Since TRIO is a grant-funded program with the Department of Education, students in our program must qualify for our services.  According to our grant, students must meet at least one of the criteria listed below to receive services from our program.  Our grant also stipulates that 2/3 of the students in our program must qualify as BOTH Low Income AND First Generation. 

 

First Generation Student:  This means that neither of your parents has GRADUATED from a 4 YEAR institution with a bachelor’s degree.  Your parents may have an associate’s degree, or could be in college now, but if neither has a bachelor’s degree, you are considered a First Generation College Student. 

Low Income Student:  We use Federal guidelines to determine if you qualify as a low-income student.  Currently, the Government considers low income 1.5 times the national poverty level.   Income guidelines effective February 20, 2004 for low income students are as follows:

 

Disabled Student:

Any student with a documented disability, either a physical, mental or a learning disibility, would qualify for TRIO as a disabled student.  In order to qualify as a disabled student, you would need to be registered with Disability Support Services or the Learning Diagnostic Clinic at MSU.  

 

Academic Need:

Since TRIO is an academic support program, you need to demonstrate some type of academic need in order to receive our services.  Some examples of an academic need would be:

 

• Low ACT score in Math or English (20 or below)
• Low Placement Test Score.  Math placement into MTH 100 - 103, English placement into ENG 100
• Currently on Academic Probation or returning from Suspension.
• Have earned a D or F in a course that you need to repeat.
• Have a 3.0 GPA or above, and be strongly considering graduate school.
• Be an adult learner (over age 25 - You may be good at math, but it may have been 15-20 years since you took a math class). 
• Need assistance in a certain area such as computer literacy.

 

Services Provided

TRIO is primarily an academic support program and as such offers the following support services to qualified students who have applied and been accepted into the program:

Tutoring:  Referrals to free private tutors or receive preference at the different campus tutoring centers (ex:  The Writing Center)

Reading/Study Skills Assistance:  we provide info and connect students with needed resources

Career Exploration :  we will work with students or provide connections to special resources

Academic Advising :  we will advise any undecided student

Personal Assistance :  we will assist students in all aspects of development as persons (ex:  time management, money management, stress reduction, roommate conflicts, personal issues, etc.)

TRIO also offers some financial assistance to qualified students, such as:

Financial Aid:  Assistance with filling out financial aid paperwork (FAFSA, etc.)

Scholarships:  Assistance with locating scholarships and completing applications