The White House released its proposed fiscal year 2027 federal budget on April 3, 2026. For students and families, the headline items are: TRIO programs — which serve nearly 800,000 low-income and first-generation students annually — would be eliminated entirely. So would FSEOG, the supplemental grant program for the most financially needy undergraduates. Federal Work-Study funding would be cut. The Pell Grant maximum would stay frozen at $7,395 for a fourth straight year. Meanwhile, research funding at NIH would be reduced by roughly 12 percent. The budget is a proposal, not law — Congress rejected nearly identical cuts last year.

The Trump administration released its proposed fiscal year 2027 budget to Congress on April 3, 2026. The proposal requests $76.5 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education — a decrease of $2.3 billion, or 2.9 percent, from the fiscal year 2026 enacted level.1

For students and families who rely on federal programs to afford and succeed in college, several items in this proposal deserve close attention.

What Would Be Eliminated Entirely

The budget proposes zeroing out three major student-support programs:

Federal TRIO Programs. TRIO is a set of federally funded outreach and support programs targeting first-generation college students, low-income students, and students with disabilities. The programs include Upward Bound (which helps high schoolers prepare for college), Student Support Services (tutoring and advising at participating colleges), and Talent Search (college access counseling). Collectively, the programs serve nearly 800,000 students annually. The proposed elimination would remove all $1.6 billion in funding for TRIO and the related GEAR UP program.1

FSEOG (Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant). The FSEOG program provides need-based grants of up to $4,000 per year to undergraduate students with the most demonstrated financial need. Unlike Pell Grants, FSEOG funds flow directly to schools, which then distribute them to their most financially vulnerable students. The budget proposes eliminating the program entirely.2

GAANN (Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need). This program provides fellowships to graduate students in fields of national importance. The proposal eliminates it.1

These are proposed cuts, not enacted ones. Congress must pass its own appropriations bills by September 30, 2026. Lawmakers rejected nearly identical proposals last year, preserving TRIO, FSEOG, and other programs that the administration had sought to cut.

Federal Work-Study: Cuts But Not Elimination

Federal Work-Study funds part-time campus jobs for students with financial need. This budget proposes significant reductions to the program rather than full elimination — consistent with the administration's stated goal of putting the Education Department on a "path to elimination."3

The Pell Grant: Funded, But Still Frozen

The one area where the administration pulled back was the Pell Grant, the cornerstone of federal student aid for low- and moderate-income undergraduates.

The proposal maintains the maximum Pell Grant award at $7,395 for the 2027-28 academic year — the same maximum that has been in place since fiscal year 2024. This marks the fourth consecutive year the Pell Grant maximum would remain unchanged.

To address the program's growing shortfall, the administration included a $10.5 billion increase in discretionary Pell funding — bringing total Pell discretionary funding above $33 billion. Without this infusion, the program faced a funding gap that would have forced cuts to awards.

Kim Cook, CEO of the National College Attainment Network (NCAN), responded to the budget release on April 3: "We're grateful the White House recognized the importance of the Pell Grant by holding the line on funding. Fully funding the Pell Grant program reflects the deep bipartisan support for the program and is an important step towards restoring Pell's purchasing power for students." NCAN also called on Congress to go further and raise the maximum award by $200.4

Research Funding: NIH Takes a Hit

The budget proposes cutting the National Institutes of Health to $41.43 billion in base funding — a 12 percent decrease from the fiscal year 2026 level. It would also eliminate three of NIH's 27 institutes and centers: those focused on minority health, international health, and complementary and integrative health.5

For students at research universities, NIH cuts matter beyond lab jobs. Our earlier reporting on how federal research cuts affect students explains how universities use research funding to cross-subsidize graduate student stipends, undergraduate research opportunities, and in some cases financial aid packages.

What This Means Depending on Who You Are

If you receive TRIO services: Programs like Upward Bound, Student Support Services, and Talent Search are funded annually by congressional appropriations. The proposed elimination would not immediately end your services for the current academic year — but it signals ongoing pressure. Congressional advocates for TRIO have so far been successful in protecting the programs.

If you receive FSEOG: Check your financial aid award letter to see whether any of your grant funding is labeled as FSEOG or "institutional supplemental grant." This is typically the smallest line item but is specifically targeted at students with the greatest financial need. Students receiving it tend to have Pell-eligible incomes.

If you're a first-generation or low-income student choosing a college: Learn which financial aid programs each college uses and whether the school supplements federal aid with its own institutional grants. Federal aid programs are subject to annual political debate; institutional grants are not.

If you're applying for scholarships: A reduction in federal need-based aid programs is one reason why outside scholarships matter more, not less, each year. Our scholarship strategy guide covers how to build a pipeline that doesn't depend entirely on federal programs.

If you're a first-generation student: The proposed elimination of TRIO programs is particularly significant for first-generation college students, who make up a large share of the students Upward Bound and Student Support Services are designed to serve. The programs are part of why first-generation enrollment rates have grown over the past two decades.

The budget proposal and the actual appropriations law are different things. Watch what Congress does with the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill this fall — that is where TRIO, FSEOG, and Work-Study funding actually gets set. Track the progress at NASFAA.org, which publishes regular updates as the appropriations process moves.

What Happens Next

The president's budget is a starting point for negotiations with Congress, not a final decision. The administration submitted an identical or near-identical set of cuts in its FY2026 budget request — and Congress rejected most of them, preserving the Education Department's funding level and the programs the administration had sought to eliminate.

The FY2027 appropriations process will run through the summer and fall of 2026. Students and families should monitor the process but do not need to take immediate action based on the proposal alone.

If federal student aid changes significantly affect you, your first stop should be your school's financial aid office appeal process and the FAFSA special circumstances process for families whose financial situation changes mid-year.

Footnotes

  1. NASFAA. (2026, April). Trump's FY 2027 Budget Request Would Eliminate FSEOG, Slash FWS Funding, Increase Pell Grant. National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. https://www.nasfaa.org/news-item/38600 ↩ ↩2 ↩3

  2. ACE. (2026, April). Trump Budget for FY 2027 Maintains Pell Grant but Slashes Other Student Aid, Research Funding. American Council on Education. https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/Trump-FY2027-Budget-Maintains-Pell-Slashes-Other-Student-Aid.aspx ↩

  3. White House Office of Management and Budget. (2026, April). Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2027. https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/budget_fy2027.pdf ↩

  4. NCAN. (2026, April 3). NCAN Statement on Pell Grant Funding and the FY 2027 Budget. National College Attainment Network. https://www.ncan.org/Web/News/NCAN-Statement-on-Pell-Grant-Funding-and-the-FY2027-Budget.aspx ↩

  5. American Chemical Society — Chemical & Engineering News. (2026, April). Trump's 2027 budget proposes deep cuts to science programs. https://cen.acs.org/policy/trump-budget-fy2027-science-nsf-epa-nih-fda/104/web/2026/04 ↩