Refer a Student

Upward Bound

Who Can Refer a Student?

  • Students may be referred by teachers or counselors in one of our target schools
  • Students may be referred by interested individuals in the community, including a student's parents
  • Students may be referred by students already in the program

By far, the majority of referrals come from teachers and guidance counselors. If you would like to make a referral to Upward Bound, the following is designed to explain our criteria for choosing students.

Criteria for Choosing Students

  • Students must attend one of our target schools (Carbon High School, Lighthouse Learning Center, Mont Harmon Jr. High, Pinnacle Canyon Academy, Canyon View Jr. High, Emery High School, Green River High School, San Rafael Jr. High, Grand County Middle School, Grand County High School).
  • Students must be in 9th or 10th grade.
  • Students must be from either low-income homes (eligible for free/reduced lunch) or from families where neither parent has graduated from a four-year college. (Two-thirds of our students must meet both criteria; one-third may meet one or the other but not both.)
  • Students must be able to demonstrate that they have the ability and the desire to go on to college.
  • Students must have some need for Upward Bound and the services it provides; that need may be academic, social, economic or a mixture of all three.

Income Guidelines

Keep in mind that low-income is not the same as poverty. The term 'low-income family' designates a family whose collective income is within 1.5 times the poverty guidelines for a family its size. In other words, a family of four could be low-income so long as its taxable income in for the previous tax year was not more the amount listed for a family of four on the income table below. Our advice is to refer a student if you think he or she might meet the above standards and let Upward Bound make the determination.

Federal Trio Programs Income Table