GEAR UP encourages students to take advantage of a unique program for eighth-, ninth- and 10th-grade Oklahoma students that will help pay for their college education if their family’s annual income is $50,000 or less. The program is called Oklahoma's Promise.
To make sure students get ready for college while they are still in high school, the program requires students to take certain high school courses. To be eligible, students will have to pass the required courses* and make good grades (at least a 2.5 GPA). The 17 required courses include:
- Four units of English
- Three units of lab science **
- Three units of math
- Three units of history and citizenship skills (including one unit of American history and two units from the subjects of history, government, geography, economics, civics, and/or non-Western culture)
- Two units of foreign language or computer technology
- One additional unit from the subjects above
- One unit of fine arts or speech**
*Students graduating from a high school not accredited by the Oklahoma State Board of Education or a recognized accrediting agency must also achieve a composite ACT score of 22 or higher.
**Students graduating high school in 2007, 2008 and 2009 may have two (2) lab science units and two (2) additional units.
Students will also have to show that they are good citizens outside the classroom. That means staying away from trouble like gangs, drugs and alcohol.
Once a student reaches the program’s goals, Oklahoma’s Promise will pay his or her tuition at an Oklahoma public two-year college or four-year university. Oklahoma’s Promise will also cover at least a portion of tuition at an Oklahoma accredited private college or university or for courses offered at public technology centers that qualify for credit from a public two-year college.