New York's Excelsior Scholarship

bjkmom
Fri, 22 Dec 2017 11:37:39 +0000

I read on another thread about how SUNY and CUNY are now “free.”

Since I’m one of the NYS taxpayers funding those “free” schools, I thought it might be a good idea to post the requirements. Point number 4 is of particular notice

From https://www.hesc.ny.gov/excelsior/

ELIGIBILITY

An applicant must:

-be a resident of NYS and have resided in NYS for 12 continuous months prior to the beginning of the term;

-be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;

-have either graduated from high school in the United States, earned a high school equivalency diploma, or passed a federally approved “Ability to Benefit” test, as defined by the Commissioner of the State Education Department;

-have a combined federal adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less;

-be pursuing an undergraduate degree at a SUNY or CUNY college, including community colleges and the statutory colleges at Cornell University and Alfred University;

–be enrolled in at least 12 credits per term and complete at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable toward his or her degree program;

-if attended college prior to the 2017-18 academic year, have earned at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable toward his or her degree program prior to applying for an Excelsior Scholarship;

-be in a non-default status on a student loan made under any NYS or federal education loan program or on the repayment of any NYS award;

-be in compliance with the terms of the service condition(s) imposed by a NYS award that you have previously received; and
execute a Contract agreeing to reside in NYS for the length of time the award was received, and, if employed during such time, be employed in NYS.