The Palomar College GEAR UP Partnership Program - Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs is a U. S. Department of Education grant program. GEAR UP allocates resources to provide early college awareness, improve academic performance, increase high school graduation rates, and improve the transition/preparation from middle school to high school and from high school to college, particularly at-risk, low-income, and first-generation college students.

Grant supervisor Cecilia Rocha, who oversees the day-to-day operations of the program, asserts that the biggest benefit of the program is getting to see what it's like to live the life of a college student.

"Our job is to show them what to do, where to go, how to make it happen and how to accomplish their goal," ..."there is a wide misconception that low-income parents don't care about their children's education"