copies of the DVD College $ense: How to Pay for College, a student financial aid tutorial;
• Distribution of the "Lessons Learned" pamphlet, where GEAR UP college students give advice to younger students to help them on the road towards college;
• Coordinate tours on CUNY campuses;
• Promote Professional Development Workshops for School Counselors through CUNY's Office of Admissions Services;
• Coordinate events with other NYS sector partners;
• Offer workshops, surveys, and best practices on parent involvement through our Parent Outreach Coordinator.

More about GEAR UP

• going to college is the end result of a chain of decisions and activities which begin when they first enter middle school.
• academic achievement in middle and high school prepares one for college. There are specific study strategies that good students use to get really good grades in middle and high school and all students can learn these strategies.
• high school graduation is tied not only to good grades but also to passing a specific number of Regents exams.
• students start applying for college in their senior year but they should begin thinking about college early in their middle school career. Students should plan to take the kinds of courses that will prepare them for college level work. They should become familiar with the different kinds of colleges one can choose from, the kind of careers they might like to have, and the kinds of college majors that support these careers.
• money is no longer a primary obstacle to college attendance. There are many sources of financial aid available for students who qualify and are accepted into college. For more information, see our online financial aid tutorial, College $ense: How to Pay for College.
• students start applying for college in their senior year but they should begin thinking about college early in their middle school career. Students should plan to take the kinds of courses that will prepare them for college level work. They should become familiar with the different kinds of colleges they can choose from, the kinds of careers they might like to have, and the kinds of college majors that support these careers.