Excelsior Scholarship Program

The Excelsior Scholarship covers any remaining tuition charge after other federal and state grants and scholarships are applied, up to $2,750 each semester.

The program does not cover the other costs of college, which include but are not limited to fees, transportation, textbooks, and more.

• Applicant must have a combined federal adjusted gross income of  $125,000 or less,
• Student must be enrolled in at least 12 credits applicable toward their degree program per semester  and have earned at least 30 credits each year.
• Complete a FAFSA for each academic year
• be a resident of NYS and have resided in NYS for 12 continuous months prior to the beginning of the term
• be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen

Visit hesc.ny.gov for more information on eligibility requirements.

In your final year of study  you must still maintain a full-time credit load each semester, but not all credits have to count toward the program.  For example, if you are graduating  in May, you must be at least 6 credits toward your degree in the semester before you graduate (fall) and at least 3 credits toward your degree in the final semester (spring).  You must have already applied for graduation with the Registrar's Office, too.

A recipient of an Excelsior Scholarship is eligible to receive award payments from the point of his or her first semester of matriculation for not more than two years of full-time undergraduate study (or 4 consecutive semesters) in a program leading to an associate's degree or four years of full-time undergraduate study, or five years if the program of study normally requires five years, in a program leading to a bachelor's degree.

Nassau Community College encourages all students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, which is used to determine eligibility for federal and New York State (NYS) financial aid programs, including the NYS Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).

To better understand the costs of college and begin filling out the FAFSA form, please visit SUNY Smart Track. 

Information specific to TAP and other NYS Grants and Scholarships can be found  on our NCC web page or  hesc.ny.gov.

Students that meet the criteria of earning 30 credits toward their degree program in their first academic year are eligible for the scholarship the following academic year.  Students are only allowed to receive four consecutive semesters of Excelsior at a Community College. 

Yes.

Yes. Students must be enrolled in college full-time and average 30 credits per year in order to receive the funding.  Remedial/Developmental and repeated coursework is not calculated in the required credit load.  

If a student does not complete their degree in 2 years or 4 consecutive semesters of study from the time they first matriculate, they cannot continue to receive the Excelsior Scholarship at a Community College.

Transfer students must be on track to complete the Associate's degree at NCC within the 2 years from when they first matriculated at any other college.

To be eligible for an Excelsior Scholarship, students with qualified disabilities under the Americans With Disabilities Act who attend less than full time must register with their college office for students with disabilities. At NCC, contact the Center for Students with Disabilities CSDoffice@ncc.edu or 516-572-7241.

If the Center for Students with Disabilities Office designates you are a student with a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Excelsior Scholarship program requires that you be continuously enrolled and complete the number of credits you attempted each semester to fulfill the requirement for on-time degree completion. If you have not earned credits for all courses attempted, you can catch up on missing credits if you successfully earn additional credits during a Summer and/or Winter session(s) and get back on track for credits that were not previously completed.