Excelsior Scholarship

General Requirements 

• Complete New York State Application and Federal FAFSA application each academic year 
• be a resident of NYS and have resided in NYS for 12 continuous months before the beginning of the term;
• be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;
• have either graduated from high school in the United States, earned a high school equivalency diploma, or passed a federally approved "Ability to Benefit" test, as defined by the Commissioner of the State Education Department;
• have a combined federal adjusted gross income of $125,000 or less;
• be pursuing an undergraduate degree at a SUNY or CUNY college, including community colleges and the statutory colleges at Cornell University and Alfred University;
• be enrolled in at least 12 credits per term and complete at least 30 credits each academic year, applicable toward their degree program through continuous study with no break in enrollment except for certain reasons that can be documented;
• if attended another institution in the prior academic year, students must have earned at least 30 credits each year (successively), applicable toward their degree program;
• be in a non-default status on a student loan made under any NYS or federal education loan program or on the repayment of any NYS award;
• be in compliance with the terms of the service condition(s) imposed by any NYS award that you have previously received; and
• Reside in NYS for the length of time the award was received, and, if employed during such time, be employed in NYS.
• must have remaining tuition charges after all other grants and scholarships are applied to tuition. 

Academic Requirements to Maintain Eligibility 

• Must be working on first bachelor's degree with no breaks in enrollment.
  • A student who enrolled in college years ago is not eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship if they return to complete their degree.
• Must earn at least 30 credits per academic year and enroll in at least 12 credit hours per semester
  • Remedial courses (099, 098) do not count toward the student's 30 earned credit minimum or toward full-time status.
  • Students may enroll in J-Term or summer to meet the 30 credit hour minimum.
• The Excelsior Scholarship may only be used for the fall and/or spring semesters. 
• Must complete their degree in 4 years
• If a student fails to meet the academic eligibility requirements, they will lose eligibility for the scholarship permanently. There is an extremely limited appeal process if the student loses eligibility. You can find the Appeal Form here.
• Students' eligibility will be certified at the end of each semester.

At the end of each year, Buffalo State must certify that Excelsior-eligible students earned at least 30 credits (24 for EOP students) in the previous year. Additionally, Buffalo State must certify the student's cumulative (lifetime) earned credits following the requirements below: 

Combined Federal AGI Limit by Academic Year:

• Beginning with the 2024-2025 Academic Year:  Combined Federal AGI of $125,000 or less, as reported on the 2022 Federal Tax Return

Dependent Students:  New York State will add the student's federal adjusted gross income (AGI) with their parent's federal AGI to determine the "Combined AGI" amount. 

Independent Students:  New York State will add the student's federal adjusted gross income (AGI) with their spouse's (if applicable) federal AGI to determine the "Combined AGI" amount.  

Note: The federal government and New York State government have different rules about independence.  

Recipients of the Excelsior Scholarship must:

• Reside exclusively in New York State and shall not be employed in any other state for the same number of years as the student received the Excelsior Scholarship.
• Sign a contract with the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) in the event the student fails to live in NYS for the required length of time or if the student works in another state, in which the Excelsior Scholarship will be converted to a 0% student loan (to be repaid within 10 years).  
• If a student loses eligibility for the scholarship before completing their degree, the scholarship does not revert to a loan. The scholarship only reverts to a loan if the student does not meet the residency requirement. 

Graduating within 8 Semesters

Excelsior rules are strict that students must be able to graduate within eight (8) semesters. Students admitted through an Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) are allowed ten (10) semesters. 

Students who cannot complete their degree in eight semesters may lose eligibility for the Excelsior Scholarship in their eighth semester. Students most at risk of this include:

• Students pursuing dual majors or dual degrees only need to be on track for on-time completion of one degree.
• Students that change degree programs/majors

Repeating Coursework

Students who repeat courses they previously passed may need to earn more than 30 credits in an academic year to compensate for the course repeat. When a student repeats a course they passed, credit for the course is only issued once, which may mean the student is then deficient in their cumulative credits. 

Example:

• During a student's first academic year, they earn 30 credits.
• During their second academic year, they earn 30 credits, but it includes a repeated course they passed in the prior year. The credit hours previously earned in the first academic year is then accounted for in their second. This means the student earned 27 credits in 2019-20 and 30 credits in 2020-21. In total, the student has earned 57 credits, which is short of the 60 credits needed to maintain eligibility for Excelsior. The student would lose eligibility for their next semester in this example. 

If a student fails to meet the annual credit or continuous enrollment requirements for the Excelsior Scholarship, they will lose eligibility for the scholarship permanently. There is an extremely limited appeal process based on the following conditions:

• Death of an immediate family member
• Called to active military duty
• Interrupted your studies to take care of your new-born child (parental leave)
• Your medical or health care provider determines that your medical condition or mental health prevents you from beginning or continuing the term or continuing a full-time course load.
• Interrupted your studies to care for an immediate family member, whose medical or health care provider has determined the need for additional support or care, which impacts your ability to begin or continue the term or from continuing a full-time course load.

Students who have previously received Excelsior must apply for the appeal with the Buffalo State Excelsior appeal application. Students who have never had Excelsior must appeal directly to New York State Higher Education Services Corporation.