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Cuomo Proposes Free Tuition at New York State Colleges for Eligible Students
sybbie719
20865 replies2044 threads Super Moderator
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced a plan Tuesday morning to offer free tuition at state colleges to hundreds of thousands of middle- and low-income New Yorkers, seizing on a popular liberal talking point on the eve of national Republican ascension.
Under the governor’s plan, any college student who has been accepted to a state or city university in New York — including two-year community colleges — will be eligible provided they or their family earn $125,000 or less annually.
If the plan is approved, the Cuomo administration estimates the program would allow nearly a million New York families with college-age children, or independent adults, to qualify. The estimated costs of the program, when fully put in place in 2019, would be $163 million, though the administration acknowledges that estimate could be too low — or too high — depending on participation
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/nyregion/free-tuition-new-york-colleges-plan.html
37 replies Under the governor’s plan, any college student who has been accepted to a state or city university in New York — including two-year community colleges — will be eligible provided they or their family earn $125,000 or less annually.
If the plan is approved, the Cuomo administration estimates the program would allow nearly a million New York families with college-age children, or independent adults, to qualify. The estimated costs of the program, when fully put in place in 2019, would be $163 million, though the administration acknowledges that estimate could be too low — or too high — depending on participation
http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/nyregion/free-tuition-new-york-colleges-plan.html
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Replies to: Cuomo Proposes Free Tuition at New York State Colleges for Eligible Students
we will see....
I need some help understanding the rules for upperclassmen to qualify for this grant. My son is a rising junior. His college's suggested 8-semester plan doesn't have 30 credits per year (which is required by the Excelsior Scholarship). The first two semesters had 14 each, which he took. The 3rd had 15, which he registered for, but he switched one 3-credit class to pass/fail fue to a personal issue (a close friend contemplating suicide) and missed the minimum grade by 3 points. He took 15 this spring, so he has 28 from the 1st year and 27 from the 2nd (55 total).
If he takes 6 credits this summer, they should count toward the 60 he needs to qualify because he started school in the fall. But do they have to count toward his major? He's been combining requirements to cut down on the total number of courses he needs (ex. his writing intensive also counted as a history), so if he takes 6 required credits now he may not have enough to qualify later.
If he takes 15 credits per semester, do they all have to count toward what he needs to graduate (major, electives, gen eds)? He's done with his electives and has 2 gen eds left to take. Most of his remaining courses are 4 credit tech type courses. His plan had been to take 3 of the 4 credit courses to be full-time for TAP and Pell and cross register at a local private college for a 3-credit course, but the 3-credit course won't fit any requirements.
He'll have 120 credits when he finishes his major requirements, so he doesn't need extra courses. If he could take 12 credits in his major each semester plus any other a 3-credit course, he'll graduate on time. But unless he starts taking two 4-credit comp sci (lab) courses and two 4-credit science (lab) courses per semester, there's no combination of required courses that are a reasonable load and will count toward his degree. Does that mean we just won't qualify?
As long as your son is on track to graduate in 4 years, he should have no problem. He should definitely see is counselor/adviser regarding recommendations for summer course.
But yes you have to take 15 credits per semester since that's the minimum you need to take if you want to graduate in ' years.
i talked about this with ny higher education services and they said that emails will go out when they finish processing your application, so make sure your email address is current. sometimes it might show up as spam so look there as well on a regular basis (they seem to be backed up with applications at the present moment but keep checking in any case).
we shall see....
just thought everybody should know before applying..
Local college aid officers say they can't get answers from the state"
https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Aid-official-Excelsior-scholarship-has-lots-of-13124209.php