MURFREESBORO – The Upward Bound program at Chowan University is now accepting applications for new student participants for the 2017-2021 school years.

The Chowan University Upward Bound program is funded by nationally competitive grants from the U. S. Department of Education and is seeking applicants who are currently 8th, 9th and 10th graders in Hertford, Bertie and Northampton counties and whose parents or guardians do not have a four-year college degree.

The program is designed to work with students who are interested in attending college after graduation from high school and who may be having difficulty understanding the college admissions process and getting their act together.

The Upward Bound program now in its 41st year at Chowan University is purely academic and cultural in nature and is operated in two phases: a six weeks free residential summer program on the Chowan campus and writing skills classes on Saturdays during the fall and spring semesters. The residential summer program on the Chowan campus emphases math and English and numerous cultural and educational trips to Washington, DC and Virginia and North Carolina colleges and other sites. Other services provided by the program are tutoring and assistance with college and financial aid applications.

Upward Bound students also receive a financial stipend for their participation in the summer and academic year sessions.

The goal of the Chowan University Upward Bound program is to prepare students to attend and graduate from the college of their choice. Chowan University participants have graduated from over 100 different colleges and universities nationwide.

In 40 years, over 3,500 first generation college students from Hertford, Bertie and Northampton counties have participated in the Upward Bound program at Chowan University. The program at has hundreds of success stores including architects, attorneys, college professors, diplomats, surgeons, pharmacists, engineers, nurses, teachers, school administrators, social service workers, research scientists, college administrators and many more.

In May, Chowan University was notified by the US Dept. of Education that its Upward Bound program had been approved for another five year grant beginning on June 1, 2017.

Information and applications may be obtained by calling the Upward Bound office at Chowan University at 252-398-6364.