All Upward Bound students participate in an annual six-weeks academic camp held on the St. Olaf College campus. Students live on campus in a residence hall from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon, returning home every weekend. Each student is housed with a roommate and is supervised by trained, live-in Upward Bound staff members.
A typical day for 9th-11th graders includes English, math, and science classes in the morning, and afternoon classes such as Literary Magazine, Newsletter, and Spanish. Class sizes consist of about fourteen students, and the student to teacher ratio averages 6:1.
Seniors, or “Bridge” students, take a college course for credit taught by a St. Olaf College professor. In addition, they attend support classes led by Upward Bound staff and complete a job shadow experience on the St. Olaf College campus or at a Northfield business location.
When students are not in a class, their afternoons and evenings are filled with planned recreational and cultural activities.
Students are given a Student Handbook, which lists the rules that all St. Olaf College TRIO Upward Bound students must follow; these rules are strictly enforced by staff and are also sent home to parents/guardians within the Summer Forms Packet.
St. Olaf TRIO Upward Bound participates in the Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided to all eligible children free of charge. (To be eligible to receive free meals at a residential camp, children must meet the income guidelines for reduced-price meals in the National School Lunch Program). Regardless of income eligibility, all children participating in Upward Bound will receive free meals this summer. This year, UB is submitting a waiver request so we can implement “offer vs serve” during all meal times. With the approval of the waiver, we will reduce waste, and students will still receive a nutritious meal and eat food they prefer. You can view the waiver request here.
Nondiscrimination Statement:
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
- mail:
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410; or - fax:
(833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or - email:
Program.Intake@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.
Plan on visiting St. Olaf College campus during the summer? Check the links below: