Excelsior Scholarship is one of the best and the most prestigious scholarship programs. This one is made by New York State for the residents of New York State. With this program, these residents have a chance to attend a CUNY (The City University of New York) or SUNY (The State University of New York) college without having to worry about paying the tuition. New York State is always one step forward when it comes to providing its residents with a number of special scholarships.
Not everyone is able to get the Excelsior Scholarship. In order to apply and to receive one, there are a few requirements to meet. If you are dreaming of getting this scholarship and want to check if you are eligible to get it, it is important for you to check out the requirements. There are a total of three requirements, including:
Eligibility requirements:
- You must be a resident of New York State and have lived in New York State for 12 continuous months prior to the start of the term;
- You must be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;
- You must have either graduated from high school in the United States, gained a high school equivalency diploma, or passed a federally approved Ability to Benefit test, as defined by the Commissioner of the State Education Department;
- You must have a total federal adjusted gross income of 110,000 or less for the 2018-2019 academic year;
- You must be pursuing an undergraduate degree at City University New York;
- You must be enrolled in a minimum of 12 credits per term and complete a minimum of 30 credits every year, applicable towards your degree program;
- If you attended college prior to the 2018-2019 academic year, you must have earned a minimum of 30 credits each year (successively), applicable towards your degree program prior to applying for an Excelsior Scholarship;
- You must be in a non-default status on a student loan made under any New York State or federal education loan program or on the repayment of any New York State award;
- You must be in compliance with the terms of the service condition(s) applied by a New York State award that you have previously received;
- You must follow a contract agreeing to live in New York State for the length of time the award was received. If employed during such time, it is needed for you to be employed in New York State.
Financial requirements:
- You must have a household federal adjusted gross income of a total of $125,000. For those who are not familiar with the Adjusted Gross Income or AGI, this one is able to be found on the federal income tax form. It refers to your total gross income minus the specific deductions. This kind of thing is determined by your income, the spouse and or parents where applicable.
- If your full tuition is covered by TAP, Pell Grants and the other scholarships, you are not eligible for the excelsior Scholarship.
Application requirements:
Apart from the FAFSA and TAP applications, it is also a must for you to file an Excelsior Scholarship application. To find the application, you can just go to the official website of HESC at www.hesc.ny.gov. Keep in mind that there is no need for you to complete this application if you are already listed as a recipient of an Excelsior Scholarship from a previous application period. One is considered as a recipient if they signed and submitted the Excelsior Scholarship contract even if they did not get payment in the prior year.
If you think that you are not eligible to get the Excelsior Scholarship, you can still calm down as there are some other chances for you to get scholarships. Apart from the Excelsior Scholarship, New York State offers some other special scholarships for those who excelled in high school or who are currently pursuing certain academic objectives in special programs. Below is the list of the other scholarships offered by New York State:
- The Senator Jose Peralta New York State Dream Act
- New York State Scholarships for Academic Excellence
- NYS Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Incentive Program
- Regents Awards for Children of Deceased and Disabled Veterans
- New York State Achievement and Investment in Merit Scholarship (NY-AIMS)
- Senator Patricia K. McGee Nursing Faculty Scholarship Program
- Veterans Tuition Award
- Military Enhanced Recognition Incentive and Tribute (MERIT) Scholarship or Military Service Recognition Scholarship (MSRS)
- State Aid to Native Americans
- World Trade Center Memorial Scholarship
- Memorial Scholarships (Police Officers, Peace Officers, Firefighters)
- Flight 3407 Memorial Scholarship
- Flight 587 Memorial Scholarships
- Award Amount (Flight 587 Memorial Scholarships)
If you are from New York City, there are some New York City scholarships, such as:
- Peter F. Vallone Academic Scholarship
- Jonas E. Salk Scholarship
- Scholarship for NYCHA Residents Attending CUNY
The next scholarship to consider is the Guttman Transfer Scholarships. This one is for the CUNY community college students who transfer to an eligible CUNY senior college such as Brooklyn, City, Hunter, Lehman, and Queens. The recipient will get up to $4,000 over two years. The City University of New York is able to offer all these scholarships through a donation collected by the Stella and Charles Guttman Foundation.
Talking about The City University of New York or CUNY and scholarships, a few SUNY colleges actually offer their students scholarships and grants by collecting the funds. There are two kinds of scholarships offered by them. The first one is need based grants. For everyone who has a lot of financial needs and studies in an expensive college, it is possible for your financial aid package to include a need based grant funded by the college.
The second one is merit-based scholarships. Usually, the scholarships are given based on the admission application of the student. In fact, several universities require a separate application for many or all of their awards. In this case, it is important for you to make sure to check with the college to find out the kind of scholarships that are currently available.
