Upward Bound helps low-income high school students, whose parents did not graduate from college prepare for higher education. During the school year, these students receive academic assistance. Participants also receive instruction in literature, composition, and mathematics during a six-week summer component.

Nationally, the Upward Bound Program was founded in 1963 and was the nation's first such program targeted specifically at and for disadvantaged students. The program has been in existence at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky since 1980.

The program's objectives are to provide students with access to educational opportunities and to increase the number of those students who go on to college, while simultaneously developing the skills needed to be independent, contributing individuals. The program is funded by the United States Department of Education and is administered by Union College's Special Programs office.

Upward Bound is represented in Washington by The Council for Opportunity in Education. This council represents Americans who must overcome class, social and cultural barriers to succeed in college.

Activities [Top]

• Individualized tutoring in high school subject areas
• Career planning workshops
• College planning services
• Counseling services
• Study skills seminars
• College preparatory courses
• Summer Residential Component
• Summer Bridge Component

How to Apply [Top]
Students should talk to their high school guidance counselor. Students can also talk with the Upward Bound Tutor/Advisors during their weekly in-school visits to the high schools.

Interested students may click here to download an application now (*Adobe Acrobat Reader required) , or request an application and more information by calling our offices at (606) 546-1256.

You may also write to us at:
Union College Upward Bound
310 College Street, D-19
Barbourville, Kentucky 40906

Once the program is full, applicants are placed on a waiting list. New openings are filled as they become available, on a first-applied first-selected basis.

Participants [Top]
The Union College Upward Bound Program serves seventy-five students from seven high schools in the counties of Knox, Clay, Leslie, and Owsley. The students in Union's program must have the potential to be the first college graduates in their families. In addition, students should demonstrate academic need and have the potential to succeed in college.

The Two Components: [Top]

The Academic Year:
The Tutor/Advisors and the Coordinator make in-school visitations at each of the target high schools weekly. During these in-school sessions, students attend workshops dealing with careers, colleges, study skills, self-esteem building and numerous others that are designed to improve the students' personal and academic well being. One Saturday a month, the students attend a meeting designed to offer them cultural exposure to the arts and history of the surrounding area or to attend longer workshops.

The Summer Component:
For six weeks during the summer, students live on the campus of Union College to simulate the college experience. Students attend preparatory classes during the morning, and enrichment classes, group counseling sessions, and staff led activities in the afternoon. The summer component culminates with a week-long trip. In years past, Union College Upward Bound has visited such places as Chicago, Washington DC, historic Williamsburg, and the Baltimore/Philadelphia area.