Utah College-Prep Program Seeks Grants to Continue
Students at partner schools with many low-income peers can get aid help and college support starting in seventh grade.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Financial Aid
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Utah State University's federally funded USU STARS GEAR UP program has finished its fourth grant after seven years of service, and administrators plan to apply for further grants to keep it running. Students in Utah can enter as early as seventh grade and stay through their first year out of high school.
Why it matters
GEAR UP targets students from lower-income backgrounds, many of them first-generation, who may lack college guidance at home. Its continued funding directly shapes whether these students get help with financial aid applications, academic support, and early exposure to college.
Partner schools must have at least 50% of their student population receiving free or reduced lunches to participate. Current grant funding runs through October 2031, and students may enter the program as early as seventh grade.
The players
Utah State University
A public research university in Logan, Utah, that hosts the USU STARS GEAR UP program and receives its federal grant funding.
GEAR UP
A federally funded U.S. Department of Education program that helps lower-income students prepare for and access college.
The details
Participation works through partner schools where at least half of students qualify for free or reduced lunches. Once enrolled, students receive academic support, help completing financial aid applications, and college campus tours. Students can stay in the program until the end of their first year after high school, which gives them support through the transition into college.
Timeline
Students can first enter the program in seventh grade.
Over its initial seven years, the program served more than 27,000 students.
Current GEAR UP grant funding ends in October 2031.
Education Landscape
GEAR UP is a federal early-college-access initiative, and Utah's program now has four completed grants across seven years. Its continued funding fits a broader federal pattern of targeting college preparation at students from lower-income families.
If you are a seventh-grader or a family at a partner school with at least half of students receiving free or reduced lunches, ask your school counselor whether it participates in GEAR UP. Help with financial aid applications and early college exposure is available to eligible students through the program's partner schools.
The takeaway
Early, sustained college support can make a real difference for first-generation students, and programs like GEAR UP depend on continued federal grants. Ask your school whether it is a GEAR UP partner and what financial aid help it offers.
What happens next
Program administrators plan to apply for additional grants to continue GEAR UP beyond its current October 2031 funding end date.
Further reading
For more on how aid programs like this one work, explore Financial Aid coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KSL.
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