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Welcome to
Upward
Bound Classic
At The University of Delaware
The national model of excellence and outstanding college preparatory services.
What we do
Our mission is to promote each young scholar’s educational experience by providing a series of specialized college preparatory services including tutoring, mentoring, advising, programming, college courses, and on-campus experiences with research faculty to increase student persistence and graduation from high school, and a practical chance to enroll and graduate from a post-secondary institution.
Vision Statement
To establish the University of Delaware’s Upward Bound Classic Program as the national model of excellence and outstanding college preparatory services.
Eligibility
Students become eligible during the Spring of their 8th-grade year. We also recruit current 9th, 10th, and 11th-grade students who are interested in going to a four-year college or university, and who qualify for a federal TRIO program.
Target Schools
- Christiana High School
- Glasgow High School
- Thomas McKean High School
- John Dickinson High School
- Any Student residing in New Castle County, DE
Cost
The program is FREE to the students and their families. A grant provided by the U.S. Department of Education provides for all student room and board expenses, instructional support, tuition fees, and a weekly stipend for each student during the summer program.
Academic Year
The University of Delaware Upward Bound Classic Program is divided into two components. The academic year program is a series of specialized tutoring, workshops, and campus visits that happen once a month on a Saturday.
Summer Academy
The summer component is a mandatory six-week summer institute where students are exposed to college-level classes and student life experiences led by highly trained faculty and staff. Students commute and reside on campus during this time.
High School Scholars. Academic Performance
Upward Bound Classic students graduate with their best academic performance by their senior year of high school.
Cost to Families
College Acceptances to date
Scholarships Earned
Students Served

Why we are different
Upward Bound Classic provides fundamental support to participants to succeed in their precollege performance and ultimately in their higher education pursuits, including preparation for college admission.
The goal of Upward Bound Classic is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education (high school) and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education (college).
Our Latest Work
Graduating Class of 2020 had over 400 acceptances and over 6 million in scholarships.
Graduating Class of 2021 had over 500 acceptances and over 7 million in scholarships.
Our Stats
The academic performance of our scholars are as follows
Upward Bound Classic students consistently meet and beat the mark every year. By opting for more rigorous coursework that will help them be successful in college.
- # of participants scoring college ready on SAT-59%
- # of Participants above a 3.0-60%
- # of Participants Accepted into College

“It prepares you for the college experience. How it is to have a roommate, classes and coursework, food, and traveling around campus. You meet new people. I was given so much advice that helped me along the way.” -Brooklyn Harden, UBC graduate 2021 University of Delaware C/O 2025
From Our Scholars
Our inclusive environment helps to create a warm and welcoming environment for our students that lasts beyond high school.
“UBC helped me be surrounded by like minded students. Everyone wants to do well and go to college. They are my support system even while I am at UD”
“I do not know what I would have done without all of their help to get to where I am today. Dean’s list my first semester, and working on my political science major has been everything. They helped me with financial aid, lowering costs by living off-campus, and are always there to advise me.”
“UBC has helped me meet my goals and graduate with above a 4.0 GPA, helped me with deciding the best University for me and now I am at Temple University in their 4+1 program in Sports Medicine. I never thought that I would graduate with both a BS and an MS in my career.”
“With the help of UBC and their SAT Prep classes I was able to score very high and be accepted to over 15 universities and hit 1 million in scholarships. I had so many options I truly appreciated the time they took to help me see which school would be best for me. I’m at Villanova University on full scholarship!”
Have A Question?
Say Hello!
Contact us today if you have any questions.