The plan crafted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo will apply to any NY student whose family with an annual income of $125,000 or less.
Another major difference between the century-old scholarship and New York's new program is the amount of options available to prospective college attendees.
Tennessee, Oregon and Minnesota already offer free tuition at community colleges, and more than 80 initiatives are in the works nationwide to offer the same in other states and cities.
Eligible students will pay nothing for tuition, which averages at about $6,470 annually at four-year institutions and about $4,530 and two-year colleges. A whopping 200,000 students are expected to be eligible for program, once the ball gets rolling. The state Senate approved the spending plan late Sunday night.
"College is a mandatory step if you really want to be a success", Gov. Cuomo said in an announcement earlier this year.
Students at University at Albany, part of the state university system, aren't so sure.
The Excelsior Scholarship will be rolled out over a three-year period. "I don't know what life will have for me".
Tighter campaign finance laws, term limits for lawmakers and new rules restricting outside income were left out of the budget again this year.
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Minhaj is a notable Muslim Indian-American comedian who recently went on the "Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King" tour. However, this year's event will be on a lesser scale than usual.
"I think it's going to be harder than people think", Reed said. There were many who said this was not feasible in any way.
One thing all four lawmakers are happy about is a $700 million increase for foundation aid for NY schools.
"Nothing is free.time to consider leaving this overtaxed state".
Per the initiative, students who do get the scholarship must live and work in NY after graduation for the same amount of years as they receive funding.
The finalized measure is a mixture of the one originally proposed by the Governor and a plan offered by Republican lawmakers.
The program pertains to all State University of New York (SUNY) or City University of New York (CUNY) schools. The scholarship means students won't pay anything for tuition. State officials also plan to make accommodations for graduates who leave the state for military service.
NY state will now pay for two- and four-year public college courses for middle class students under newly agreed legislation. Students are also required to maintain high enough GPA to stay in the school and finish on time - a provision that would be completely reasonable if it weren't for the fact that only 40 percent of freshmen at public universities nationwide graduated within four years.
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