The Upward Bound program provides opportunities and resources to help its high school participants succeed, both in their pre-college achievement and their higher education pursuits.
Our Mission
The Occidental College Upward Bound program assists low-income, disconnected and first-generation students in the central and northeastern sections of Los Angeles. The program is designed to ensure success in secondary education completion and post-secondary matriculation, retention and completion. This is made possible through one-on-one academic advisement, weekly academic enrichment services and workshops, and a summer residential experience. Upward Bound identifies and recruits high school students who have the potential to attend college, and who will benefit in this pursuit by the resources Upward Bound offers.
In 2019-20, Upward Bound provided the following services to 122 students from Franklin, Lincoln, Wilson, and Belmont High Schools:
- College prep workshops
- Assistance with the Admission and Financial Aid process
- SAT bootcamp
- PSAT prep workshops
- State Assessment preparation workshops
- Academic advisement
- Career exploration workshops
- Junior mentoring program
- After-school tutoring services
- College tours
- Cultural activities
- Parent classes
- Senior transition retreat
The program has been able to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic by moving all services to a virtual platform. In addition to completing the normal academic-year services, Upward Bound was able to successfully host a Hybrid summer program which allowed parents to choose whether their students would participate virtually or in person. Learn more about our summer program.