Across the state, from rural schools to college campuses, TRIO programs at the University of Georgia are opening doors to education and opportunity.
This work is centered on expanding access to college for all students. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics shows a clear gap: 79% of young people from the wealthiest families enrolled in higher education, compared to only 44% from the lowest-income families.
That’s where TRIO comes in. These federally-funded programs serve students who are first-generation, from limited-income backgrounds, or face other barriers to higher education. Through tailored academic support, mentorship, and college readiness services, TRIO helps students get to, succeed in, and graduate from college.
About TRIO at UGA
UGA is home to seven federally-funded TRIO programs, all created to enhance college completion rates. These programs are divided into two audiences: pre-college and collegiate.
The pre-collegiate programs include Talent Search, Upward Bound, and Upward Bound Math-Science, which are designed to help limited‐income and potential first‐generation college students in northeast Georgia middle and high schools develop the skills and motivation needed for success in higher education. All services and activities are provided at no cost to participants or their families.
The collegiate programs include Ronald E. McNair Scholars, Student Support Services, and Student Support Services STEM-H. The McNair Scholars program prepares selected UGA undergraduate students for doctoral study and encourages greater participation in advanced degree programs.
Student Support Services (SSS) provides services to first-generation, income-eligible, and/or students registered with Accessibility and Testing. The program helps transition, retain, and graduate students at UGA.
Services for TRIO students include priority tutoring, graduate and professional school tours, academic and career guidance, monthly workshops on academic and life skills topics, financial wellness counseling, and social and cultural events.
TRIO’s significant impact
TRIO provides effective academic, financial, and mentoring support to students. In the 2023-24 academic year, TRIO at UGA supported more than 1,400 students across both pre-collegiate and college-level programs. The results speak for themselves:
- 93% of pre-collegiate participants successfully completed the academic year and either advanced to the next grade level or graduated from high school and enrolled in college.
- 92% of participants in McNair Scholars and Student Support Services (including SSS-STEM-H) remained enrolled in college or graduated.
Nationally, studies have shown the success of TRIO programs:
- Upward Bound students are more than four times as likely to earn a bachelor’s degree by age 24 than students in the lowest income quartile (Martinez et al., 2018).
- Student Support Services participants were up to four times more likely to complete their degrees within three years compared to non-participants (Bennett et al., 2021).
- Talent Search students are significantly more likely to enroll in college than other students from similar disadvantaged backgrounds, with 68% of participants enrolling in postsecondary education immediately after high school graduation (Congressional Research Service, 2025).
- Sixty-eight percent of McNair scholars enroll in graduate programs within three years, with McNair participants 143% more likely to pursue graduate education compared to all bachelor’s degree recipients (Congressional Research Service, 2025).
In their own words
The full impact of TRIO was on display during UGA’s First-Generation Graduation Celebration last spring. Daniel Zavala-Palafox, a 2025 graduate who spoke at the event, gave kudos to TRIO during his remarks. “My education at the University of Georgia has been an empowering experience—and I owe that, in large part, to TRIO,” he said.
Fellow 2025 graduate Amina Konateh echoed these sentiments, sharing how TRIO helped her. “Coming to the University of Georgia opened up a world I never imagined was possible for me. Through programs like TRIO and Student Support Services, I found not just academic help, I found opportunity, growth, and community,” she said.
“Because of them, I stepped into leadership roles across campus. I’ve been able to travel across the U.S. and now have the chance to go abroad. I explored new interests, used my voice, and embraced new versions of myself along the way.”
Palafox and Konateh’s stories are two of many that prove that students can thrive when they are given the tools and support to succeed.
Learn more about TRIO at UGA at ossa.uga.edu.
