New York's Excelsior Scholarship

Paying for College
1

I read on another thread about how SUNY and CUNY are now “free.”

Since I’m one of the NYS taxpayers funding those “free” schools, I thought it might be a good idea to post the requirements. Point number 4 is of particular notice

From https://www.hesc.ny.gov/excelsior/

ELIGIBILITY

An applicant must:

-be a resident of NYS and have resided in NYS for 12 continuous months prior to the beginning of the term;

-be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;

-have either graduated from high school in the United States, earned a high school equivalency diploma, or passed a federally approved “Ability to Benefit” test, as defined by the Commissioner of the State Education Department;

-have a combined federal adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less;

-be pursuing an undergraduate degree at a SUNY or CUNY college, including community colleges and the statutory colleges at Cornell University and Alfred University;

–be enrolled in at least 12 credits per term and complete at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable toward his or her degree program;

-if attended college prior to the 2017-18 academic year, have earned at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable toward his or her degree program prior to applying for an Excelsior Scholarship;

-be in a non-default status on a student loan made under any NYS or federal education loan program or on the repayment of any NYS award;

-be in compliance with the terms of the service condition(s) imposed by a NYS award that you have previously received; and
execute a Contract agreeing to reside in NYS for the length of time the award was received, and, if employed during such time, be employed in NYS.

2

It’s still awesome, especially because there are so many SUNYs, all with good quality programs and varying levels of accessibility. :slight_smile:

3

Oh, absolutely!!! My niece’s daughter will very likely be able to take advantage of it next year.

4

Actually, the income is going up to $110K for the next school year and $125K for the year after. It’s based on federal AGI, so I don’t know what’s going to happen with the new tax bill.

I wasn’t able to get it for S17 for this school year (by about $100 of income) AND I have to pay an extra $100 per semester charge to help pay for other people I was okay with not getting it, but I am burned about having to pay extra for other people’s kids. Maybe if I made a lot over the limit, I wouldn’t feel this way, but if you take off the extra money I have to pay for other people’s kids from my income instead, I would have qualified. I don’t think I will get it this year - I just got around to filing FAFSA because it just seems like a waste of time.

I think Excelsior is great, don’t get me wrong, I am just bitter about being penalized for not being eligible.

5

But if it goes to 110k and you were $100 away from it then you’ll qualify next year right?
I think this illustrates a new need: calculate whether you’re very close and lower your AGI by that little bit extra (What if you made two $52 donations more for instance?)

6

@MYOS1634

Well…the issue, I think…is that for 2018-2019, this uses the 2016 AGI…so that charitable donation would have needed to be in 2016.

And if this poster is talking about this current year…2017-2018…that used the 2015 AGI…and I don’t believe the criteria for the Excelsior had even been determined.

7

Yes, but I don’t mean for this poster, I mean for NYS families in general - that’s a lot to lose for $100. If the family is close enough it’s worth it to check and take appropriate measures now if they have a sophomore in high school.

8

Yes…parents of current HS sophomores…need to plan ahead!

9

AGI doesn’t change with a donation. Donations are ‘below the line’ It is often way too late to reduce income to qualify, especially since fafsa is filed months after taxes. An IRA contribution would workand could be done as late as April 15 to reduce AGI.

10

@MYOS1634 -

My H is self-employed, so it’s hard to predict his income. I just filed my FAFSA based on 2016 income, which was higher than 2015 because I got a raise and a bonus and H did better, so we will probably not qualify for Excelsior again this year, but it will be by more than $100, so I won’t be bitter. If I miss it by the difference of the tuition, I won’t mind. My 2018 income might be low enough to qualify, I think it’s up to $125K, but again it depends on H’s earnings.

11

It’s important to note that the Excelsior grant only covers tuition (~$8k/year). SUNY and CUNY colleges aren’t free, but tuition may be. The Excelsior grant is a last payer, so kids who get full TAP (our state tuition grant) will only get a couple grand/year, if that. If a student loses the grant, I don’t believe they can get it back. Students who also qualify for the STEM grant can only take one, not both.

12

Also, keep in mind: it’s tuition. Not room and board, not books or other expenses.

13

It would be better if this were BEFORE Pell grants. But it’s still better than the situation in many states.
Can room and board scholarships from SUNYs be stacked to it?

14

SUNY really does not give room and board scholarships. Buffalo gives mi run through one of their programs. Even students with EOP have their room and board paid throyfbs combination of leftover PELL, the loans and a really small EOP grant ( most SUNY schools will give an EOP book voucher).

Excelsior is a last payer you must use all state and federal aid first before excelsior kicks in. There are some stackable grants but it varies by school. Still it if you have a tuition balance any school scholarships would be paid to your tuition before excelsior kicks in for the tuition balance

15

the excelsior scholarship application for the fall 2018 semester opens up on March 26th at 9am.

i thought you all should know…

16

if i applied for the scholarship last year, do i need to reapply this year again?

17

from Hesc

Make sure that you file a new FAFSA and TAP application (if necessary)