An open secret among all college students and faculty is that the price of tuition is getting way too high.

The cost can be prohibitive to pay out-of-pocket for most families, but students are understandably anxious about taking on too much student loan debt. And this has made taking advantage of scholarship opportunities that much more important.

For New York residents, the Excelsior Scholarship may be your best bet for covering tuition at select universities.

Which institutions are covered by the Excelsior Scholarship Program?

How much will you have to pay out-of-pocket?

How can you apply for the aid as early as today?

Keep reading to find out!

What is the Excelsior Scholarship Program?

The Excelsior Scholarship Program is a state funded scholarship system available to students in the state of New York, designed to provide financial support to students from working and middle class households attending NY State public colleges and universities. Those students who meet specific eligibility criteria (more on these below) can use this scholarship to pay for college classes taken via the state’s public education opportunities (the SUNY and CUNY schools).

Like many other kinds of aid, the Excelsior Scholarship only covers the cost of tuition. That means prospective students will still need to take into consideration things like the cost of room and board.

By combining the NYS Excelsior Scholarship with other aid opportunities, qualifying students in the state can make their education far more affordable.

What are the Excelsior Scholarship eligibility requirements?

There are several eligibility requirements for the Excelsior Scholarship:

Students must have been New York State residents for at least 12 months prior to the beginning of the school term.
They must also be either United States citizens or eligible non-citizens who have earned a high school diploma or passed an Ability to Benefit test approved by the government.
Students/families must have a federal adjusted gross income of $125,000 or less and must actively be pursuing an undergraduate degree through a SUNY or CUNY college.
Students must be enrolled in at least 12 credits per semester and complete a minimum of 30 credits per academic year (this includes fall, spring, and summer semesters), all of which must apply to a chosen degree program.
They must complete the FAFSA each year, in conjunction with the TAP in the initial application year and additionally complete the NYS Student Aid Payment Application in subsequent years.
Important: recipients must live and work, if employed after graduation, in New York State for the same number of years that the scholarship was received. Failure to do so results in the value of the scholarship granted being turned into a zero-interest loan.

Incidentally, if you are already a SUNY or CUNY student, you may still be able to apply provided that you earned at least 30 credit hours towards your degree program in the previous academic year. If you have other state scholarship awards you must be in compliance with them, and you must not be in default status with any state or federal loans.

Finally, unlike many other awards, this one does not make you write a scholarship essay.

For more on eligibility, requirements, and award/academic info, check out the fact sheet here.

Do other forms of aid affect this scholarship?

The primary way that the New York Excelsior Scholarship program is affected by other forms of aid is that it will pay out last.

For example, you may be a student who already qualifies for other scholarships, a federal Pell Grant, and/or the NYS Tuition Assistance Program grant. It’s possible to use all these forms of aid to help cover your cost of education at a CUNY or SUNY school.

You just need to keep in mind that all those aforementioned forms of aid will pay out first.

Afterward, the Excelsior Scholarship will kick in to cover the remaining tuition. In this way, qualifying students can ensure that their education is fully funded.

How much does the Excelsior Scholarship program cover?

The best thing about the Excelsior Scholarship is that it fully covers the cost of tuition for qualifying CUNY or SUNY residents.

This allows you to potentially meet all your higher education needs without having to worry about taking on major debt.

The fact that this scholarship pays for all remaining tuition costs is also why it pays out last. Someone who is already receiving several scholarships and/or grants will have a lower out-of-pocket tuition cost than someone who is “only” receiving the Excelsior scholarship.

In this case, the person would get a lower overall Excelsior award just because their other awards have already taken care of some of the tuition costs. Sadly, this award cannot be used for anything other than tuition, so there is no overage amount that can be used to go towards textbooks, rent, or other expenses.

That means it is possible to not receive the Excelsior Scholarship if you have enough other forms of aid to cover the costs of your tuition. At that point, though, you don’t have to worry about your higher education costs, making this a good problem to have!

How long does this program last?

The Excelsior Scholarship Program is designed to pay for the entirety of your SUNY or CUNY degree program. Therefore, the duration of the award is tied to the duration of the student’s program.

Those pursuing associate’s degrees, for example, get two years, and those pursuing most bachelor’s degrees get four years. Students participating in five-year programs can get all five years covered.

While up to half a decade can get covered for the right programs, students will still need to re-apply for this scholarship every year. Students will need to fill out the FAFSA annually and do the same for either the TAPS or DREAM Act application (more about application specifics soon).

When receiving this scholarship, it’s very important to stay on schedule with academic studies. The requirements of the Excelsior award are designed to keep students on track by ensuring that they complete a minimum of 30 credit hours toward their major per academic year.

How long do I have to stay in New York after I graduate?

For New York residents, the Excelsior Scholarship program represents an amazing opportunity to attend college and graduate debt-free, or close to it.

However, there is one “catch” to consider, and that is a residency requirement. The award you receive is contingent on you signing a contract specifying that you will live and work in New York upon graduation from a SUNY or CUNY college.

The exact amount of time you are required to stay in the state matches the amount of time you received the Excelsior Scholarship.

So, someone receiving it for their associate’s degree would only need to stick around for two years. Someone receiving it for a bachelor’s degree, though, would have to stick around for four or even five years.

For this reason, it’s very important to strongly consider your future plans before applying for the New York State Excelsior scholarship. This allows you to make living and working in the city after graduation part of your existing short-term goals as you plan for a successful life after college.

The New York State Excelsior scholarship deadline

If you are interested in the New York State Excelsior Scholarship, you should know that it usually opens up in December for the following academic year. You can find out more information on the official website, where you can also enroll for timely updates about when the scholarship application will be available.

With any luck, you are reading this with enough time to carefully consider how this scholarship fits into your educational and vocational plans.

For students eager to leave the state, the Excelsior program may feel like a double-edged sword, requiring them to stick around New York long after they want to leave. For students who want to remain in-state, though, there is virtually no downside for a scholarship that takes care of all your tuition costs.

How to apply for the Excelsior Scholarship

Applying for New York’s Excelsior Scholarship is relatively easy… all you really have to do is complete three simple steps.

The first step, of course, is filling out your FAFSA online (which is easier than it used to be, and you’re likely filling this out regardless of whether you apply to the Excelsior Scholarship).

The second step after that, you need to apply for the state’s Tuition Assistance Program.

The third step after completing those steps is to complete the Excelsior Scholarship application online via the official Excelsior Scholarship Program site.

You can also use this site to stay on top of important updates to the program and to sign up for email or text notifications.

Get Ready For the Excelsior Scholarship Today

Once you receive the Excelsior Scholarship, it is important to retain good grades and stay on top of college costs. Fortunately, you don’t have to do this on your own, especially with all these free resources to help you succeed.

Our hope is that College Essay Guy can help you get as many scholarships as possible while filling in important gaps in your academic knowledge. And if you’re worried about major debt, don’t be: our crash course on how to pay for college can help you get the education you need while avoiding unwanted debt.

Take care, and best of luck.

Special thanks to Chris Snellgrove for writing this blog.

Chris Snellgrove is an English Professor at Northwest Florida State College who specializes in literature, rhetoric, and business writing. As a freelance writer, Chris specializes in sales, marketing, pop culture, and video games. He has a B.A. in English from Troy University and both an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Auburn University. When he’s not writing or talking to others about writing, Chris loves reading books, playing video games, watching horror movies, and disappearing into a comic book. He currently lives in Northwest Florida and would probably rather be at the beach right now.

Top values: Diversity / Equality / Social Justice