MetroNews: More than 1,000 W.Va. eighth graders ‘GEAR UP’ for college

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Nearly 1,300 eighth grade students from 32 West Virginia schools were in Charleston Wednesday morning to participate in the state’s GEAR UP program at the Clay Center.

The program teaches students, from pre-school to high school, how to take control of their futures by informing them about the steps needed to pursue higher education.

“What that really is is to help other students be peer mentors, to spread the word about going to college, getting a career in mind early in their life and being prepared for college when they do go,” explained Dr. Paul Hill, chancellor of state Higher Education Policy Commission before giving his opening remarks at the event.

This week is also “College Application and Exploration Week,” coordinated by the College Foundation of West Virginia.

“We encourage students from all over the state to work with our teams of individuals who go out and work with our schools to fill out the FASFA form, the federal application for student financial aid, to help them also get their applications in to college early,” said Hill. Read the full story »