School-Year Programming
During the school year, we offer tutoring and mentoring sessions, Saturday workshops, college visits, and cultural events. Along with academic preparation, the program’s focus is also on the development of critical thinking skills, successful study habits, time management, SAT and MCAS examination preparation, and personal development with an emphasis on each participant’s individual, academic, familial, and cultural strengths.
Programs
- UMass Campus Experiences
- Humanities and Fine Arts Scholars Day (Foreign Language, Theater, Dance)
- Math, MCAS, and SAT Bootcamps
- Art Immersion with UMass Museums
- Career Day
- Public Health Day
- College and Scholarship Application Parties
- Seacoast Science Center Trip
- College Visits to Boston, NYC, and Beyond
Summer Programming
In the summer, Upward Bound holds a six-week Summer Institute with hands-on, engaging, college-like classes and holistic services based on students’ needs, all on the UMass Amherst campus. Students experience life on a college campus, take higher-level preparatory or credit-bearing courses, and enjoy fun, educational activities.
Benefits
Students receive a small stipend for attending Upward Bound programming, AND all programming itself (classes, meals, on-campus housing, and transportation) is free.
In Your Academics:
- Strengthen your ability to read, write, and communicate.
- Expand your verbal understanding in class (vocabulary and concepts).
- Strengthen your math skills and fluency while building a math mindset.
- Improve your analytical, reflective, and critical thinking skills.
- Get assistance breaking down and completing difficult assignments.
- Prepare for the rigor of college academics by enrolling and succeeding in higher-level courses (Honors, AP, and dual enrollment).
In Your Community:
- Expand your worldview within and beyond Springfield.
- Contribute through community service.
- Build an understanding of who you are and how you want to contribute to your home, your community, and the wider world around you.
For Your Future:
- Become prepared to make informed and appropriate choices regarding your options for higher education.
- Develop the skills and qualities that contribute to positive personal growth and development (tools for well-being, healthy relationships, values clarification, stress management, and more).
- Cultivate a life-long love for learning and the skills needed to accomplish any goal.
Testimonials
“The atmosphere allows me to feel confident in my abilities as a scholar, but also as a person.”
“It encourages a healthy environment where I can grow, and unequivocally be myself.”
“Upward Bound pushes me to be the best I can be.”
“Upward Bound represents the embodiment of love. This is because of how we are treated and how we treat our peers.”
Who Can Apply?
Students are eligible to participate if the guardian they live with has not completed a bachelor’s degree and/or if they qualify as low-income.