Montana Educational Talent Search Program

Talent Search is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and has been administered by the Commissioner of Higher Education since 1979. The Helena administrative personnel supervise on-site coordinators who provide educational outreach to 1,325 eligible students in grades 7-12 in five target areas around the state (Great Falls, Flathead Area, Blackfeet Area, Crow Area, and Northern Cheyenne Area).

Talent Search is one of the TRIO programs, along with Upward Bound and Student Support Services, which together with student financial aid programs, were created in 1965 to provide equal access to higher education for all Americans.  TRIO addresses the non-financial barriers to post-secondary education including academic, social, cultural and personal barriers.  Talent Search is designed to motivate and prepare low-income and first-generation students to complete high school and successfully enter a college, a two-year school or a certificate program thereafter.

Services are based on long-term contact, working with students and parents beginning in the 7th grade. Talent Search provides college preparatory services to students and families who are least likely to consider higher education as a realistic, viable or relevant option.  Services reinforce individual and shared identity for students centered on the common goal of college preparation, college success, and ultimately, community leadership and contributions.

Services include individual counseling and academic advising, small group workshops, career site visits and exploration, campus orientation visits, higher education admissions and enrollment assistance, assistance targeted at key transition points, academic and cultural workshops, role model mentors, parental contacts and related efforts. The ensemble of services is designed to enhance students’ self awareness and give them:

• Knowledge of educational and career opportunities
• Good study skills,
• High school and college course planning, and
• Skills in decision making, problem solving and goal setting.