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Educational Opportunity Center

  • Do you wish you had finished high school, or ...
  • want to finish a degree you started, but never completed, or ...
  • just want to further your education?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, MassEdCO, Inc.’s Educational Opportunity Centers offer resources to assist you. 

In many cases, we offer to help students and families file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the CSS Profile. Prepare for the appointment by gathering and bringing with you the List of Needed Information for the 2022-23 FAFSA and/or the 2022-23 CSS Profile.

First funded in 1973 and celebrating almost 50 years of operation, MassEdCO's statewide Educational Opportunity Centers project is one of the US Department of Education’s 13 original EOC projects. A federally funded TRIO program, the project is currently the largest EOC project in the country. (Scroll down for links to all six MassEdCO Educational Opportunity Centers in Massachusetts.)

The Educational Opportunity Centers provide:

  • Postsecondary education access services to primarily low-income nontraditional students and adults (age 19 and above) who are interested in furthering their education
  • Career exploration and advising, using technology and a variety of assessment tools provided to ensure that an education placement will be appropriate to the client's ultimate career goals

Other services include:

  • Information on education programs
  • Admissions requirements information
  • Financial aid assistance, including scholarship searches and application assistance
  • Referrals to other academic support services

All services are FREE!

EOC advisors also provide clients with information about and assistance with:

  • Career goal-setting
  • Earning a GED (new HiSET)/high school equivalency diploma
  • English language classes (ESOL)
  • Selecting a college or training program
  • Completing admissions and financial aid application paperwork
  • Assistance in locating other academic support services

Target Populations

Most EOC clients are "first-generation college students," meaning neither of their parents graduated from a 4-year college. They may be the first in their families to have graduated from high school. The majority of clients are also low-income.

Many EOC clients seek education or training in order to find a job that will pay a living wage. Or, they may have recently become unemployed and are in need of retraining in order to re-enter the workforce.