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TRIO Programs

Real Educational Opportunity for Low-Income Americans

Our nation has asserted a commitment to providing educational opportunities for all Americans regardless of race, ethic background, or economic circumstance.

In support of this commitment, Congress established a series of programs to help low-income Americans enter college and graduate. These programs are funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and are referred to as the TRIO programs (initially just three programs).

While student financial aid programs help students overcome financial barriers to higher education, TRIO Programs help students overcome class, social, academic and cultural barriers to higher education.

Who Is Served?

As mandated be Congress, two-thirds of the students served must come from families with incomes under $24,000 (family of four), where neither parent graduated from college. More than 1,750 TRIO programs currently serve nearly 700,000 low-income Americans.

TRIO Student Statistics:
  • 42% Caucasion
  • 35% African american
  • 15% Hispanic
  • 4% Native americans
  • 4% Asian
  • 16,000 TRIO students are disabled

Evidence of Achievement

  • Students in the Upward Bound program are four times more likely to earn an undergraduate degree than those students from similar background; who did not participate in TRIO.
  • Nearly 20 percent of all black and hispanic freshmen who entered college in 1981 received assistance through the TRIO Talent Search or EOC programs.
  • Students in the TRIO Student Support Services program are more than twice as likely to remain in college than those students from similar backgrounds who did not participate in the program.

TRIO Programs At a Glance

Upward Bound helps young people and adults prepare for higher education. Participants receive instruction in literature, composition, foreign languages, mathematics, and science on college campuses after school, on Saturdays, and during the summer. Nearly 600 programs are in operation throughout the United States. MSOE has had an Upward Bound Program for 19 years.
Student Support Services helps students to stay in college until they earn their baccalaureate degree. Participants, who include disabled college students, receive tutoring, counseling, and instruction. Students are now being served at more than 700 colleges and universities nationwide. MSOE has had a student support services program for more than 16 years.
Talent Search programs serve young people in grades six through 12. In addition to counseling, participants receive information about college admissions requirements, scholarships, and various student financial aid programs. This early intervention program helps young people to better understand their educational opportunities and options. More than 310,000 Americans are enrolled in 312 Talent Search TRIO programs.
Educational Opportunity Centers, located throughout the country, primarily serve displaced or under-employed workers. These Centers help people to choose a college and a suitable financial aid program. There are more than 70 Educational Opportunity Centers in America.
Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement programs encourage low-income and minority undergraduates to consider careers in college teaching as well as prepare for doctoral study. Named in honor of the astronaut who died in the 1986 space-shuttle explosion, students who participate in this program are provided with research opportunities and faculty mentors.