Most scholarship funding comes from the federal government, or is offered by colleges themselves. Some states, however, have their own scholarship programs, meant to help residents of that state afford tuition to the state-run colleges and universities. One state which offers a truly excellent amount of assistance in this manner is New York. New York has a significant number of scholarship programs for residents, offering a mixture of aid types. Some of these are broadly available to students, while others are aimed at those who meet particular criteria. In this article, we’ll go through all of these, and explain how to qualify and apply for each. Our goal is to help you understand what your scholarship options are, and how these can impact your college planning. Let’s jump right in!
Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)
This is one of the largest scholarship programs in the state. It offers grant aid to students with financial need, offering awards of $1,000 to $5,665 annually, for both full and part-time students. These awards can be renewed. In order to be eligible for these awards, you must meet the following criteria:
- Be a New York resident for at least 12 months before applying for the award
- Meet income requirements (which vary based on your status as a student)
- You must be a US citizen or eligible non-citizen
- You must have a high school diploma or GED
- You must be attending an approved college
- You must maintain good academic standing
You may apply for the TAP directly through your FAFSA application. While this grant may be renewed, you need to apply each year through FAFSA in order to secure continued funding. There is an additional form to fill out for TAP specifically. The amount of TAP aid you receive depends on your financial circumstances, and the amount of tuition you are being charged.
Excelsior Scholarship Program
This program enables students from low income families to attend a state operated CUNY or SUNY school tuition-free. This is a last dollar scholarship, meaning it is applied after any other aid awards you receive, including things like TAP or Pell Grants. This is a renewable grant; up to two years for associates, 4 years for bachelors, or five years for approved five year programs.
In order to be eligible for this, your household income must be $125,000 or less. You must be a resident of New York, and you must be enrolled in a CUNY or SUNY college (or a grant college at Cornell University). You must be enrolled full time and be in good academic standing.
Applications for this award are the same as the TAP application (as in, the one application lets you apply for both), and must be submitted with the FAFSA. You must apply for this scholarship each year. Note that as a condition of receiving this award, you agree to stay in New York post graduation for a number of years equal to the number of years receiving the scholarship. The state sees this scholarship as an investment, and they want to incentivize newly college-educated students to live and work in New York.
Enhanced Tuition Award
This is a scholarship open to students from families earning $125,000 or less. It provides a grant of up to $6,000 annually for tuition assistance to a participating private college or university. As part of this award, students agree to stay in New York for a number of years after graduation equal to the number of years they received this award.
You must complete the TAP application and the FAFSA each year in order to qualify. You must be enrolled full time and in good standing to continue receiving the award. This award grants a maximum of $6,000, which may include TAP funding. You must have been a resident of New York State for 12 months in order to apply for this award.
If you fail to abide by the residency agreement; that is, you leave New York before the agreed upon time, the award is converted from a grant to a loan, though it will not charge interest for the first 10 years. You can find a list of colleges which participate in this program here.
NYS Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Incentive Program
Generally abbreviated to the STEM Incentive Program, this is a scholarship specifically for students pursuing a STEM degree, as the name suggests. This provides tuition funding for students attending a SUNY or CUNY school in pursuit of a STEM degree. This covers full tuition costs, reduced by the amount of other aid awards you get, such as from TAP.
This program does not have any income requirements or cutoffs, and is instead merit based. You must be a New York resident and a US citizen or eligible non-citizen. To be eligible, you must be in the top 10% of your high school class, be entering college directly out of high school, and must be pursuing a degree in one of their approved programs. While in college, you must maintain good academic standing and remain a full time student.
After graduation, you are required to remain in New York for five years and work in a STEM occupation. Failure to do this will convert your grant aid to an interest-bearing student loan. This program has its own application, which all students must complete. In addition, you must complete the FAFSA and TAP applications. You must also submit a transcript and have a school official complete a form to certify you are in the top 10% of your class.
Aid for Part Time Study
The above awards have been aimed primarily at full time students; this one is instead for students who are pursuing a degree part-time. This award offers up to $2,000 annually. There are income limits for students applying for this award. As with all these awards, you must have been a New York resident for 12 months before applying.
This program must be applied to through participating colleges. Generally, after submitting FAFSA and any college specific aid grants, the school’s financial aid office will select recipients, based on the total number of aid dollars they have available. You must apply for this aid each year through your college, generally by completing and submitting the FAFSA.
NYS Math and Science Teaching Incentive Program
This is a scholarship available to both graduate and undergraduate students pursuing careers as math or science teachers in secondary education. The value of the award is equal to the tuition at SUNY of $3,535 per semester, or the actual tuition costs, whichever is lower. You must be a full time student in good standing to continue receiving this funding.
There are limited funds available; previous recipients are prioritized. If there are more applicants than available funds, decisions will be made based on the GPA and ranking of applicants. You must complete the FAFSA and TAP applications to apply; these must be completed each year to continue qualifying for the award.
In return for this award, students agree to teach math or science at a New York State school to students in grades 7-12 for five years. This requirement is in place regardless of the duration of the received award. Failure to complete this will convert the aid award into an interest-bearing student loan.
NYS Scholarships for Academic Excellence
These are merit based awards of $500 or $1,500 dollars given to high-performing students at New York State high schools. These awards are based solely on your grades on certain Regents exams. There is no separate application for these awards; instead students are nominated by their high schools. If you are interested in this, then speak with your high school counselor.
There are no income limits for these awards. You are eligible to receive other aid awards, such as TAP, but the total aid awarded cannot exceed tuition costs. You must still complete the FAFSA to get the aid from this award. This award is only given to students who enroll in a college (public or private) in New York directly after graduating high school. The intention of the program is to incentivize bright students to stay in New York for college.
Veteran’s Tuition Award
This award, as the name suggests, is meant to help veterans pay their tuition costs. This award is available to veterans with four years of active duty service who are pursuing a graduate, undergraduate, or approved vocational degree. The award is for the average tuition at SUNY, currently $7,070 annually, or the actual cost of tuition, whichever is less.
They may receive tuition aid from other sources as well, though the total amount of aid received cannot exceed the total cost of tuition. To apply for this award, students must complete the FAFSA and TAP applications. These must be completed annually to continue receiving the awards. This award may be renewed for a maximum of four years worth of study. There are no income limits for this scholarship.
NYS Regents Award for Children of Deceased and Disabled Veterans
This award is exactly what it sounds like, and provides aid to students who are the child of a deceased or disabled veteran who was killed or injured during a war or other national emergency. This award provides up to $450 per year towards study at an undergraduate school in New York state.
This award has a separate application to determine eligibility. Once this is submitted, you must also complete the FAFSA and TAP applications. This award may go to full or part time students. You must complete the FAFSA each year to maintain eligibility for this aid.
World Trade Center Memorial Scholarship
This is a scholarship for the children, spouses, and dependents of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York. This covers the cost of attendance at a state-operated SUNY school. To apply for this award, you must first complete the FAFSA and TAP applications, and then submit another application to certify eligibility.
This award is open to both New York residents and out-of-state students, and covers up to four years of undergraduate study. There are no income limits to receive this scholarship. You must be enrolled full time and maintain good academic standing to continue receiving the award. You will need to complete a FAFSA each year to maintain your eligibility.
NYS Memorial Scholarship
This is a scholarship for the spouses, children, and financial dependents of deceased firefighters, police officers, peace officers, and EMS first responders who died on the job. This covers the cost of attendance at a state-run SUNY school. You must complete the FAFSA and TAP forms in order to apply for this scholarship, there is a supplemental form in the TAP application to apply for this scholarship.
This award can provide up to four years of funding; you must complete and file the FAFSA each year to maintain eligibility. There are no income limits for this scholarship. You must be a full time student and maintain good academic standing to remain eligible for this award.
Aid to Native Americans
This scholarship is specifically for members of registered Native American tribes who reside in New York state. You or a parent must be an enrolled member of a tribe to gain the benefits of this scholarship. This provides up to $2,000 per year for full time students, part time students receive a pro-rated amount. You must provide proof of tribal affiliation when you apply.
There is no income limit for this scholarship. You must apply every year, this scholarship may be awarded for a maximum of four years. You must maintain a GPA of at least 2.0 and good academic standing to maintain your eligibility for this award.
Final Thoughts
New York has an excellent and expansive series of public universities in the SUNY and CUNY systems, and they have a lot of incentives for New York residents to remain in the state. We hope that this article has shown you some of the excellent scholarship options they provide, and how in certain circumstances you might receive the entire cost of tuition discounted.
The fact that Cornell, an Ivy League school, is also an acceptable target for several of these scholarships is also worth noting. The real trick, then, is figuring out which of these opportunities are the best for your situation. If you are looking for assistance in crafting your own college list, or in navigating the often complex world of scholarships, then schedule a free consultation with us today. Our team of expert mentors understands every aspect of the admissions experience, and we’re always happy to hear from you.
