WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Education Department is applying a scoring preference to state and tribal applicants in the Talent Search grant competition. This change will affect how funds are allocated for programs supporting college access for low-income students.
State-designated applicants and Native American tribes can receive up to $10 million annually for five years through this grant. Non-state applicants are limited to a maximum of $1 million per year. The grant solicitation indicates that state agencies are positioned to serve more participants and administer larger awards with fiscal oversight. The Talent Search program historically provides grants directly to colleges, universities, and nonprofits to support college access for middle school students, high school students, and adults. The department has also modified the Educational Opportunity Centers grant competition to include a preference for state applicants.
The department awarded more than 500 Talent Search grants in 2025, with an average annual payment of approximately $350,000. It plans to award 175 grants in the current competition cycle and has not increased total funding for Talent Search grants. Applications for the grants were due in May 2026, with funding decisions expected later in 2026. The Talent Search grant is the second-oldest component of the TRIO programs, which served 322,000 students in 2025.
State education agencies, state workforce development agencies, and Native American tribal organizations can receive up to five additional points on the 100-point application grading scale. Federal law allows prior grant winners to receive up to 15 points for prior experience on grant applications. State-level grant recipients can allocate awarded funds to universities that previously administered TRIO programs independently.
Kimberly Jones, president of the Council for Opportunity in Education, said, "We very well could see TRIO disappear from entire communities across the country. It could be consolidated in a handful of places. It particularly could be absent in a lot of rural communities." Zachary Jenkins, director of a Talent Search program at Marshall University, said, "In TRIO, we’re kind of referring to it as a state block grant."
Ellen Keast, press secretary for higher education at the Education Department, said, "Despite pouring nearly $1.2 billion into TRIO, the programs continue to miss the overwhelming majority of their performance measures, and studies of program effectiveness indicate that it has not increased college enrollment." She said high school students "enroll in postsecondary education without any federal intervention." She also stated that "TRIO does not generate an adequate return on investment of American taxpayer dollars." Previous Trump administration budget proposals requested the elimination of TRIO programs, but Congress did not approve the requests.