by John Darer® CLU ChFC MSSC CeFT RSP CLTC
Updated November 9, 2025
What is the Excelsior Scholarship in New York?
The Excelsior Scholarship in New York is a wonderful gift from the state legislature in Albany, to make college tuition more accessible and affordable for eligible New York State residents since it was introduced, beginning with the Fall Semester of 2017.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements for the Excelsior Scholarship?
- Your household combined federal adjusted gross income must be $125,000 or less.
- You must be in good standing (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 NYS award.
- You must be in compliance with the terms of the service condition(s) imposed by any New York State award that you have previously received.
What are the Eligible Schools Available to Excelsior Scholarship Awardees?
Students who qualify for The Excelsior Scholarship may avail themselves of a wide selection of colleges and campuses at City University of New York (CUNY) or State University of New York (SUNY) $$tuition-free$$. The State University of New York claims to be the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, with 64 college and university campuses located within 30 miles of every home, school and business in the State of New York.
Are Books and/or Room & Board Covered?
Note that the Excelsior Scholaship is for Tuition Only,
Are Non-New York Residents Eligible for Excelsior Scholarships?
If you are a non-New Yorkr resident (including undocumented students), the New York State High Education Services Corporation suggests that you apply for eligibility under the NYS DREAM Act | HESC. before submitting your application.
The Senator José Peralta New York State DREAM Act provides students who have earned a high school diploma or GED in New York State, as well as those eligible for in-state tuition—including undocumented students—with access to state-administered financial aid to help cover their higher education costs.
Is There an Age Limit?
No age limit! The new program represents a first in the United States and includes students from many families whose income levels would be considered middle class.
An April 8, 2017 press release issued by Governor Cuomo’s office at the inception of the program estimated that nearly 80% or more of the families with college-aged children would qualify for tuition-free college under the Excelsior Scholarship program.
How Much Could Awardees Get Per Year?
An Excelsior Scholarship recipient can receive up to $5,500 from the Excelsior Scholarship, minus any amounts received for TAP, Pell or other scholarships. The remainder of your tuition charge will be covered through a tuition credit paid through SUNY or CUNY.
Other eligibility rules to obtain and continue to receive Excelsior Scholarship?
- Must be full time (i.e. 12 credits per term, 30 credits per academic year, including summer school). Important Note: Students with disabilities will not be required to register full time to be eligible for the scholarship at SUNY
- Must maintain the necessary grade point average to graduate on time.
- Must be a citizen of the United States, permanent resident or a refugee.
- Undocumenetd students CAN qualify for Excelsior IF they apply for eligibility under the NYS Dream Act., before submitting their Excelsior scholarship application. Allow for enough time to get everything processed
Students Must Remain in New York For The Same Number of Years That They Received. Why?
If you receive the scholarship for 4 years a student must remain in New York for 4 years. If you don’t remain then the scholarship is converted to a loan. Yuck!
Think about it, the Excelsior Scholarship is a costly program that potentially does a lot of good. By providing education that creates more job opportunities for more people to get ahead and potentially earn more money that can be taxed by New York State to finance the program is good business. The fact that there is no age limit expands the opportunity.
Settlement Planning Opportunities
Let’s connect the settlement planning opportunities. Essentially, Excelsior is a transformative policy tool—it not only lowers financial barriers but also opens strategic pathways for families managing personal injury settlements and long-term education planning.
Settlement Planning Opportunities and Considerations With The Excelsior Scholarship and Collateral Benefits
- Potentially helpful on small to mid-size personal injury or wrongful death settlements involving minors as resources allocated to fund tuition could be deferred longer via a structured settlement to help fund graduate school, in New York (so your scholarship doesn’t convert to a loan!).
- Consider as an example a minor’s settlement involving a 15-16 year old. The short deferral period for a lump sum payments from a structured settlement at 18 or 19 is less advantageous than a longer deferral, but payments beginning at age 22 to help pay for grad school may very well be.
- Another option would be to take the same amount of premium generated by not having to fund the annual tuition, to instead fund 5 year income stream after college graduation to help subsidize tranistion from college to career.
- Given that there are no age restrictions, on the one hand a New York resident, possibly a single parent, who had a child or children at a very young age and may have curtailed some education to raise a family, has affordable options and can now go back to school and open a new world of opportunities for themselves and their families.
- On the other hand an ambitious senior could get a college degree, just like my maternal grandmother who went back to college after my grandfather died and earned her Bachelors at age 80, graduating from Fordham University in 1984, the same year as one of my sisters graduated from Duke.
- Be sure to consider the cost of room and board and fees not covered by the scholarship.
- Stop structured settlement cash now pushers dead in their tracks. As long as the student is willing to go to one of the many fine SUNY or CUNY schools this should seriously eliminate college tuition as an excuse to sell structured settlements for pennies on the dollar. Regulators and judges reviewing transfer petitions will have to be on their toes.
What Does Excelsior Not Cover?
- Room and Board and Fees
- Graduate School
- Tuition at a non-SUNY or CUNY school in New York, or a school outside of New York is not eligible. excellent grad schools in New York and then if you like go for another degree at a non New York school.