Cuomo Touts Clinton as Inspiration Behind New York Free Tuition

New York’s program echoes a plan that Clinton proposed during her presidential bid past year to eliminate college tuition for most families.

On Sunday, the New York’s Senate approved a whopping $153 billion budget to provide free college tuition to those who could barely afford it.

Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, appeared with Sen. OR and San Francisco have made community college tuition free of charge and legislation in Rhode Island is rumored to be organizing a proposal similar to New York’s for two-year schools, according to CNN. And it’ll cost the state about $163 million a year. And the idea got plenty of airing in last year’s presidential election, when it was championed first by Sanders and then Hillary Clinton.

Who pays for the free-tuition program?

Well it’s becoming a reality for middle class students in NY.

The program does not address the cost of housing, food and transportation, according to New York Assemblyman Victor M. Pichardo.

The program is created to fill the gap between the cost of tuition and other state and federal aid students are receiving.

Students will be able to see if they are eligible for the Excelsior Scholarship Program this spring when it is included in the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). And, President Trump’s budget proposal would withhold money from those grants. The cost of college is now out of sight.

“I’m a New Yorker”.

– Students must qualify for admission, or be admitted to a college.

Assemblyman Billy Jones, D-Chateaugay, says he has mixed feelings about the new scholarship.

You must attend full time and finish on time.

There is no age limit, and a student does not have to be a recent high-school graduate.

“I don’t know how much I like feeling confined, even to staying in the state for four more years”, said Bobby Rickard, an 18-year-old freshman from Brewster who has not yet decided his major.

If a student does not maintain satisfactory progress, they will lose the award and not be allowed to get it back. The legislation also carves out an exception for a student’s “extreme hardship”.

Although New York is not home to any illustrious HBCUs, the opportunity for education in any aspect is worth celebration.

NY is the first state to implement a tuition-free program for four-year public colleges.

If they do not stay in the state, the scholarship is immediately converted to a loan.