About TRIO Programs
What is Trio?
In an effort to provide educational opportunity for all Americans regardless of race, ethnic background, or economic circumstance,
Congress established a series of programs to help low-income Americans enter college, graduate, and participate
more fully in America's economic and social life. These programs are funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965
and are referred to as the TRIO Programs. While student financial aid programs help students overcome financial barriers to higher education, TRIO programs help students overcome class, social, and cultural barriers to higher education.
Who is Served?
As mandated by Congress, two-thirds of the students served must come from
families with incomes under $28,000 where neither parent graduated from college.
Over 2,670 TRIO programs currently serve nearly 873,000 low-income
Americans between the ages of 11 and 27. Many programs serve students in
grades six through 12. Thirty-seven percent of TRIO students are White, 35 percent
are African-American, 19 percent are Hispanic, 4 percent are Native American,
4 percent are Asian-American, and 1 percent are multiethnic. Twenty-two
thousand TRIO students are disabled.
How it Works
More than 1,000 colleges, universities, community colleges, and agencies now
offer TRIO programs in the U.S. TRIO funds are distributed to institutions through
competitive grants.
Evidence of Achievement
Of all the low-income students in the U.S. who graduate from high school and
immediately enroll in postsecondary education, nearly one-third have been served
by TRIO programs. Students in the Upward Bound program are four times more
likely to earn an undergraduate degree than those students from similar backgrounds
who did not participate in TRIO; 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.
* The information above was adapted from the National Directory of funded programs published by The Council For Opportunity in Education.