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The GEAR UP Program is a grant based service for low-income students funded by the United States Department of Education. The Goal of GEAR UP is to increase the number of these students who matriculate into in-state public universities. The grant operates on a six-year grant program. The grants are divided into two groups: state grants and partnership grants. State grants are must include a plan to contact students prior to the prospective students before arriving as university students. The plan must show an intention to increase the rate of college-going for low-income students in addition to providing a scholarship to students. In addition, it must prepare students to succeed at the college level. Partnership grants have the same goals, however, they are only required to fulfill the early intervention component. Partnership grants may support scholarship efforts for low-income students as well. Both grant types work to assist cohorts of students, beginning in the seventh grade. This cohort is followed by the grant program throughout high school, with some students receiving scholarships to help them attend in-state public universities. For a State agency to be eligible to apply for a GEAR UP grant, the agency must be designated by the governor of that State. Each state may only apply for up to one GEAR UP grant at a time. For partnership grants, applying partnerships must consist of "one or more local educational agencies and one or more degree-granting institutions of higher education and not less than two other community organizations or other entities such as businesses, professional organizations, or state agencies" to be eligible. Unlike state grants, partnerships may apply for, and receive, multiple partnership grants concurrently. All applicants are able to access Grants.gov to retrieve the application (that may be downloaded and completed offline) and then upload the complete application back to the website. Applicants that are awarded grants ("grantees") are required to submit annual performance reports to ensure that their implantation of these funds falls in line with the mission of the US Department of Education. Nationally, GEAR UP programs have at least helped to spur some interest about college in low-income communities. in 2006, 66 percent of student survey respondents had spoken with someone about college entrance requirements. Of this same population, 55% of students were able to speak with someone about the availability of financial aid. Funding for the program has grown in recent years, increasing from $301,639,000 million dollars in fiscal year 2015, to $322,754,000 in fiscal year 2016, to 339,752,985 in fiscal year 2017. On March 21, 2018, Congress agreed to increase the national funding for GEAR UP programs by 2.9 percent.

https://www2.ed.gov/programs/gearup/index.html

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/03/23/2018-compromise-spending-bill-higher-education-numbers