New York State free tuition plan

What do readers think about this New York State four years of free tuition plan for SUNY and CUNY campuses? Are there any other states close to offering four years free and do they limit it to parent incomes below a certain value? Will this affect non Ivy private schools in New York State, like RPI in a negative way? What about the liberal arts colleges in New York State, will they lose applicants? What about the requirement to stay in NY State after the degree is done, is that fair given the tax dollars spent on this free tuition program?

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2017/04/10/new-york-state-reaches-deal-provide-free-tuition-suny-and-cuny-students

there is already a discussion about this in the financial aid forum

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/financial-aid-scholarships/1952184-cuomo-proposes-free-tuition-at-new-york-state-colleges-for-eligible-students.html#latest

The private small colleges and universities may be upset. Over the years schools such as Fordham, Manhattan College, etc. complained that the governors of both parties short-changed private colleges in New York State’s aid to private colleges program. I think that among long-time residents, as opposed to immigrant families, it won’t attract throngs of applicants. The kids whom are traditionally attracted to SUNY and CUNY will still apply to those schools. SUNY remains a bargain and a great education anyway.

Just because SUNY schools are free, there are many people who still prefer Liberal arts college then going to a SUNY school.

So what? That’s a choice they can make…if they can afford to do so. The state of NY should not be using taxpayer dollars to fund private colleges.

It’s great that there is an option on the table that will help SOME students.

I would urge you all to read the linked thread from post 1 response here…that has a good explanation of what this means.

SUNYs aren’t free. The grant is for up to the cost of tuition only. Current tuition is ~$6400, so the most a student will get is $6400. The COA of SUNY is ~$21k/year, so even if a student gets the full $6400 it still leaves a gap of ~$14k.

If a student qualifies for Pell and/or TAP, those awards are subtracted from the $6400 tuition. SUNY tuition credits are subtracted too. The new grant will cover any remaining balance. For example, if you had a $1300 TAP grant, $1600 Pell grant, and a $400 SUNY tuition credit, the total of those grants ($3300) would be subtracted from the $6400 SUNY tuition. Your new grant would be $3100, not $6400.

@austinmshauri: Though it seems like the SUNYs/CUNYs are commutable by most of the population of NYS, meaning that at least college is affordable for most.

There are 64 SUNY schools spread out over NYS. In many update areas there is only 1-4 year school and 1 two year schools. Many if the update schools are not an easy commute if you don’t live in the immediate area

CUNY is in NYC. There are colleges in each borough. While there may be schools where the commute is really long if you don’t live in the area (ex: Kingsborough) they are commutable.

SUNY Stony Brook might have the biggest impact from this program. First generation and under represented minority kids from Brooklyn and Queens (especially Queens) should/will take advantage of this and commute to Stony.

It’s an incredible value at an excellent university that is a reasonable commuting distance from home.

It is not financially feasible to commute to Stony Brook from Brooklyn or Queens.

The cost of the LIRR alone would be $391/month). This does not include car fare ($121/month) to get to the LIRR from Brooklyn/Queens or getting back and forth from the LIRR station in Stony Brook to the campus (which is another carfare).

You are also talking about spending approx 5 hours a day round trip commuting . Given the fact that there has been delays on the LIRR every day for the past 2 weeks straight, this would not be fun!!

^ not to mention 1-2 hours each way

NYS free tuition does not include student fees which at Stony Brook are $2529 per year. There is also required Student Health Insurance which is $3035 that is mandatory unless you are covered under parents medical insurance plan. Finally, books and supplies for school are not covered either and Room and Board is not covered. Also, for every year that you get free tuition you must work in New York state for a year.

The net result of all this will definitely be an increase in applications to CUNY and SUNY schools making them even more competitive and difficult to get into.

Yes the fees are more of an issue that R&B. I have no issue with a kid not getting R&B covered, but the “fees” at SUNYs are just more tuition called fees to avoid a cap:(

When I was growing up in NYC, I never knew of anyone that commuted to Stoney Brook. That is too far away to commute.

There are very good CUNY’s, so no need to make that long commute!

CUNY has CCNY, Baruch College, Hunter College, Queens College, Brooklyn College, Lehman College. I am probably missing a few.

There are 19 schools in the CUNY system in addition to the Macaulay Honors Program (hunter’s program comes with two years of free housing but you get free tuition if you are accepted)and the Sophie Davis Program.

For NYC residents attending community colleges if they are eligible for ASAP and are receiving at least $5 in TAP or pell they would receive free tuition books and metro cards

Cuomo’s going to have a tough time paying for this new program if the coming U.S. tax reform curtails or eliminates the federal deduction for state and local taxes. The Governor could have a tax revolt on his hands.

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/new-york/2017/04/04/nys-68b-tax-break-imperiled-congress/100040690/

(Note: I am not trying to start a political discussion, argument, whatever. Just noting that many New Yorker’s could see meaningfully higher overall tax bills that could cause this “free college” aspiration to hit a brick wall)

HESC has updated their website:

You must accumulate a minimum of 30 credits a year to keep your award. This means dropping/ failing classes can cause you to lose your award.

Enhanced Tuition - for Private Schools

Colorado and other states are watching and learning from NY State.

Colorado is not yet offering free two year community college so we have a long way to go to convince Coloradoans to even make our community system free. It is low cost though, for any of our two year schools. We have TABOR, the Taxpayer bill of rights so we cannot fund community colleges very well, without repealing TABOR. Unlikely to be repealed, though with the way our politics work here.

Florida made every single two year community college into a four year community college. I thought that was an interesting idea. Florida’s rapid growth meant that they needed a lot more college seats fast.