At a time when policymakers are calling for more career-connected learning and employers are warning of a worsening talent shortage, the United States is quietly defunding one of its most effective workforce tools: college advising programs. Recent AmeriCorps cuts have impacted more than 100 organizations that provide essential guidance to students, helping them navigate the college process and choose a path that aligns with their long-term career goals. In addition, federal college access and success programs such as TRIO and GEAR UP face major cuts if President Trump’s 2026 “skinny budget” is passed.

These cuts do more than just negatively impact postsecondary attainment; they also jeopardize a cost-effective two-for-one economic strategy. College advisers support students by providing otherwise inaccessible information about college and career, generating significant economic returns. Simultaneously, the presence of these advisers drives economic progress in the communities they serve, and oftentimes supports the development of early career skills for the advisers themselves.

Many nonprofits and college access organizations, such as College Advising Corps, and College Possible, use a near-peer model that employs recent college graduates who work directly with students in high schools. These advisers........

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