Hey guys, I’m covered by the Excelsior Scholarship, which I will FOREVER be grateful for. I go to a CUNY and I was just wondering if anyone else under the Excelsior still ended up paying any outstanding balances to their school? Because mine decided to email me pretty late telling me I have about $300 to pay in person. I might have missed something when reading all about Excelsior but it would be good to know if anyone knew/ didn’t know about this. Thanks in advanced.
You need to read up in the Excelsior award so that you know the rules inside and out. It has limitations and stipulations and consequences. You do not want inadvertently run into them, as it is possible to lose the award or have some issue you do not want.
You also need to understand exactly how much your college is charging you and for what. Yes, Bursars offices can make mistake. Knowing all of these things thoroughly is something that will benefit you for a lifetime because not using these skills can mean losing benefits, getting overcharged, etc etc.
The reason most likely for you owing something is that the Excelsior is limited to $6500 for the year. It is also reduced by any other financial aid as a last dollar scholarship. Your bill at the CUNY May have gone over that limit. Or you may also have some fees charged to you which are not covered by the Excelsior. Only tuition charges are covered.
The Excelsior doesn’t cover fees. CUNY and SUNY tuition rates are generally listed as tuition and fees. The Excelsior pays the tuition part, but families have to cover the fees.
Yeah I figured it out, those are the fees I need to pay. Thanks for the brief and concise answer! @austinmshauri