DVC's free college-prep programs run out of one Pleasant Hill office

Two federal college-prep programs at Diablo Valley College are taking students this fall, and both run out of the same office on the Pleasant Hill campus.

Educational Talent Search and Upward Bound share Student Services Center Room 258. The office is open Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The number is (925) 969-2189 and the email is dvcupwardbound@dvc.edu.

Upward Bound is the more intensive of the two. It works with students in grades nine through 12 who attend one of its service high schools, Mt. Diablo, Concord or Ygnacio Valley, or who live in the service area. Students need to be first-generation and low-income, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, and commit to taking part year round. The college lists the income cutoffs by family size, starting at about $23,475 for a household of one.

What students get is practical: academic tutoring, weekly meetings with an advisor, Saturday academies, college readiness workshops, help with applications and financial aid forms, college tours, career exploration, financial literacy and summer programming.

Educational Talent Search reaches younger students. Under the federal rules for the program, participants are between 11 and 27 and have finished fifth grade, and at least two-thirds of them must be low-income and potential first-generation college students. Services include tutoring, career exploration, counseling, mentoring, workshops, campus visits, and help with admissions and financial aid applications.

Both are TRIO programs, funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered through its Office of Postsecondary Education. Upward Bound alone ran about 1,026 projects nationally in the 2024 federal fiscal year, serving roughly 73,500 students. DVC states plainly that its services are free for eligible students.

To start, email dvcupwardbound@dvc.edu and ask for the preliminary screening questionnaire, which comes in English or Spanish. Students who qualify then request a recommendation form for their teachers to complete.

The college is also listing short-term classes this term in 14-, 12- and 8-week formats, with start dates in September and October, offered in person, hybrid and online.