TRIO
Biola TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) is a federally funded cohort program that helps first-generation, low-income and/or students with disabilities graduate with their bachelor’s degree. We are one of over 3,500 TRIO programs across the U.S. and serve up to 140 students enrolled in on-campus degree programs each year.
Become a TRIO Student
To be eligible to participate in TRIO, students must either be accepted for enrollment or currently enrolled in an undergraduate on-campus program. All majors and class years are encouraged to apply if they meet all of the following criteria:
- Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Identifies as at least one of the following:
- First-generation college student (i.e. neither parent completed a four-year college degree in the United States)
- Pell Grant recipient
- Able to provide documentation of a diagnosed disability or are registered with the Office of Student Accessibility
Application Deadline
Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. PST
Program Benefits
Individualized Coaching
TRIO students will meet with their dedicated success advisor to discuss concerns and campus resources, and receive a success plan recommending the use of various TRIO services to achieve their academic, career and personal goals. These meetings occur weekly during the first semester, bi-weekly in the second semester and monthly in subsequent semesters to track progress.
Peer Mentor Program
Every year, three second-year peer mentors are selected to offer supplemental advising in various academic subjects and study skills. Mentors will introduce first-year TRIO mentees to various campus resources and plan community events.
Note: These are paid positions.
Academic Enrichment Programming
TRIO students will have the opportunity to attend regular on-campus performances, exhibitions, film screenings and Q&A with film creatives as a community. Regional opportunities include visiting graduate schools and cultural institutions, including museums and historical sites — all free of charge.
TRIO students will have access to the following support options, based on their individualized success plan:
Academic Support
- Study Skills Workshops: These workshops will cover topics essential for collegiate success, such as time management, calendaring and following a syllabus.
- Tutoring: TRIO partners with the Office of Student Accessibility to provide expanded one-on-one tutoring hours for TRIO students free of charge. Tutors have been highly recommended by course faculty.
- Priority Access to the Lending Library: Each semester, TRIO students are invited to browse and borrow textbooks from the Lending Library ahead of the broader Biola student community.
- Laptop Rentals: TRIO students will have access to several laptops for short-term use on a first-come, first-served basis.
Career Support
- Career Launch Academy: A free 3-week experience, proven to help students proactively create relationships with professionals and launch effective job and internship searches in the hidden job market, led by one of Biola’s career specialists.
- Summer Internship Grant: Eligible students will be encouraged to apply for annual one-time grant awards per credit for summer internship or fieldwork courses.
- Career Workshops: Led by career specialists, sessions will cover topics such as exploring career options, writing a resume and cover letter and applying for graduate school.
Financial Support
- Student Loans 101: A workshop for all first-year TRIO students, covering types of loans, reducing loan amounts and repayment plans.
- Financial Wellness Plan: On a yearly basis, TRIO students will meet with their success advisor to create a financial plan tailored to their career and/or graduate school goals and to address immediate financial concerns.
- Tuition Grant: TRIO students identified with the greatest unmet financial need will be eligible for one-year micro-grants.
- Financial and Economic Literacy Workshops: Led by the faculty advisor to the Financial Planning Association, sessions will cover topics such as budgeting, FAFSA completion, federal financial aid policies and credit management.
Mental Health Support
- Counseling and workshops: The Biola Counseling Center provides two full-time counseling interns to provide drop-in, individual and group counseling sessions, as well as mental health workshops. Psychology interns work as full-time clinicians, under supervision, as the last step before receiving their Psy.D. or Ph.D.
- Scholarships to the Biola Counseling Center: Sixteen TRIO students with the highest identified need for mental health support will be eligible for up to 12 counseling sessions at no cost.