| Governor
Cuomo: Free SUNY, CUNY Tuition to STEM Students in Top 10%
of HS Class
By Maxwell Morgan, Campus Life, Research
Tuesday, May 7, 2014
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on May 6, 2014 a scholarship
that provides a full SUNY or CUNY tuition scholarship for
top-performing students who pursue and work in the STEM field
in New York State for five years after graduation.
The New
York State Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM) Incentive Program will encourage the best and brightest
high school students to pursue high-demand, high-tech careers
and build their future in New York.
“By helping New York’s best and brightest students
launch their careers in-state and in STEM fields, we are laying
the foundation for a truly world-class workforce,” Governor
Cuomo said. “This program offers a tremendous step forward
to the top ten percent of our high school students, and it
will open doors not just for them but for our State as a whole.
I am proud to launch the STEM Incentive Program this year,
and I encourage all eligible students to apply today.”
“Across New York, STEM careers are growing 2.5 times
faster than those in any other field, and the Governor’s
incentive program is a valuable opportunity for the next generation
to fill the gap,” said SUNY Chancellor Zimpher. “The
program gives top-of-their-class students a world-class education
in high-need fields while creating a pipeline of elite talent
for the state where our workforce and economy need it the
most. At SUNY, we are looking forward to getting this innovative
program up and running.”
The sponsoring New York State Agency, called HESC, is the
student financial aid agency that helps people pay for college
and a national leader in providing need based grant and scholarship
award money to college-going students.
Programs that it oversees include the Tuition Assistance
Program (TAP), numerous state scholarships, federal college
access grants and a highly successful College Savings program.
In the 2011-12 school year alone, HESC provided more than
$979.4 million in grants, scholarships and loan forgiveness
benefits, including $931 million awarded through the Tuition
Assistance Program, to students.
To be eligible for a STEM award, a student must be attending
a New York State high school and be ranked in the top ten
percent of his/her graduating class (beginning with the 2014
graduating class), and enroll in full-time study at a SUNY
or CUNY college in the fall term following high school graduation.
Award details and applications are available at the HESC
website and due August 15, 2014 |
