Other than guaranteed debt, there isn't much that is for sure about higher education these days. Yeah, the debt left from student loans motivates you to find a job as soon as possible but it's nearly impossible to find a decent job in your field with your degree in order to decrease your debt. New York has recently taken a step to help shrink the mountain you have to climb to get out of debt but like all good things in life, there is a catch.
Now Students In NY Can Go To College For Free... With A Catch
By
Michael Avery in
Facts
On 13th April 2017
advertisement
Recently, NY lawmakers have started offering free college tuition to middle-class students.
This makes NY the first state to offer such a program. In order to be included, you must be an undergrad resident who goes to a state or city of NY college that belongs to a family that earns less than $100k a year. If you meet the requirements you will be eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship. Next year that cap will increase to $110k and $125k the following year.
If you qualify, you will pay no tuition for the time you are at school.
That will save you around $6,500 per year for university or about $4,350 per year for community college. Students who fall under Excelsior will still have to pay room and board as well as school fees for living on campus. While that's about 14k per year, you still have less of a burden with the lack of tuition fees.
advertisement
Another requirement is that you have to take at least 30 credit hours per semester to qualify.
The scholarship is very fair but there is a big catch. In order to qualify, you must have lived in NY for at least a year before going to college. Once you finally graduate you must also remain a resident of the state for at least the same number of years that you received the benefits. Should you leave, Excelsior will then be turned into a loan which you will be required to pay back.
Once the Excelsior program is completely implemented there are estimates that around 200,000 students will qualify immediately.
"Today, college is what high school was — it should always be an option even if you can't afford it," said New York Governor Cuomo. No one should have to feel like being accepted into college will keep you in debt for the rest of your life.
How do you feel about this idea? Good or bad? Let us know in the comments.