Eligibility & How to Qualify

You must be enrolled (or accepted for the next term) at PJC and meet at least one primary criterion.

Base Requirements

  • Enrolled or accepted for the next term at PJC (Paris campus or online)

  • Citizenship/Residency:

    • U.S. Citizen, U.S. National (American Samoa/Swain’s Island), Permanent Resident (I-151, I-551, or I-551C), or Eligible Non-Citizen (I-94)

    • Not eligible: holders of F-1, F-2, J-1, J-2 visas

Meet at least one of the three:

  1. First-Generation Student (any of the following)

  • Neither natural nor adoptive parent earned a bachelor’s degree

  • Before age 18, you regularly resided with/received support from only one parent and that parent did not earn a bachelor’s degree

  • Before age 18, you did not regularly reside with or receive support from a parent

  • Includes foster care youth (in or aging out of foster care) and homeless youth (per McKinney-Vento)

  1. Documented Disability

  • Physical or learning disability as defined by Section 504/ADA

  1. Low-Income

  • Meets U.S. Department of Education low-income guidelines (updated annually in late January). Use your most recent tax return to confirm taxable income by family size.

TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) at Paris Junior College is 100% federally funded by the U.S. Department of Education. TRIO SSS serves 140 participants annually who are from low-income backgrounds, first-generation college students and/or participants with disabling conditions, with a budget of $261,888.

Paris Junior College prohibits discrimination, including harassment, against any student on the basis of sex or gender, race, color, national origin, disability, religion, age, or any other basis prohibited by law. A lack of English language skills will not be a barrier to admission and participation in the career and technical education programs of PJC.