Undergraduate Commencement at Utica College

Excelsior, Explained

What you need to know about New York's Excelsior scholarship.

The Facts behind "Free" Tuition.

You may see many public higher education institutions talking about New York State’s Excelsior Scholarship. While some may refer to this as “free college,” it’s important to understand exactly what the Excelsior Scholarship does and doesn’t cover at state institutions in order to understand the value at a school like Utica University.

The Excelsior Scholarship, upon being awarded, covers the tuition at a state institution. Room, board, books, fees, etc, still remain the responsibility of the student, at times far outweighing the cost of the covered tuition.

In fact, Utica University's price for many students drops down to near a State University of New York (SUNY) price, even if they were to be awarded free tuition there. And when you factor in not only affordability, but also the quality experiences and successful results you get at Utica University, our value advantage is clear.

Utica University	SUNY with "Free" Tuition
Scholarships and grants can reduce tuition for families from all income levels.	Free tuition eligibility only for New York families with annual income of less than $100,000 in 2017 (phased up to $110,000 in 2018 and to $125,000 in 2019.)
Scholarship and grant amounts average from $7,000 to more than $14,000 for families with income of $110,000 or less.	The free tuition scholarship amounts to an average of $6,470.
95% of students receive financial aid	As few as 5% of eligible students are expected to receive the free tuition scholarship.
An endowment assures the availability of scholarship and grant funding.	State funding may not be sufficient to award free tuition scholarships to all who qualify.
Students exceed the national on-time graduation rate even with freedom to vary their course loads.	There is no flexibility in credit hours per year for students who wish to keep the free tuition scholarship.
Graduates can live and work anywhere without financial aid repayment consequence.	Graduates must live and work in New York for the same number of years they received the scholarship, or else must repay it.