What to Know – NBC New York

New York State has opened functions for the Excelsior Scholarship that enables eligible full-time college students to attend a SUNY or CUNY two-year or four-year school tuition-free for the 2023-2024 educational yr, Gov. Kathy Hochul stated.

The scholarship is run by the New York State Greater Training Providers Company.

“The Excelsior Scholarship is among the most promising applications in New York State, offering entry to an inexpensive school training for hundreds of center and lower-income New Yorkers,” Hochul, a Democrat, stated in an announcement. “At a time when financial disparities are widening, it’s extra necessary than ever that each pupil has entry to the assets they should succeed.”

College students have via August 31 at midnight to use.

The 2023-2024 Excelsior Scholarship utility is open to first-time college students getting into school within the Fall 2023 time period and present school college students who’ve by no means obtained the Excelsior Scholarship. College students at the moment receiving an Excelsior Scholarship don’t want to finish this utility to obtain continued award funds.

Here is every little thing you could know in regards to the scholarship and methods to apply:

What’s the Excelsior Scholarship?

The Excelsior Scholarship, together with different pupil monetary help applications, permits college students to attend a SUNY or CUNY school tuition-free. This system covers tuition for eligible SUNY and CUNY college students.

Who’s eligible?

For the 2023-24 educational yr, households who earned $125,000 or much less within the tax yr 2021 are eligible to use.

College students should additionally:

• Be a resident of New York State and have resided within the state for 12 steady months previous to the start of the time period.
• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Have both graduated from highschool in america, earned a highschool equivalency diploma, or handed a federally authorised “Potential to Profit” check, as outlined by the Commissioner of the State Training Division.
• Have a mixed federal adjusted gross revenue of $125,000 or much less.
• Be pursuing an undergraduate diploma at a SUNY or CUNY school, together with group faculties and the statutory faculties at Cornell College and Alfred College.
• Be enrolled in at the least 12 credit per time period and full at the least 30 credit every year (successively), relevant towards his or her diploma program via steady research with no break in enrollment apart from sure causes that may be documented.
• If attended school previous to the 2023-24 educational yr, have earned at the least 30 credit every year (successively), relevant towards his or her diploma program previous to making use of for an Excelsior Scholarship;
• Be in a non-default standing on a pupil mortgage made below any New York State or federal training mortgage program or on the compensation of any New York State award.
• Be in compliance with the phrases of the service circumstances imposed by any New York State award that you’ve got beforehand obtained.
• Execute a Contract agreeing to reside in New York State for the size of time the award was obtained, and, if employed throughout such time, be employed in New York State.

What occurs if I meet the necessities for the Excelsior Scholarship however I’m undocumented or have a visa?

College students eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship below the Senator José Peralta New York State DREAM Act can apply right here.

What are the necessities?

College students newly making use of for NYS monetary help below the provisions of the DREAM Act should first apply for eligibility below the NYS DREAM Act earlier than making use of for the Excelsior Scholarship.  In case you have beforehand certified below the NYS DREAM Act, you’ll merely have to replace any prior yr data that will have modified to use for the Excelsior Scholarship.

Right here is the whole checklist of necessities below the Dream Act.

Get more data right here.

How a lot is the scholarship value?

The Excelsior Scholarship covers any remaining hole in tuition bills after different federal and state grants and scholarships are utilized, as much as $5,500.

To find out the award quantity, the schooling charge charged is first diminished by the full greenback quantity awarded from different pupil monetary help awards for the educational yr, together with an NYS Tuition Help Program (TAP) award and/or federal Pell Grant. The Excelsior Scholarship covers any remaining tuition bills as much as $5,500. In cases the place tuition bills exceed the full monetary help a recipient is awarded, a tuition credit score will probably be utilized to the remaining steadiness.

Tuition charges are based mostly on 2022-23 resident tuition charge charged by SUNY ($7,070) or CUNY ($6,930)

Notice: Any award cost obtained could have tax implications. Any questions concerning this must be directed to a tax skilled, the Inside Income Service, or the NYS Division of Taxation and Finance.

How can I apply for the scholarship?

The applying is used to ascertain your eligibility for the Excelsior Scholarship. If further documentation is required, you can be prompted to submit it electronically to expedite the method.

To start out the applying course of go to this web site.io internet.

When is the deadline for the applying?

College students have via August 31 at midnight to use.

How lengthy does it final?

A recipient of an Excelsior Scholarship is eligible to obtain award funds for no more than two years of full-time undergraduate research in a program resulting in an affiliate’s diploma or 4 years of full-time undergraduate research, or 5 years if this system of research usually requires 5 years, in a program resulting in a bachelor’s diploma.

The place can I discover extra data?

For extra details about the scholarship, go to this web site.

A management program helps college students proceed to pursue larger training. Information 4’s Rana Novini reviews.