New York State Excelsior Scholarship
First offered in 2017/18, this program provides tuition awards to students attending a SUNY or CUNY college. In 2018/19, families with federal adjusted gross incomes less than $110,000 are eligible to apply.
- 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;
- be pursuing an undergraduate degree at a SUNY or CUNY college;
- 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;
- 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.
Application: interested students must complete the FAFSA and NYS TAP applications as well as a NYS Excelsior Scholarship application. Apply online at www.hesc.ny.gov/excelsior.