TAP FAQs | Financial Aid

No, due to FERPA regulations, we can only discuss eligibility for NYS Financial Aid with the student directly. Students can email us from their SBU email account, call, or visit the Registrar’s Office in person to address any questions or concerns. If a FERPA release form is submitted to the Financial Aid Office by the student, we can release information to the person/s listed on the form. More information about FERPA can be found here: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/registrar/policies/ferpa.php

In order to be eligible for New York State Financial Aid you must have graduated from High School in the United States, earned a high school equivalency diploma (GED), have an Associates Degree from an accredited United States College or passed a federally approved Ability to Benefit Exam as defined by the Commissioner of the State Education Department. This requirement must be met by the add/drop deadline of the semester you are seeking aid.

This requirement can also be met by having completed minimally 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 (major) as determined by the University in which you are seeking the aid).

Students must declare a major by their junior year (57 completed credits or higher, including transfer, AP and test credits); General and Area of Interest are NOT valid majors.

Note: For the STEM scholarship, the major declared must be a NYS STEM approved major. A complete list of STEM approved majors can be found here: https://www.hesc.ny.gov/pay-for-college/financial-aid/types-of-financial-aid/nys-grants-scholarships-awards/nys-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem-incentive-program/stem-approved-academic-program-listing

For TAP and NYS grants and/or scholarships, changing a major means that your eligibility for the semester will be reviewed based on the newly declared major effective for the given semester.

For Excelsior, the same applies, however, your entire college record prior to the given semester will also be evaluated. The credits from prior semesters must be evaluated against the newly declared major to see if credit requirements are still being met and a student is still on track to graduate within 4 years.

No, students must enroll in a minimum of 12 credits that are ALL applicable to their degree, primary declared major only, SBC, DEC and skill requirements or elective credit pool if available. Courses that are for minors, specializations or concentrations may ONLY be counted if the primary major requires completion of one or you have elective credit room. The Excelsior Scholarship allows courses towards a second major to be counted towards full-time load as well.

The only exception to this rule is in a student’s final term (must have applied for graduation) they must be enrolled in 12 credits but only 1 credit needs to be applicable to the degree.

In a student’s prior to final term, they must be enrolled in 12 credits, but only 6 credits need to be applicable to the degree.

You can view the TAP/Excelsior Certification Summary Pages on SOLAR 24-48 hours after registration to see a list of which courses/credits are degree applicable and which are not. This information can also be viewed on Degree Works to see specifically where each course is applying towards your degree. Additionally, students can meet with an academic advisor to discuss scheduling courses to satisfy the full-time load requirement.

For a list of advising offices, please visit: https://www.stonybrook.edu/for-students/academic-advising/

No, For TAP and NYS grants and/or scholarships, credits that apply only to a second major will not count unless your first major requires the completion of a second major in order to graduate.

ONLY the Excelsior Scholarship allows credits towards completion of a second major to count towards the full-time load requirement.

No. Credits that apply only to a minor, specialization or concentration will not count unless your first major requires the completion of one in order to graduate. For Excelsior they will count if the primary or second major require completion of one to graduate.

If it is required that you retake a course in order to complete a necessary degree requirement, these credits will be considered. However, if you retake a course that is not needed or one in which you received a grade of C or higher previously, (transfer, AP and test credits included) those credits will not be included as part of the 12 credit minimum requirement.

Not necessarily. A student needs to have earned at least 30, 60, or 90 degree applicable credits after the 1 ^st, 2 ^nd, or 3 ^rd year of college study to remain eligible for the NYS Excelsior Scholarship. AP and pre-matriculation college credits can be used to make up credit deficiencies, if necessary and enough are available. The Excelsior Certification Summary page on SOLAR will show, specifically, how credits are being applied.

No. Although you can petition to make changes to your schedule after the add/drop deadline for each semester, eligibility is reviewed with the schedule that was in place as of the add/drop deadline date. Please view the academic calendar each semester to see appropriate deadlines.

It could. Although receiving a P or W grade would not impact the current semester that may have already been certified, it can make a student ineligible for TAP/Scholarships for the following semester. A percentage of 12 degree applicable credits must be pursued each semester without W or P grades. For more specific information, please visit www.hesc.ny.gov or contact our office.

There is a TAP Certification Summary page as well as an Excelsior Certification Summary page available on SOLAR. These pages will list all degree applicable credits as well as other eligibility requirements. Please allow 24-48 hours for credits to display after course registration or changes.

If you believe that a course should be considered degree applicable but it is not appearing as such on Degree Works and the TAP/Excelsior Certification Summary pages, please reach out to your major department. Your department can request to post an exception/correction to Degree Works (if appropriate) and if approved, this would be reflected on your Degree Works audit as well updated on the TAP/Excelsior Certification Summary pages 24-48 hours after processing. We encourage these issues to be addressed prior to the add/drop deadline to prevent a delay in certification.