The Upward Bound Program, which helps economically disadvantaged and first generation college students prepare for college, has had 91 percent of its students continue a post-secondary education.

The students chosen for the program must show they have good academic standing and are serious about continuing their education.

Throughout the year, students meet for weekly study sessions held by the Upward Bound staff and tutors that are hired. Tutors are hired because “students are going to come to us with all problems,” Upward Bound Acting Coordinator Larry Wells said. The students’ grades also are monitored and their teachers and counselors are visited regularly.

Seniors are given assistance in applying for colleges, financial aid and student loans.

The program also offers students a six-week summer residence program from mid-June to mid-August. Seniors are offered six hours of college credit work and younger students are introduced to new techniques for learning basic skills.

Classes are offered in language arts, science, computer science, math, critical thinking and study skills. Guest speakers also are available to the students.

The students live in Stevenson and Grant Towers. Wells said living in residence halls is a good way for students to learn more about college and how to live with a roommate.

Upward Bound Director Sharon Spence said two-thirds of the students must show a low family income. Incomes range from $8,655 a year with one family member claimed and $29,235 a year with eight family members claimed.

Upward Bound members also must be first generation students, which includes people whose parents have not continued on to a post-secondary education or finished college. Spence said the other one-third of the students can qualify with one of these two criteria.

The program usually assists students from the ninth to 11th grades in learning good study habits and becoming prepared for college. It occasionally accepts eighth grade students with a teacher or counselor recommendation.

NIU’s Upward Bound program services students with academic potential from Aurora, DeKalb, Elgin, Rockford and Sycamore high schools.

The NIU division serves 85 students a year. Spence said the other 402 nationwide divisions vary in size from 50 to 125 students a year, depending on where they are located.

The program, which now has the subname ACE, which stands for Access to a College Education, was started in 1966 after the 1964 Economic Opportunity Act and funded by the Higher Education Act of 1965.