My TAP Estimate was $5165
My PELL was $4345
My SUNY tuition credit estimate was $1830
Just called up NYS HESC to ask a few questions and they said I would not be eligible to apply for Excelsior.
I told them that my mom (who is my non custodial parent but provides child support) made more than $100k in 2017 but has been unemployed for all of 2018 and 2019 and my dad (who is my custodial parent) makes less than $30k a year.
The lady I was talking to said that unfortunately they are only looking at tax returns from 2017 for the application and that there aren’t any exceptions so that I wouldnt be eligible.
For clarity’s sake, in case anyone else reading is thinking about applying for it, the income isn’t disqualifying you. You may not have been clear that your parents are not together. You shouldn’t have added them together if they are legally separated or divorced, you should include only the one you live with the majority of the time. Either is below the income cap for Excelsior.
However, you are already receiving tuition assistance (Pell, Tap and whatever the tuition credit is) that is greater than the UB tuition. That disqualifies you from excelsior regardless of the income.