This post contains information about Excelsior scholarships and their application form. In fact, everything you need to know has been carefully explained.

What is an Excelsior Scholarship?

The  Excelsior 2023 Scholarship, in combination with other student financial aid programs, allows students who meet eligibility requirements to attend a SUNY or CUNY university tuition-free.

The Excelsior Scholarship is a New York State financial aid program to provides free tuition to students attending a State University of New York (SUNY) or City University of New York (CUNY) institution.

SUNY Empire State College encourages its students and prospective students to participate if they are eligible. The award is capped at $5,500 per year and can only be used toward the cost of tuition.

Scholarship recipients may receive up to $5,500 or actual tuition, whichever is less.

The maximum Scholarship will be reduced by the number of other student financial aid awards the applicant has or will receive during the academic year, including a New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) award and/or scholarship Federal Pell.

A Scholarship recipient is eligible to receive award payments for no more than two years of full-time undergraduate study in a program leading to an associate’s degree or four years of full-time undergraduate study, or five years if the program of study typically requires five years in a program leading to a bachelor’s degree.

You must live in New York State when you received the award. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in the conversion of your prize to an interest-free loan.

We strongly encourage you to take the time to research the scholarship so that you can determine if this opportunity is right for you and your family.

Short description

The New York State Scholarship provides in-state public college tuition for residents whose families earned below a set annual income limit of $100,000 in 2017.

This equates to annual savings between $4,000 and $6,500, depending on whether the student attends a community college or a four-year school.

As the scholarship only covers tuition, students pay additional fees and room and board, which can cost up to $14,000 per year.

To maintain the scholarship, Excelsior students must maintain 30-year class credits at a state university: State University of New York (SUNY) or City University of New York (CUNY). There will also be a GPA requirement.

After graduation, Excelsior students must live and work in New York for all years they received the scholarship.

The annual income limit will increase as the Excelsior program is introduced (to $110,000 in 2019 and $125,000 in 2020). By the time the program is fully implemented, an estimated 200,000 will be eligible.

Level/field of study

This scholarship is open to undergraduate students to study any course of choice.

Host nationality

The scholarship will be taken in the state of New York, USA.

Eligible Nationality

The scholarship is open to all nationalities residing in New York or having resided in New York State continuously for 12 months.

Scholarship Worth

• The budget also includes $8 million to provide open educational resources, including eBooks, to SUNY and CUNY students to help defray the prohibitive cost of textbooks.
• An Excelsior Scholarship winner may receive up to $5,500 of the scholarship, less any amounts received for TAP, Pell, or other scholarships. The remainder of your tuition charge will be covered by a tuition credit paid through SUNY or CUNY.
• The scholarship award makes SUNY tuition-free for thousands of students.
• The program covers tuition for eligible SUNY and CUNY students.
• Resident undergraduate tuition at SUNY four-year colleges is currently $6,470.
• SUNY community college tuition is currently $4,366 on average.
• Students are eligible for an award for up to two years for students pursuing an associate’s degree and up to four years for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree.

Who Is Eligible for the Scholarship?

An applicant must:

• be a resident of the State of New York and have resided in the State of New York for the continuous 12 months prior to the beginning of the period;
• be a US citizen or eligible non-citizen;
• 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 Department of Education;
• have a federal adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less;
• Earn an undergraduate degree at a SUNY or CUNY university, including the community colleges and charter colleges of Cornell University and Alfred University;
• be enrolled in at least 12 credits per term and complete at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable to your undergraduate program of study;
• If you attended college prior to the 2018-19 academic year, you have earned at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable to your undergraduate program of study before applying for a Scholarship;
• be in a non-default status on a student loan made under any New York State or federal education loan program or in payment of any New York State award;
• comply with the terms of the conditions of service imposed by a New York State award you have previously received; and
• execute a Contract agreeing to reside in the State of New York during the period of time the award is received and, if employed during that time, must be employed in this State.

The Excelsior Scholarship Recovery Year

Applicants who entered the university for the first time as a freshman in 2015-16 and earned 54 credits or who entered the university for the first time as a freshman in the 2016-17 academic year and earned 24 credits may recover those 6 credits in 2022

Students who successfully earn 36 credits in the 2022 academic year may be eligible for the Scholarship beginning in the 2022 academic year.

How to apply 

Available recipients must not complete this application. If you received an award for the first time for the 2022 academic year, no further action is needed for the 2022 academic year.

To apply for the scholarship, applicants can visit their official link.

Supporting documents for the scholarship:

Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Payments

To receive payments each subsequent year (after the initial application year), 2022 Excelsior Scholarship recipients must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the TAP-on-The-Application annually.

Deadline for application

The deadline for the Scholarship Program is July annually.