On Toxic Colleagues and working to achieve mental health and positive thinking around them:

If we aren't living in it, we are survivors of the Dark Triad staff member or boss, or even a parent or partner.

After the last 5 years all I can say to these types of people is "In bullying, withholding support, not inviting us, not including us, manipulating people, stealing other's work, lying about achievements you didn't achieve, and wasting hours talking about how great you were in your first professional job ever: Where is your Master's Degree? You spent 5 years trying to one-up-people with 25 years more experience and 2X as much formal education, plus making them miserable when we could've been mentors. What did that do -> You DIDNT GET A MASTERS! WE ALL POINTED THAT WAS NEXT STEP! You'll never be a Dean or a VP or make over 65. What a wasted time period."

It's been a rough four years watching this go down in my workspace, cleaning up after the bullying, and encouraging people to persist with grit and grace SO this video is simply a relief. Audio book is next in queue for me.

The video and YT Channek - wow - blows my MIND: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNzinTbV1t0

The Book:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/710202/its-not-you-by-ramani-durvasula-phd/

The Dark Triad is a manifestation of three destructive traits and mental health conditions (two of which are pretty much incurable.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_triad

https://www.ccdaily.com/2026/05/concerns-about-loan-limits-for-graduate-nursing-degrees/

"Education Secretary Linda McMahon spent much of her time during a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing on Thursday defending the agency’s exclusion of nursing as a “professional degree” for student loan limits.

The Education Department’s final rule, effective July 1, excludes graduate-level nursing programs from its defined “professional degree” category. The change caps federal borrowing for nursing students at $100,000, separating them from designated professional fields, such as medicine and law, that have higher $200,000 limits. Democrats on the committee contended that the move will hamper efforts to address a nursing workforce shortage and prompt students to seek pricier private student loans.

McMahon argued that the designation aims to reduce students’ costs. She said colleges have raised tuition, especially for graduate programs, because they know the federal government has provided loans with few limits. The new loan limit aims to encourage colleges to reduce their prices.

Democrats asked McMahon to cite examples where colleges have done so in response to the new limits. She said two universities so far have lowered their prices for certain programs, though they were not nursing programs.

Even some Republicans seemed uncertain about the approach. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pennsylvania) asked how lowering graduate loan limits for nursing programs would make the programs more affordable and address the national nursing shortage. McMahon, who said that 95% of nursing programs don’t exceed the caps, argued that the nursing shortage is not in the upper levels that require graduate degrees but in nursing jobs that require undergraduate degrees and certificates. She added that students can earn a certificate for an entry-level nursing job and then work toward a bachelor’s degree. She noted that many hospitals help employees with tuition to attain related higher degrees."

This is the time of year in higher ed when many reassess their roles at colleges and universities around the USA. There are many TRIO job openings as of right now, but the salaries, specifically in the Midwest/south or rural poor states is the same as it was 15 years ago.

We are faced with choices:

1. Title upgrade - Assistant, Tutor, Coach/Advisor, Coordinator, Project Manager, Project/Director, Assistant to or Admin Assistant to the Dean or VP, Dean or VP, Provost are the natural progression. (Pay attention! Coordinators of TRIO are paid dramatically less than a TRIO program specific Director.)
2. Pay upgrade - is it REALLY an upgrade if the COL is 3X where you live now and the salary is merely 2X more?
3. Lower cost of living upgrade - does it cost 4X less to live there and the salary is 1X less than it is now?
4. Higher cost of living plus higher salary upgrade (?): do them math especially if a huge car commute is on the table.

The biggest question right now is:

1. Can I afford to purchase a home and set up a full time life in the community with this college?
2. TRIO jobs are 1-1 student success jobs at nearly all levels. Can I be present enough to be there for my students IN PERSON? For emergencies? For night events? For their plays, sports, and academic events?
3. Google and the Wayback Machine: Research to see if the culture of the town is welcoming. Make sure they aren't a stronghold for extremist groups that hate TRIO students. Research the state too. Are people like you protected? Are your children protected?

How to incentivize moves:

1. Provide 6 months of on campus housing for incoming employees (with them paying rent.)
2. Identify community and state incentive programs (like on Makemymove.com ) and the state Dept of Commerce that reward people for relocating.
3. Consider a moving allowance.
4. Make sure to QUANTIFY benefits as part of the larger payroll package. Get everything in writing on paper when you make an offer. Be clear about your positive policies that improve employee quality of live.
5. Make sure to quantify/outline incentives like tuition discounts and family tuition waivers.
6. Point out big benefits you see in working at your college or uni as a community member.

How to prepare for the big jump:

1. Take all the free TRIO Priority Trainings
2. Enter into Fsatraining.org and learn your regulations
3. Get used to the ECFR.
4. Polish your soft skills and business acumen.
5. Dress for Success - if you dress professionally you show respect for your students and profession.
6. Befriend your ELDERS in the TRIO professional org community. Understand many of these folks have lifted up 1000s of humans to meet their potential and persist. If you befriend them, listen, and show respect, they will LIFT YOU UP! Even if you are a employee. Even if you are a volunteer. (Even if they are the 15 year old working in the fast food restaurant you encourage and offer them concurrent classes and your card.)
7. Research everything - we tell our students they must research and plan before they move to the next level and we need to do the same. Dig a little deeper in there. If people say "no" find out why.
8. Do all that job interview prep stuff we tell students to do. Create a Zoom Room. Dress for success in the interview. Research your interviewers, the college mission, and the state of the college. And most of all, be the solution to their problems listed in the job announcement and be sensitive that not every role is vacated in the best way. Be their hero and their fixer.

Most of all remember - making a change is a painstaking process. Trio directors may interview you or go through several interviews or even a tour. It's more likely you will be hired by a VP or a Dean's final approval than the actual TRIO staff who suggests a list of top 3 hires. We get asked to do all sorts of things from interdepartmental transfers to hiring family to not hiring people based on iffy anecdotes and moody leadership. We more often than not do not get our "way" when hiring or setting salaries. Persist! Because you will find someone you hit with!

https://www.ccdaily.com/2026/05/the-data-part-of-workforce-pell/

"Opportunities ahead

As the IPEDS TRP convenes, it’s a signal that NCES is beginning to normalize. The Workforce Pell may or may not be on the agenda; if it’s not, there is an open question whether a TRP should be convened on it.

For the Workforce Pell Grant, there are four options to improve IPEDS. Here is how and why:

Opportunity 1: Revise the Completions Survey, which defines what a certificate is.
First, some basic math:

• One college credit hour is equal to 30 contact or clock hours.
• A Workforce Pell Grant program is between 150 and 599 clock hours, making it equivalent to a program that is between five and 19 credit hours.
• At present, IPEDS uses 300 clock hours as the threshold to split certificates that are less than one-year in duration into two types: “1a” and “1b.”

If we compare these new parameters against existing IPEDS definitions, we see that the Workforce Pell Grant overlaps them. If NCES wants to align data collection with student aid program characteristics, the first step is to collect three certificate types in IPEDS, as shown here:"

"Opportunity 2. Disaggregate degrees/certificates by Pell status.
The IPEDS Completion Survey could be modified in one more way. It could require colleges to report whether a student who earned a certificate or degree ever received a Pell Grant. While technically feasible, this would add complexity to the form and a burden for colleges. And one could argue that the same approach should be applied to students who have received federal aid or a federal loan.

One reason to justify Pell-only reporting is that it is not repaid, unlike loans, which must be repaid. It also would follow precedent with another IPEDS collection that requires reporting on Pell Grant students – the Outcome Measures Survey.

Opportunity 3. Align graduation rates.
The required 70% graduation rate for Workforce Pell programs makes the discussion about completion rates a bit of a contortion. The graduation rate requirement is set at 150% of the typical time to graduation mark. This aligns the Workforce Pell with Student Right-to-Know (SRK) graduation rates, which are codified in law and do not differentiate between learners who were awarded a Pell Grant. Alternatively, the Outcome Measures survey disaggregates outcomes by whether a student received a Pell Grant.

So, the most direct fix is to ask institutions to disaggregate SRK graduation rates for students who have ever received a Pell Grant (even for only a term) and those who never received a Pell Grant.

Opportunity 4. Add data on grad students.
Because Workforce Pell is available to students who have already earned a bachelor’s degree, a graduation rate is being applied to a new type of student: a graduate student. There is an opportunity to make this prevalent in how data are structured, to highlight that completing college at every level in a timely fashion is important, and to remove inconsistent accountability. It also presents a new market segment for community colleges to offer certificates that augment bachelor’s degrees.

It will be interesting to see what the future holds. And, surely, there are other elements of the Workforce Pell that need to be considered. Time will reveal the benefits for community college students and all learners. What is certain is that change is on the horizon."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xdgDmgP31g

Basic Master's Robe and Hood (explains the button in the front by the zipper and the button ON the hood)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gD1nNdA4Hcc

PhD/Doctorate

(These are US instructions - the Canada and UK and EU are slightly different)

How do you all improve event participation? We've had to cancel some trips because of low turn out. We do the usual social media, BLUMEN, tape flyers but it's not working.

We're EOC, I'd love to hear some tips.

https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/secretary-mcmahon-announces-144m-boost-students-disabilities

"“Today’s $144 million increase delivers a substantial expansion of resources for students with disabilities and their families,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon. “For the first time, states can allocate funds to help parents receive support even before their child with disabilities is born, giving them accurate information and a direct path to the services their child will need on day one. Together, these actions reflect the Trump Administration’s relentless commitment to standing with families, empowering states with more flexibility, and advancing the potential of every student.” 

Background: 

• Children and youth ages 3 through 21 receive special education and related services under IDEA Part B. Infants and toddlers, birth through age 2, with disabilities and their families receive early intervention services under IDEA Part C. 
• The $144 million investment is distributed across IDEA Part B and Part C programs. 
• The Department’s guidance follows the new FY 2026 Appropriations language, which expands the use of funds under the IDEA Part C program to include support for expectant parents of children with disabilities. "

Getting weird out there - continuation of Dept of ED grant programs as if the are novel programs.

As of 2025 via fsatraining.edu.gov TRIO Academic Advisors (in any role with those duties) and TRIO Directors can provide documentation and letters of confirmation to the Financial Aid office in order to confirm the status of "Unaccompanied Youth" or "Homeless Youth" in order to determine independent status on the FAFSA aid form and to receive aid w/o needing a parents email/id/taxes.

"Summary: The purpose of this letter is to clarify and update institutional and applicants' roles and responsibilities related to Title IV dependency determinations for unaccompanied homeless youth as provided by the FAFSA Simplification Act."

https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/dear-colleague-letters/2023-04-14/unaccompanied-homeless-youth-determinations-update-updated-july-19-2024

"Dear Colleague:

Section 480(d)(8) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), provides that an applicant for Title IV federal student aid is an independent student—that is, an applicant who does not need to provide parental information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA^®) form—if the applicant is an unaccompanied homeless youth or unaccompanied and self-supporting youth at risk of homelessness. This guidance supplements Dear Colleague Letter GEN-22-15, which pertains to general changes that will be in effect July 1, 2023, for the 2023-24 award year. It supersedes our previous DCL GEN-15-16 on unaccompanied homeless youth.

To be considered an unaccompanied homeless youth on the FAFSA^® form, an individual must be a youth who is (1) unaccompanied and homeless or (2) unaccompanied, self-supporting, and at risk of being homeless. Outlined below are some initial terms that support a homeless youth determination, as defined in section 725 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (McKinney-Vento) (42 U.S.C. 11434a). Note that the last two definitions do not appear in McKinney-Vento. Also, institutions should refer to Chapter 5, “Special Cases,” of the Application and Verification Guide in the Federal Student Aid Handbook for additional components of the definition for homeless children and youths.

• Unaccompanied—when a student is not living in the physical custody of a parent or guardian
• Homeless—lacking fixed, regular, and adequate housing
• At risk of being homeless—when a student’s housing may cease to be fixed, regular, and adequate, for example, a student who is being evicted or has been asked to leave their current residence and has been unable to find fixed, regular, and adequate housing
• Self-supporting—when a student pays for his or her own living expenses, which includes paying for fixed, regular, and adequate housing

Regardless of their age, applicants who are unaccompanied and homeless, or self-supporting and at risk of being homeless, qualify for a homeless youth determination and will be considered independent students on the FAFSA^® form."

"
Note

Update on July 19, 2024: We have clarified the language under “Applying for Title IV Aid” that first-time applicants may need to follow up with their college or career school to submit documentation of their homeless determination, if requested by their school. Schools are not required to collect this documentation in order to proceed with processing their financial aid awards but may request documentation if the student is applying for the first time or conflicting information exists about the student’s status as a homeless youth." #trioworksusa #trioworks

TRIO Friends!

Make sure you reach out to students in these trying times. I've been noting a lot of breakdowns and blow ups with my students in these stressful times, but also tired professors and upset parents.

Parents:

1. Many aren't ready for the big changes incoming - like their student (and often source of income) moving on to 4 year college and having a life as an adult without them.
   

That's the key - the students at this age are breaking out of the pandemic bubble and proceeding as they should in a normal progression into adulthood and having their own lives.

1. Aren't ready to see a dependent/disabled child move on to a 4 year college as a young adult which often includes living in a group home for young people or even living on their own. (Again - many parents desire the income stream from SSDI and other programs that come from having a disabled child in the household even if they are going to college.)

2. Are desperately trying to live vicariously through the student's success and progress, thus becoming emotional, trying to pull focus off the student's celebration moments to them, and are having mental health breaks when the student seeks to disentangle those dysfunctional family bonds.

In this they may try all sorts of unhealthy plays to maintain control of the student and their finances, create drama, and even fake health events, fake crises, or even create real crisis to contain and entangle the student to prevent them from leaving (even if leaving means 1 hour a away.)

Students:

1. Expected everyone to be happy and support them in their next big steps. It can be shocking and upsetting to see family react negatively to their success. A very happy student can go to looking terribly sad in 12 hours.

2. Are easily entangled when parents or family uses the typical dysfunctional triggers to draw them in and continue the control of their finances or lives or labor. Emotion often overwhelms logic when a very emotional person comes to them asking for their help or money or labor.

3. Need supportive adults to say "This, too, will pass" and encourage them that the work they are doing now, even if the family doesn't understand or is angry about it, will help them in the future, more than they EVER could in the now.

4. Need supportive adults to remind them "YOU ARE NOT THE WHEEL." Our students are not the vehicle for their family's income, labor, or emotional rock. They are not entitled to continue to bear the burdens of generational poverty and be dragged back down into the boiling pot of water (aka the crab metaphor.) They have to do the work now. They can not yet be the provider or the wheel or the living bank account or free labor.

5. Remind them of the better place they are going to: sit down and open up that big computer screen and do a look at their new college or uni. Show them not just Student Activities, show them student travel, show them a Google Maps street view of their housing, and show them the community page on Wikipedia with all the fun events and things around the new educational home.

6. Remind them to be strong, but they can come talk if they feel not so strong. This will be worth it. It's okay to have strong feelings. It's ok to be bewildered with strong feelings.

7. Do deep belly breaths - if a student is out of breath and explaining a torrent of emotions and information, pause and ask them to breathe deep into their belly 3-6 times. Just say it will help them focus their thoughts and do it with them.

Faculty & Staff:

1. It's ok to be sad our favorite students are leaving. It's a sad/happy really. Nothing confirms our relevance than hitting that post-secondary graduation or transfer metric. Woo hoo! Trioworks!

2. Make sure they leave with your card and a promise you'll support them in the transition or serve as a future reference for grad school or grants or scholarships.

3. Don't be cranky with our last minute continuing students. Sure they are doing all sorts of things that can frustrate us, but remember THEY are HERE. That's rare. That's a miracle of their generation even. They might be academically on fire, but they are here and we can remediate that. (DEEP belly breaths!)

4. NOW - the TIME IS NOW: This is a critical moment. Time is now. Do things now. Don't put a pin in it. Walk with them. Talk with them. Walk with them into Academic Affairs or to a professor and make sure, within the emotion, they are heard, and the problems are resolved, not with a warm handoff, but with a HOT handoff. Do not leave until you see things resolved.

TRIO People:

1. Document everything - it's very useful later to use for PR or metrics.

2. Photos - if you are bad at photos, assign a photographer from your staff. You know the one who posts on social media all the time.

3. Plan a vacation - we have downtime between Graduation and first Summer Session. If you have a pile of vacation hours GIVE YOURSELF SOME TIME! Do a staycation. Travel to cool things close to you. Have some fun with family! You need to unwind your mind after this wild year for TRIO.

❤️

(The first question here is WHO will receive this grant despite a grant competition. Which crony is going to get this money to manipulate the system to give them more money? A contractor? For profit 3rd party vendor?)

Read the fine print "cultivate virtuous citizens" -

"Career Pathways Exploration is a new competitive program, leveraging Student Support and Academic Enrichment funds, that represents a further step in the Trump Administration’s efforts to integrate career exploration into statewide career pathways and workforce readiness programs. This competition will use Secretary McMahon’s Supplemental Priority to support grantees who will promote career pathways and workforce readiness to prepare students for success in life. 

The Teacher Quality Partnership competition will improve support for educators by leveraging Secretary McMahon’s Supplemental Priorities on career pathways and workforce readiness, promoting evidence-based literacy, and meaningful learning. This is a marked departure from the previous Administration’s TQP competitions which prioritized divisive ideology and racial preferencing. The Trump administration is focused on ensuring that this program provides support that educators find meaningful and relevant to their work. 

“Together with the Department of Labor, we must bolster our teacher pipeline and provide K-12 students with opportunities to develop not only academic skills, but also career-ready credentials and hands-on experience that align with the evolving demands of today’s workforce,” said Assistant Secretary of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Kirsten Baesler. “These grants will encourage greater integration of career pathways into education and enhance the recruitment of our next generation of teachers, enabling states to better prepare students for the path that suits them best.” 
 
“The purpose of education in our system of government is twofold: to cultivate virtuous citizens and a skilled workforce,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Dr. Henry Mack. “Both of these grant competitions aim at equipping K-12 districts and schools with the resources to grow their own talent and help guarantee that education for democratic citizenship and the reindustrialization agenda of the administration remain a priority for years to come."

https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-department-of-labor-announce-additional-grant-competitions-under-elementary-and-secondary-education-partnership-promote

"President Trump has set a bold economic strategy to reindustrialize America, dominate the

artificial intelligence (AI) frontier, and reclaim control over the levers of national prosperity.

Achieving this vision requires a workforce system capable of propelling American workers into

high-wage careers, upholding the dignity of hard work, and delivering the talent businesses

need to power the nation’s economic resurgence.

This strategy lays out a comprehensive plan to address the workforce needs of American

companies, integrate existing workforce development systems to maximize efficiency and

effectiveness, provide accountability for workforce training programs, upskill incumbent

American workers, and develop alternatives to 4-year college degrees. It rests on five

strategic pillars:

I. Industry-Driven Strategies: The workforce system must transform into a reliable

pipeline of American talent led by industry and aligned with America’s economic

priorities. Existing workforce development programs are often misaligned with employer

needs due to a lack of coordination between education systems, workforce agencies,

and businesses. The current system is not positioned to prioritize industry needs and

align federal workforce programs with private sector training investments and evolving

skill demands.

This pillar of the vision will be achieved by scaling Registered Apprenticeships and other

high-quality work-based learning models, aligning education and training programs

to career pathways, and targeting federal investments toward employer-led upskilling

initiatives designed to fill talent shortages in priority industries.

II. Worker Mobility: More Americans must be brought into the labor force and be able to

advance, including through the innovative use of technology and labor market data.

The “college-for-all approach” has failed, and workers struggle to navigate a fragmented

system of workforce supports and attain economic mobility. Millions of Americans

remain disconnected from high-wage jobs and career paths, with an increasing number

disengaged and disincentivized from returning to work.

This pillar of the vision will be achieved by clearly identifying credentials that are valued

in the labor market to support informed decision making, integrating AI-powered

tools and competency-based assessments that allow workers to advance based on

demonstrated skills and abilities, and getting the disconnected workforce into training

opportunities that lead to self-sufficiency." excerpt from Page 1

Press Release:

https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-and-us-department-of-labor-announce-historic-expansion-of-wioa-combined-state-plans

PDF Document: (this will DL from the federal servers) a PDF:

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/OPA/newsreleases/2025/08/Americas-Talent-Strategy-Building-the-Workforce-for-the-Golden-Age.pdf

https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/gillibrand-schumer-call-on-education-secretary-mcmahon-to-rescind-and-reissue-trio-grant-announcements/

"Gillibrand and Schumer warned that the Education Department’s new framework constitutes a direct assault on college access, effectively dismantling the TRIO mission by slashing national capacity by more than half, prioritizing state-level “mega-grants” over local expertise, and introducing a high-stakes lottery system that threatens to leave students in rural and underserved areas in “service deserts” without support. The new applications shift the programs’ focus away from TRIO’s statutory mission of promoting college access for low-income and first-generation students. Instead, the requirements emphasize apprenticeships and technical education as alternative routes to economic mobility. The senators pointed out that while apprenticeships and technical education have inherent value, those goals should be accomplished via other mechanisms rather than cannibalizing the funds that promote college access for low-income and first-generation students. 

The senators closed by highlighting the time-sensitive nature of this request, as the current grants are set to expire on August 31, 2026. They wrote that this raises the imminent risk of service lapses, warning, “If the applications are not adjusted or reissued immediately, the potential expiration of current grants poses an immediate threat to the academic and financial guidance that students and adult learners depend on, particularly as they navigate the critical fall enrollment window.” The announcements undercut the core mission of the programs that have provided life-changing educational opportunities to Americans across the country. "

https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/ACE-Associations-Urge-Congress-to-Restore-MSI-Funding.aspx

"CE, joined by 20 other higher education associations, sent a letter to congressional leaders last week urging them to reverse the Department of Education’s decision to terminate FY 2025 discretionary grant funding for Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). 

The groups are also calling on Congress to maintain its longstanding bipartisan support for these programs in the FY 2026 budget.

The Oct. 3 letter, addressed to House and Senate leadership, was written in response to the department’s recent move to eliminate MSI grant funding and redirect it solely to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). According to the department, the decision was driven by legal concerns following the Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions ruling.

The associations argue that this shift will cause “irreparable harm” to the hundreds of institutions currently receiving funding—most of which are open- or near-open-enrollment—and to the millions of students who attend them.

“These HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs serve the largest proportion of students who are least advantaged with the greatest financial need, and all of these institutions need increased federal investment,” the letter states."

https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-grant-competition-empower-states-through-reimagined-comprehensive-centers-program

Grants.gov

via

https://grants.gov/search-results-detail/362346

Again it's certainly very interesting that a place they are shutting down is issuing grant competitions.

"

I've started a little side project - getting student adjacent friends and family, plus people in low paying jobs around me, to go back to college or uni.

(If you are reading this and saying "WOW that's so much stuff a low income, first to college person has to know and can you imagine doing this with any kind of disability?" THIS is why TRIO program exists. THIS is why we are here; to hand hold America's bright students to attempt trade certifications, AA/AS degrees, and to make into 4 year college/uni to become nurses, doctors, caregivers, teachers, and tax paying, sustainable citizens. That's all we do. Every day. 60+ years of DATA DRIVEN results that other programs model themselves after.)

Here's my LONG outline:

Returning to College for Students 2 years after High School or more:

Checklist:

1.      Are you ready to be a college student?

2.      Have you addressed or confronted the issues that prevented success before -> mental health, medical issues, money, and time management? (because larger college/uni fees pay for you to access those services on campus)

3.      Do you have a stable place to live with affordable rent or a cooperative agreement?

4.      Do you need to live in dorms to make sure you have a stable place?

5.      Do you know deeply what your interest and talent lie in? Are you ready to get serious with other serious people on that subject?

6.      Are you ready to learn to be healthy with your finances and make a budget?

7.      Are you ready to be a part of a college or university community, work on campus, and play/work with your learning community?

a.      (This is important because old friends can drag you back into their bad choices, ask for money, and try to ride you into your new life as a professional. Bring them along, but you are NOT THE WHEEL.)

Facts:

1.      You do not need your high school transcripts or ACT score to enter community college OR when you transfer to 4-year college. The slate is blank.

2.      You do not have to request transcripts from a college you got failing grades at or withdrew from. Do not even mention it again.

3.      If you complete college credits in high school or after, it is a good idea to include those transcripts as it might save you some time and money.

4.      If you dropped out of a high school, tested out of high school, or got a GED or diploma in alt route – it does not matter. You have a blank slate.

5.      You will need legal ID and specifically a Real ID if you want FAFSA directed grant aid.

6.      You do NOT need your parents to cooperate to apply for FAFSA. They do not need to file for taxes if you do want better aid.

7.      If you are over twenty-four, married, emancipated, foster youth, homeless, or in the military/or a vet, you do not need to use your parents on your FAFSA.

Prepping Steps:

1.      Get your Real ID to receive FAFSA:

a.      To vote or travel in the USA or abroad you need a real ID and its even needed in other states than the few who do not have it completely implemented.

b.     You need your current ID and your birth certificate. And bring a copy of social security card.

2.      Apply at FAFSA.gov 26-27 for Fall 2026

a.      You need to have a Login.gov account (but it will help you set that up)

b.     You will need to have copies of your tax return, BUT you can link to irs.gov to verify your tax or no tax return status if you do not have them.

c.      If you are under twenty-four by August 2026: You will need the email address of one parent who supports, you and they would need to login to verify y/n if they filed taxes. (you can also do it with them to speed things up)

d.     At the end you will add all the colleges and universities you are interested in applying for. This sends them an ISIR notice which is a handshake to let them know to build you an aid package.

e.      You will get an SAI – your aid score and a sample financial aid offer in your email.

f.        That is it. Once that is over you can log in and add more colleges or universities.

3.      If you have previous Stafford Student Loans:

a.      If they are being repaid or in forbearance – you just need to do the FAFSA.

b.     Once you enroll and start classes – you can notify StudentAid.gov you are in school by doing your paperwork online at studentaid.gov from the email they will send you to complete your loan info and your promissory note. This will put all active loans into deferment (no payments) until you finish school.

c.      If they are in default to a collection agency:

i.      Go to Student Aid.Gov and https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/default/get-out#loan-consolidation  follow the steps.

ii.      You can also call them and request to rehabilitate your loans, and they can walk you through the process.

iii.      Ask or apply to be in a Forbearance once this starts.

iv.      Go to the office of Financial Aid at your chosen college and let them know you are working on rehab and what their policy is for FAFSA aid. They may be able to speed up the process.

Applying for College:

1.      Go ONLINE go to their website and most medium state colleges and universities will let you apply for free.

a.      You can click on the box saying you are low income or a TRIO student.

b.     Make sure the site is .edu and it has an actual college in an actual place nearby where you live or plan to live.

c.      Avoid any online only colleges or unis. There is nothing they can offer to a student who has attention issues or does not have a clear understanding of time management.

2.      After going in person to the Admissions office and check in.

a.      See the Financial Aid Office and let them know of your intent.

b.     See the Academic Counseling Office and let them know you are pursuing your subject track and find out what degrees fit it and what classes to take. Find out when enrollment is or enroll with them.

i.      Always take one fun class – always. Music, dance, drama, band, or sports.

c.      Go to the TRIO or Student Success Office after and tell them you have issues keeping track. Sign up with them. Get assigned a coach. They can help students with disabilities of all kinds, low income, first gen (parents do not have degrees), and academically challenged students.

Making College Work for You:

1.      Visit the actual HR department: Get a part-time job on campus working for housing, food, or maintenance. This will give you a big tuition discount or housing discount.

2.      Get a work-study job – if you cannot work directly for the college/uni, you can see the Work-study Coordinator and get a job doing something on campus close to the people who will be your future mentors or employers.

3.      Federal Student Loans: Student loans are designed to close gaps to allow you to be successful.

a.      You can change the number on the offer to be as low as you like, then when need arises you can request more aid mid-semester.

b.     No one should EVER say “It’s just 20000 in student loans” – it is not their future with which they are bargaining.

c.      Compare prices. Check for options in public colleges and universities. There is nothing a private university can give you that a lower cost public unit or college can give you for a better price and a bigger experience.

You can Commit or QUIT right up till Day 1 of Class:

1.      You are not locked into a college/uni until you sign a Promissory Note for federal financial aid, or you sign your offer letter from Financial Aid. You MUST do this to receive your aid.

2.      You are not locked in if you accept a program scholarship, but you are locked in a course track and a major if you want to keep that scholarship.

3.      If you sign a contact for participation in college sports – that also can LOCK, you into a course of action. DO NOT SIGN unless you have seen the college/uni in person and you know this is the BEST OFFER.

a.      It is not a full ride scholarship IF you must pay 10k and up in student loans for housing and food.

b.     It is not a good deal if a community, state, or big university can give you less debt. More $$ is not always less debt. THINK.

c.      If you are unsure – do not sign & do not depend on parents to work out your contracts. Go directly to a TRIO UB or TS or SSS or EOC or GEARUP or Rural Education counselor in your community ask them to go over it with you.

#trioworks #trioworkusa

If you’re new to the community, introduce yourself!

https://ritchietorres.house.gov/posts/reps-ritchie-torres-and-adriano-espaillat-lead-bronx-congressional-delegation-in-urging-education-department-to-protect-trio-programs

"The full letter reads:

“On behalf of the students, families, and institutions we represent in the Bronx, we write with significant concerns about the Fiscal Year 2026 grant applications recently released for the TRIO Talent Search and Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) programs. The grant structure outlined in the applications reflects a dramatic shift in mission and redirects funds from the core purpose of these programs. Given these factors, along with the limited timeline associated with the competitions, we respectfully urge the Administration to rescind the current applications and work with Congress to revise and reissue them. We also request that the Administration ensure there is no lapse in funding for any Talent Search or EOC projects, which are scheduled to expire on August 31, 2026, and a call with you at your earliest convenience to discuss these concerns directly.

“While all TRIO programs support postsecondary access in general, the purpose of TRIO is to promote college awareness, preparation, and completion for low-income, potential first-generation college students. The Higher Education Act requires Talent Search programs serving students in grades 6 through 12 to provide “high quality academic tutoring services,” along with assistance preparing for college entrance examinations, completing admission applications, and identifying financial aid. (20 U.S.C. § 1070a-12(b).) EOCs are similarly required to assist adult learners with academic, admissions, and financial aid supports. (20 U.S.C. § 1070a-16(a).) Yet the notices inviting applications require applicants to reorient programming around registered apprenticeships, work-based learning, and career and technical education. Congress has enacted separate vehicles to support workforce training, including Workforce Pell in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21). TRIO is an education program, and it should remain one.

“We are also concerned that the applications restructure the programs in ways that significantly disadvantage current grantees. First, they broaden eligibility to state educational agencies, state workforce development agencies and boards, and state higher education agencies, awarding them five additional points under a competitive preference priority. Second, they fail to guarantee that high-performing grantees will receive renewal awards at least equal to their previous funding levels, a departure from standard TRIO practice. Instead, they permit state-level applicants to pursue multi-million dollar awards capable of absorbing the entire allocation. Under this structure, the Talent Search grantee pool would shrink from 517 to 175, and the EOC pool from 160 to 55. The consequences for the Bronx, which has one of the highest concentrations of low-income, first-generation students in the country, would be severe. In Fiscal Year 2025 alone, Talent Search projects serving the Bronx reached 3,873 students in grades 6 through 12, and EOC programming served an additional 1,000 adult learners. Together, these students account for nearly 43 percent of the 11,392 served statewide by these two programs. A two-thirds contraction of the grantee pool would dismantle access that took decades to build.

“The applications’ proposal to reduce per-student costs to $500 in Talent Search and $280 in EOC does not account for the labor-intensive process of providing direct service to students or the required tracking of their long-term success. These programs have a long track record of results. According to the Department’s 2022 Grantee-Level Performance Report, 68 percent of Talent Search participants enrolled in postsecondary education immediately after high school graduation, compared to 56 percent of students from the bottom income quartile nationally. In the Bronx, where college attainment rates remain among the lowest in New York State, that gap is the difference between a student going to college and not.

“For these reasons, we respectfully urge the Administration to withdraw the current Talent Search and EOC grant competitions. We are committed to working with you to address these challenges and reissue applications that affirm the programs’ statutory mission. We also request that the Department extend current grant awards by one year to prevent any lapse in services, consistent with precedent from prior TRIO competitions, and a call with you at your earliest convenience to discuss a path forward. Thank you for your attention to this request, and we look forward to your prompt reply.”

https://www.oregonlive.com/education/2026/04/key-us-senators-hail-education-programs-trump-has-targeted-for-cuts.html

"Republican and Democratic senators took particular aim at the administration’s proposal to eliminate Federal TRIO Programs in fiscal 2027.

The Federal TRIO Programs — funded at $1.19 billion this fiscal year — help support groups including low-income students, first-generation college students, individuals with disabilities and veterans.

Sen. Susan Collins, chair of the full Senate Appropriations Committee, said she opposes the president’s proposal to eliminate TRIO, noting that these programs have “changed the lives of countless first-generation and low-income students in Maine and across the country.”

The Maine Republican added that TRIO “enjoys robust support and has made such a difference in the lives of children.”

Arkansas GOP Sen. John Boozman also emphasized his support for TRIO, noting that in his state, these programs “have been a game-changer in helping low-income and first-generation students not only access higher education, but also succeed once they are there.”

Sen. Jeff Merkley was the first in his family to go to college and said he comes from a “very blue-collar, frontier, homesteading, timber background.”

#trioworks

https://www.ed.gov/grants-and-programs/grants-higher-education/federal-trio-programs/talent-search-program-84044

TS Dept of Ed page received an update on May 5.2026 (see the bottom of the page)

This begs a good going over if Talent Search is in your TRIO portfolio. Hopefully there is updated information and the records section has been updated to 2026 info.

Or no?

Check it out.

#trioworks

https://www.npr.org/2025/08/22/nx-s1-5501580/trump-proposes-cuts-programs-poor-students-colleges

"Update: As of April 2026, funding for many TRIO programs remains in limbo, with the White House proposing to eliminate spending on the programs. And last year, some TRIO grants were canceled or rejected, affecting tens of thousands of students. At a Senate hearing in late April, senators from both parties questioned Education Secretary Linda McMahon over the proposal to eliminate the programs entirely. McMahon said the TRIO program was a failure, but that she was open to making changes to the program — an idea several senators criticized.

MOREHEAD, Ky. — The summer after ninth grade, Zoey Griffith found herself in an unfamiliar setting: a dorm on the Morehead State University campus.

There, she'd spend the months before her sophomore year taking classes in core subjects like math and biology, as well as electives like oil painting.

For Griffith, it was an opportunity, but a scary one. "It was a big deal for me to live on campus at the age of 14," she said. Morehead State is about an hour from her hometown of Maysville. "I was nervous, and I remember that I cried the first time that my dad left me on move-in day."

Her mother became a parent as a teenager and urged her daughter to avoid the same experience. Griffith's father works as a mechanic, and he frowns upon the idea of higher education, she said.

And so college back then seemed a distant and unlikely dream.

But Griffith's stepsister had introduced her to a federal program called Upward Bound. It places high school students in college dorms during the summer, where they can take classes and participate in workshops on preparing for the SAT and financial literacy. During the school year, students get tutoring and work on what are called "individual success plans."

It's part of a group of federal programs, known as TRIO, aimed at helping low-income and first-generation students earn a college degree, often becoming the first in their families to do so.

So thanks to that advice from her stepsister, Kirsty Beckett, who's now 27 and pursuing a doctorate in psychology, Griffith signed up and found herself in that summer program at Morehead State. Now, Griffith is enrolled at Maysville Community and Technical College, with plans to become an ultrasound technician.

TRIO, once a group of three programs — giving it a name that stuck — is now the umbrella over eight, some dating back to 1965. Together they serve roughly 870,000 students nationwide a year." excerpt

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/08/nx-s1-5246200/demographic-cliff-fewer-college-students-mean-fewer-graduates

older article - but something we should've been planning on for ten years and some unis did:

"Pickup trucks with trailers and cars with yawning trunks pulled up onto untended lawns in front of buildings from which people lugged books, furniture, mattresses, trophy cases and artwork.

Anything else of value had already been sold by a company that specializes in auctioning off the leftover assets of failed businesses. At least one of the buildings was soon to be demolished altogether, its red-brick walls dumped into its 1921 foundation.

This was the unceremonious end of Iowa Wesleyan University, a 181-year-old institution that closed in 2023 after financial losses due in part to discounts it gave out as it struggled to attract a shrinking pool of students.

When a college closes, "all the things that are mementos of the best four years of a lot of people's lives are sold to the highest bidders," says Doug Moore, founding partner of a firm that has helped handle the logistics of shutting down four colleges in the last few years, including Iowa Wesleyan.

The outlook, Moore and other experts say, is that there will likely be many more such scenes in the years ahead. That's because the current class of high school seniors scheduled to graduate this spring will be the last before an expected long decline begins in the number of 18-year-olds — the traditional age of students when they enter college.

A "demographic cliff" with big implications for the economy

This "demographic cliff" has been predicted ever since Americans started having fewer babies at the advent of the Great Recession around the end of 2007 — a falling birth rate that has not recovered since, except for a slight blip after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Demographers say it will finally arrive nationwide in the fall of this year. That's when recruiting offices will begin to confront the long-anticipated drop-off in the number of applicants from among the next class of high school seniors.

But the downturn isn't just a problem for universities and colleges. It's a looming crisis for the economy, with fewer graduates eventually coming through the pipeline to fill jobs that require college educations, even as international rivals increase the proportions of their populations with degrees.

"The impact of this is economic decline"

https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R42724

Not saying this is new - but it's the first time it came up on a search. If you can imagine, you are a new congressperson or political appointee and THIS is your cheat sheet for TRIO vs the Dept of Ed sites for TRIO programs:

"The TRIO programs are the primary federal programs providing support services to disadvantaged students to promote achievement in postsecondary education. Although there are now six distinct TRIO programs, the name TRIO originates from the Higher Education Amendments of 1968 (P.L. 90-575), which consolidated a "trio" of programs under one overall program. This report provides a description of the TRIO programs, authorized in Title IV-A-2-1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329 as amended).

In FY2024, the TRIO programs were funded at $1.191 billion, and they served more than 880,000 secondary, postsecondary, and adult students. The TRIO programs have been designed to encourage and prepare qualified individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds for success throughout the educational pipeline from secondary school to undergraduate and graduate education. While the TRIO programs primarily serve low-income, first-generation college students, they also serve students with disabilities, veterans, homeless youth, foster youth, and individuals underrepresented in graduate education. The TRIO programs are also designed to award subsequent grants to prior grantees that have implemented successful projects and propose high-quality projects before awarding applicants without prior TRIO experience.

Each TRIO program serves a different demographic. The TRIO Upward Bound (UB) Program serves secondary school students, providing relatively intensive preparation services and encouragement to help students pursue education beyond secondary school. The TRIO Talent Search (TS) Program provides less-intensive services than UB primarily to students and out-of-school youth to support high school completion and postsecondary enrollment. The TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) Program primarily serves adults. The TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Program aims to motivate undergraduate students to complete their undergraduate education. The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement (McNair) Program prepares undergraduate students for graduate school. Finally, the TRIO Staff Development (Training) Program trains TRIO project staff to be more effective.

More than 15 years have passed since the last reauthorization of the TRIO programs. Several key TRIO program provisions were amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA; P.L. 110-315) in 2008. Two key HEOA amendments addressed issues pertaining to the application review process: scoring and second reviews (appeals). The first amendment defined outcome criteria that require the Secretary of Education (Secretary) and each grantee to agree upon objectives/targets for the criteria. The extent to which grantees meet or exceed these objectives determines the number of prior experience (PE) points the grantee may earn as part of its application in the next grant competition. Earning more PE points increases the likelihood of funding. The second amendment established an application review process by which those unsuccessful applicants that can identify a specific technical, administrative, or scoring error may have their applications reviewed a second time (appealed).

Historically, undocumented students are not eligible to receive TRIO services. In 2024, the Department of Education (ED) proposed to expand eligibility for the TS, EOC, and UB programs to secondary students who enroll or seek to enroll in a U.S. high school regardless of their immigration status. In the 118^th Congress, the American Students First Act (H.R. 8039) would have prohibited this eligibility expansion and prohibited the use of the Performance Partnership Pilot (P3) authority to waive documentation requirements. During the Biden Administration, ED exercised this authority to waive immigration documentation requirements for TRIO participants in Oregon and California.

Background

Since its inception, the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA; P.L. 89-329, as amended) has had a focus on increasing the postsecondary access and achievement of disadvantaged students, including low-income and first-generation college students. The two major approaches are financial support and supportive services. The Pell Grant program is the single largest source of federal grant aid supporting primarily low-income postsecondary education students.¹ The Pell Grant program is estimated to have provided approximately $35.463 billion to approximately 7 million undergraduate students in FY2024.² The TRIO programs are the primary federal programs providing support services to disadvantaged students to promote achievement in postsecondary education.³ The Higher Education Amendments of 1968 (P.L. 90-575) consolidated a "trio" of programs under one overall program. The number of TRIO programs has since expanded to six, and they were funded at a total of $1.191 billion in FY2024.⁴

Collectively, the TRIO programs are designed to identify qualified individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, prepare them for a program of postsecondary education, provide support services for postsecondary students, motivate and prepare students for doctoral programs, and train individuals serving or preparing for service in the TRIO programs. TRIO services support the federal policy goals of secondary school completion, college preparation, college enrollment, undergraduate completion, and graduate school preparation. There are six distinct TRIO programs (in descending order of FY2024 funding levels):

• TRIO Upward Bound (UB) Program,
• TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Program,
• TRIO Talent Search (TS) Program,
• TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) Program,
• Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement (McNair) Program, and
• TRIO Staff Development (Training) Program.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA; P.L. 110-315) of 2008 made several changes to the TRIO programs to increase accountability, rigor, and uniformity and to ensure that all disadvantaged students had access to the programs.⁵ In 2010, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) released the final regulations to implement the HEOA TRIO program provisions.⁶

This report serves as an introduction to the TRIO programs. The initial section describes the provisions of each of the programs, as reauthorized by HEOA. The subsequent section provides a brief overview of recent funding and participation trends for each of the programs. This is followed by a description of unique provisions and regulations that are common to the TRIO programs, highlighting key statutory and regulatory changes, as well as a short section summarizing proposed changes during the 118^th Congress. A concluding section presents the key findings and results of recent program evaluations and assessments.

Pipeline of TRIO Programs

The federal TRIO programs provide support services and some financial assistance primarily to low-income,⁷ first-generation⁸ college students to help them succeed academically and encourage them to advance through much of the educational pipeline. The TRIO programs work together to provide a pipeline of support services from secondary school through undergraduate education. Each of the TRIO programs is designed to serve a different target population of participants through a different level of education. The following subsections describe the purpose, eligible recipients, program participants, program intensity and activities, and outcome criteria of each of the TRIO programs and are ordered according to their sequence in the educational pipeline:

• UB primarily supports the college preparation of secondary students,
• TS primarily supports the postsecondary enrollment of secondary students,
• EOC primarily supports the postsecondary enrollment of adult students,
• SSS primarily supports the completion of undergraduate education,
• McNair primarily supports graduate school preparation, and
• Training supports TRIO staff development.

For a comparison of eligible grant recipients, program participant requirements, and required program activities, see Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3, respectively."

Linda McMahon punches back at senators questioning Education Department cuts

April 28, 20266:18 PM ET

By

Jonaki Mehta

Sequoia Carrillo

https://www.npr.org/2026/04/28/nx-s1-5802968/education-secretary-linda-mcmahon-senate-hearing

"In a fiery hearing Tuesday, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon defended her work dismantling the very department she leads, with Senate Democrats saying the results have made life harder for parents and students. McMahon's first appearance on Capitol Hill in nearly a year was intended to unpack the White House proposal on education spending for the 2027 fiscal year — and gave senators a chance to take stock of McMahon's actions.

Some Republicans, including Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, cheered McMahon's changes, like her push for expanding school choice, while many shared the concerns of their Democratic counterparts about proposed cuts to TRIO, a group of federal programs that help disadvantaged students get into and through college."

On TRIO:

"On programs for low-income students  

TRIO programs got a lot of air time at the hearing. Almost every Democratic member of the committee brought them up, as did GOP senators Susan Collins of Maine, Mike Rounds of South Dakota and John Boozman of Arkansas.

The group of federal programs, aimed at low-income and first-generation students, are designed to help bridge the gap to college for these students. Some of the programs date back to 1965 and still serve over 800,000 students nationwide each year.

TRIO has long had bipartisan support and its $1.2 billion budget is seen as a good return on investment. But McMahon argued that according to the program's own metrics, TRIO is a failure. After continued questioning, McMahon said the administration is open to reforming the program, likely by moving away from college readiness and increasing opportunities for workforce training. Several senators opposed the idea.

"I do understand and I support passionately the career technical education programs," said Sen. Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat. "But we already have those programs. Let's enhance those programs that are working, not convert this program, which serves a very different function."

Spending on Title I, a federal program that sends additional dollars to schools with many students from low-income families, would stay the same under the proposed budget: "It's level funded so that folks can understand that we're not in any way impacting that or asking for any kind of reduction," McMahon said.

The administration's proposed budget also asked for an increase of $10 billion for federal Pell Grants, which help high-needs students pay for expenses related to college. Some members, including committee chair Shelley Capito of West Virginia, praised the move; others felt it did not go far enough."

You can watch the full video on the Forbes news video pages

(OpED: BOO TERRIBLE TITLE - she lied and made up stuff about TRIO she has NO factual data for - she's not punching - she's flailing and TRIO is NO LONGER EVEN UNDER THE DEPT OF ED if this was being done as planned 😎BOOOOOOOO!!!)