Abstract:A Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) project is currently being implemented in two large, urban school districts in Minnesota. The goal of the federal GEAR UP program is to increase college attendance in traditionally under-represented groups by providing a wide range of college planning and preparation services, academic tutoring, and information on career and postsecondary options to students and their parents. The goal of the evaluation is to determine the impact of the GEAR UP program on student academic preparedness. Program impact will be determined by following a group of GEAR UP 10th grade students and a matched comparison group of students drawn from non-GEAR UP schools in the two districts of implementation and comparing performance between groups on a statewide, high-stakes test (Minnesota’s No Child Left Behind assessment). The presentation will summarize initial impact findings, review evaluation successes and challenges, and describe lessons learned. #2010Conference #CollegeAccessPrograms