NYS Scholarships for Academic Excellence

NYS Scholarships for Academic Excellence provide up to $1,500 per year for up to five years of undergraduate study in New York State.

Eligibility

Students must:

• Have graduated from a New York State high school
• Study full time and be matriculated in an approved undergraduate program of study in a New York State post secondary institution
• Be in good academic standing
• Not be in default on any State or federal student loan or on any repayment of state awards
• Be U.S. citizens or qualifying noncitizens
• Be New York State residents

Award Amount

This program provides scholarship assistance to outstanding New York State high school graduates. Each year, 8,000 scholarships are awarded - up to 2,000 scholarships of $1,500 and 6,000 scholarships of $500 to top scholars from registered New York State high schools. Awards are based on student grades in certain Regents exams. Recipients can also receive other non-loan student aid, but the total cannot exceed the cost of attendance.

Duration

The scholarship must be used within seven years commencing with the first academic year for which the scholarship was awarded. During this period, students are entitled to payment for up to four years of full-time study, or five years if enrolled in a bachelor degree program approved as a program normally requiring five years of study.

Award Calculation

Each year, up to 2,000 scholarships of $1,500 are awarded to the top graduating scholar for each registered high school in New York State. Any remaining $1,500 scholarships and additional 6,000 scholarships of $500 per year are awarded to other outstanding high school graduates. These are based on the ratio of total students graduating from each high school in New York State as compared to the total number of students who graduated during the prior school year. Awards cannot exceed cost of attendance.

Notification Procedure

The State Education Department will notify the students who have been nominated by their high schools to receive the scholarship. HESC also receives notification from the State Education Department. To receive payment of the scholarship, the student must submit an application for payment to HESC by June 30 of each year for which assistance is sought. Application for payment is made by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the TAP on the Web application.