(Sent several times a semester)
As a potential recipient of New York State Tuition Assistance (TAP) and/or any other
NYS Scholarships, it is extremely important that you are familiar with the eligibility
requirements set forth by the State of New York. In order to be eligible for any TAP
and/or NYS Scholarships, you must meet all of the criteria established by the New
York State Higher Education Services Corporation (http://www.hesc.ny.gov) as well as the following criteria each semester:
- You must enroll as a full-time student each semester (at least 12-degree applicable
credits). Full-time status is determined each semester by the add/drop deadline of
the certification term. Credits added to your schedule late or via petition, after
the semester’s add/drop deadline, cannot be counted towards full-time status for the
NYS aid degree applicable credit review.
- You may receive a partial award (TAP only) for being enrolled full-time in minimally
12 credits overall, with only 11 to 6 credits being degree applicable. Tuition for
degree applicable credits only is sent to HESC for certification and the award is
prorated by them based on number of degree applicable credits. We are unable to tell
students the award amount they will receive until certification is sent to HESC and
they send back the prorated amount. Please be aware that this may open a balance on
the student account if a full-time award is already anticipated for the term.
- Degree applicable course include those satisfying university requirements, (SBC or
DEC and 39 upper division credits) and the declared primary major. The Excelsior Scholarship
also allows courses towards a second major to be counted as degree applicable. Majors,
minors, specializations and/or concentrations MUST be declared on your record to have
courses counted towards them. Courses you are taking for minors, specializations and/or
concentrations can ONLY be counted as degree applicable credits if your major requires
completion of the minor, specialization, or concentration.
- You may enroll in elective courses (that is, courses that do not count toward degree
requirements noted in item #3), if you have any free elective room. To see the elective
room, please look at your Degree Works Report, courses in the fall through included
area are degree applicable; courses in fall through not included area are not degree
applicable as there is no elective room available. You may also see this information
on the TAP and Excelsior Certification Summary Pages on your SOLAR account.
- If you retake a course in which you received a C or higher previously, you cannot
count this course as degree applicable.
- Courses graded NF or W may negatively affect your TAP/Scholarship eligibility for
future semesters.
-
You must declare a valid major after you have earned 57 credits, which is considered
Junior standing. This must be completed by the semester’s deadline to declare a major
according to the academic calendar. Earned credits include any test or AP credits
and transfer credits brought into Stony Brook University, including those that have
not been posted to your record yet. General, Undeclared, and Area of Interests are
NOT valid majors.
- You must have graduated from a high school in the United States, earned a high school
equivalency diploma (GED), have an associate degree from an accredited college, or
passed a federally approved Ability to Benefit Exam as defined by the Commissioner
of the State Education Department, by the add/drop deadline of the certification semester
according to the academic calendar. This requirement can also be met by having completed
at least 24 college credits from a United States college. You must have completed
with a C or higher, 6 credits in English Language Arts, 3 credits in Math, 3 credits
in Natural Science, 3 Credits in Social Science, 3 credits in Humanities and 6 credits
in your degree program as determined by the university in which you are seeking the
award.
Please review your TAP and/or Excelsior Summary Page on SOLAR to see your enrollment
and its degree applicability.
Please also log on to Degree Works to view specifically what requirements each course
is fulfilling.
If you are not full time, please adjust your class schedule by the add/drop deadline
of each semester to ensure you meet the enrollment eligibility requirement.
The New York State requirements are very specific by law, and if not adhered to will
result in a loss of eligibility for your NYS aid funding.
It is the student's responsibility to ensure compliance with all eligibility criteria.
To review all other eligibility requirements, visit the New York State Higher Education
Services website at http://www.hesc.ny.gov
Important Note:
The NYS Excelsior Scholarship has certification criteria in addition to the information above. This includes staying
on track for graduation by having earned enough degree applicable credits based on
your standing. The academic year requirement for NYS Excelsior is to have at least
30, 60, 90, or 120 earned degree applicable credits after the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th
year of college study. AP/pre-matriculation credits can be used to make up for deficiencies
if available, degree applicable, and necessary. This would happen automatically, and
the specific amount needed would be used. Degree applicable credits earned the following
Summer can be used as well, if necessary.
The Excelsior Certification Summary page on SOLAR will show, specifically, how credits
are applying. The bottom of the chart will show the amount of available AP/pre-matriculation
credits. This academic year requirement only applies to the NYS Excelsior scholarship.
This would be based upon the major on record at the time of review. NYS Excelsior
is the only form of NYS aid that considers credits applying to a second major as degree
applicable.
Important Note:
The NYS STEM scholarship follows all the above NYS aid criteria for eligibility in addition to also earning
at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA at the end of each semester and being in a valid NYS
STEM approved major.
