New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says more than half of full-time SUNY and CUNY in-state students are tuition-free this year. A big part of this is due to the Excelsior Scholarship.
Cuomo says 45,000 students are eligible for free tuition under the scholarship. 23,000 will have their tuition covered in full by TAP, Pell, and other financial aid, and the other 22,000 will have the remaining tuition costs picked up by Excelsior.
Cuomo says the scholarship is meant to ensure that access to a college degree is not determined by family finances, but by hard work.
To be eligible, the student’s household income must be under $100,000, they must be taking 30 credits a year, and be on track to graduate in two or four years depending on their degree.
They also have to live and work in New York after graduation for the same amount of years they received the scholarship.