Many low-income college students receive financial aid that will help them through their college journey. However, middle-class students do not have as much financial help as low-income students. Some students may not consider going to college due to the burden of college tuition. In the Spring of 2018, Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo won approval to make college tuition free for some students enrolled in New York’s public colleges (HESC). Some NYS students state that the Excelsior Scholarship is great as it allows them to qualify regardless of already being enrolled in a degree program and it covers the primary struggle for students which is tuition. However, the Excelsior Scholarship has been constructed to benefit very few college students and their academic requirement is too harsh to be fulfilled by an average college student.
New York is the first state in the country to build a program which enables many New York State residents to attend a public college tuition-free. This is known as the Excelsior Scholarship, thanks to NYS Governor Cuomo. Although students are misled with the phrase “free-tuition”, there are requirements. First and foremost, the student has to be U.S citizen or an eligible non-citizen as well as an NYS resident who has resided in NY for the past year. The student must have earned a high school diploma or an equivalence, or passed a federally approved “Ability to Benefit” test. For the year of 2018-2019, the combined federal adjusted gross income for the student or student’s family has to be less than $110,000 (this amount increases roughly every year). Students must be pursuing a 2-yr degree or a 4-yr degree and must successfully complete 30 credits per year or 15 credits per semester. This scholarship is only available to students pursuing an Associates or a Bachelor’s degree for the first time. Not to mention, there is a catch. Students must reside and work in the state of NY for the amount of year(s) that they have received the Excelsior Scholarship. The scholarship was ultimately made to support full-time undergraduate students from middle-income households who are on track to complete their degree (Higher Education Services Corporation/HESC).
Many middle-income students may be excited as they patiently wait to hear if they have received the Excelsior Scholarship. Yet, some may be disappointed as their “free-tuition” dreams fade away. According to The New York Times, the Excelsior Scholarship would benefit roughly 23,000 people, while 75,000 people applied. This statistic indicates that about two-thirds of the applicants would not receive financial help through Excelsior. For the most part, the ⅔ of applicants who are rejected for Excelsior is a result of their demanding credit requirement.
Most students who are eligible to apply for Excelsior are rejected due to the insufficient number of credits earned. The Excelsior requirements clearly state that students must complete 30 credits per year (15 credits per semester). Accomplishing 15 credits per semester may sound easier than it actually is. Not to mention that any remedial courses will not count towards the credit requirement for Excelsior (New Paltz). As a college student taking 6 classes which equals to about 15 credits this semester, it is very difficult to keep up with each class. On top of loads of assignments given and managing to maintain an A, working can also be a hassle. These are some factors that college students face that Excelsior does not consider. In addition, not all students who start college know what they want to major in. If a student decides to switch a major, they must be able to complete it within the initial 2 or 4 years of college (New Paltz). This is unhelpful because one may need an extra semester or two to fulfill all the credits for a new major. Once a student fails to maintain 30 credits per year, they will lose the scholarship and the ability to qualify in the future.
Given these points, the Excelsior Scholarship created an effort to help the middle-income class gain another form of financial aid to help pay for their college journey. Despite its efforts, Excelsior does not benefit the majority of the middle-income students. In fact, it makes it even more difficult for one to succeed based on the number of credits that need to be maintained for Excelsior. Although Governor Cuomo took a step in finalizing the Excelsior Scholarship making NY the first state to have “free-tuition” granted, it is safe to say that there is a long way to go from here.
Citations:
https://www.newpaltz.edu/financialaid/excelsior-scholarship-program-information/
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/25/nyregion/excelsior-college-scholarship-program-new-york.html
1. From this report I learned that there’s more and better opportunities for low-income students that middle-income students. The Excelsior scholarship was meant to give middle-class students a better chance in education, but because you have to be a working student, taking 16 credits per semester living in New York City, this scholarship is making it even more difficult to succeed as a college student.
2. I appreciate how in mostly each paragraph there’s a statistic portion to it because it makes it easier to understand how the scholarship is helping or affecting college students.
I learned that only a third of the people who enroll for the Excelsior Scholarship get accepted into it.
I see that they used a lot of examples and facts and made it relate as if she wanted the reader to be apart of it.
1.I learned that middle class students were dropping out and not going to college because of tuition so they found it unfair how low income students got good tuition. So then the governor in years after experiencing that he decided to make tuition free with requirements.
2. a writing style technique/style she used that i appreciate is how she used statistics and cited in the bottom.
1. New York students have been offered the financial assistance to attend college through the current government but there are still some students who are denied for the aid.
2. Although paragraphs were very short, they’ve been linked well.
Fathima, this is a marvelous report on something extremely relevant to the NYS community. Your emphasis on the shortcomings of Excelsior shed light on the ways literacy campaigns, though successful, do not necessarily remedy all problems. What was especially fascinating to me was your take on the full course load. You’re right to point that out as a con because it is terribly difficult taking on such an aggressive course load, especially if it’s paired with a full-time job and a family.
DW
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