Governor Anthony Cuomo came to a compromise with legislators on the NY 2018 state budget. This budget includes what they call the Excelsior Scholarship. The Excelsior Scholarship is meant to provide free tuition for students from middle-class families who make up to $125.000 a year. The Scholarship is set to be for four and two-year colleges.
If the budget is approved, New York will be the first state to offer free tuition for two and four-year colleges. The Excelsior scholarship, the first of its kind, will open the door to so many middle-class families, making college as accessible as high school. The income cap for these families will be distributed over 3 years starting this fall. This fall the bracket will be up to $100,000. In 2018 the bracket will be up to $110,000 and in 2019 the bracket will reach $125,000.
Governor Cuomo initiated this plan back in January but was pushed back. If put in place the Excelsior Scholarship will aid thousand of working class students achieve higher education while abstaining from being in debt. This Scholarship will make 90% of middle class families and individuals qualify to attend SUNY and CUNY colleges for free. Although the bill doesn’t cover room and board of student live on campus, it raises a huge burden from middle class families and individuals worrying how they would pay for college this year. Students will also be required to maintain a certain grade point average while in college and will be required to work in state after college for the same number of years that they received the scholarship for.
“With our first-in-the-nation tuition-free college program, New York has established a national model for access to higher education.” – Governor Anthony Cuomo
The State of New York has set a precedent and model for free tuition in America, demonstrating that free education is possible in America. They have opened the door to the possibilities of higher education for middle and working class families. It’s realistic to assume that other states will follow the path that New York has paved. Although New York will be the first, it hopefully won’t be the last.
