High goals for class of 2005, GEAR UP's first graduates

by Tracey Hartmann

In a few short months, members of the class of 2005 will end their high school careers and move on to new experiences. What futures do they see ahead? What types of post-secondary plans are they making?

College-going is very much on the minds of a group of almost a thousand Philadelphia high school seniors who shared their future plans in a survey administered by Research for Action (RFA) and the GEAR UP program.

GEAR UP is a federally funded initiative that aims to create a culture of college-going and college awareness in middle schools and comprehensive neighborhood high schools (see College awareness, better preparation are goals of GEAR UP program). The students in Philadelphia GEAR UP's first cohort were seventh graders when the program began in 1999 and are currently 12th graders - GEAR UP's first graduating class. RFA is the external evaluator of the GEAR UP program.

About 40 percent of seniors (921 students) from this first GEAR UP cohort completed the survey. These students attend seven Philadelphia high schools - Edison, Kensington, Lamberton, Overbrook, University City, West Philadelphia and William Penn. Two-thirds of the students completing the survey had also attended a GEAR UP middle school. Their responses provide an interesting snapshot of what the future holds for the GEAR UP class of 2005.

Most students completing the survey were aiming for college or beyond.

• 78 percent of students who responded say they hope to complete four years of college or more.

• 84 percent of these students hope to complete community college or above.

• 45 percent want to go to graduate school (although only 31 percent think they will actually reach graduate school).

Students planned to apply to over 160 different colleges and universities. The top six were Temple, Penn State, Drexel, the University of Pennsylvania, Cheney, and Community College of Philadelphia.

Local universities were the most popular. Almost half planned to apply at Temple. The top 16 universities included five out-of-state schools such as Howard University, New York University, University of Delaware, Virginia State and University of Florida.

A majority of students responding also believed that they had the support of adults around them for their goals: 68 percent say their parents expect them to complete college or beyond, while fewer - 57 percent - feel their teachers expect them to complete college.

Not surprisingly, parents and teachers were the most frequently sought-out adults for information on high school graduation and on college.

However, as the responses illustrate, a large percentage of students were not feeling support for their goals, particularly from their teachers. Forty-three percent of students had not yet talked to any adult about how to pay for college.

Money was the primary barrier that most students could see to attending college. Fifty percent of students felt that if they didn't go to college, money would be the reason, and 44 percent requested more information about financial aid.