Education & Student Aid · Surprise rank #262
Graduated in the Top 10% of Your NY High School? SUNY or CUNY Tuition Can Be Free
The NYS STEM Incentive Program covers full tuition at a SUNY or CUNY college for students who finished in the top 10% of their New York high school class and study a science, technology, engineering or math field. There is no income limit at all.
Who
Students who graduated from a New York high school ranked in the top 10.0% of their class, apply during their senior year, and enroll at a SUNY or CUNY college in the fall term immediately after graduating, in an approved STEM degree program.
Where: New York State — must have attended a NYS high school and must attend a public (SUNY or CUNY) college in New York.
What to do
Start here: Apply during your high school senior year through HESC's online STEM Incentive Program application, after completing the FAFSA and TAP application. The deadline for the 2026-27 academic year is August 15, 2026.
Eligibility: Top 10.0% class rank at a New York high school (a rank above 10.0% does not qualify); U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen, or DREAM Act eligibility; New York resident for 12 continuous months; enrolled full-time (12+ credits per term) in an approved STEM program at a public New York college; cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher; continuous enrollment. There is no income limit.
What you get
This scholarship pays an amount equal to the resident undergraduate tuition rate at a SUNY state-operated campus, or your actual tuition if it is lower, for up to four years of full-time undergraduate study (five in an approved five-year program). It is designed to keep top STEM students in New York, so it comes with a five-year requirement to live in New York and work in an approved STEM occupation after graduation.
Benefit: Full tuition at a state-operated SUNY or CUNY college, equal to the SUNY resident undergraduate rate or your actual tuition, whichever is less. The award is reduced by other tuition aid such as TAP.
Possible value: For 2025-26 the SUNY average undergraduate tuition rate used by HESC was $7,070 a year, so a full four-year award is worth roughly $28,000 in tuition before other aid is subtracted. Students already receiving a large TAP award will see a smaller net gain because TAP is deducted.
Good to know
Important: The timing rules are unforgiving: you must apply in your senior year and start college the fall immediately after high school, so there is no taking a gap year and applying later. Class rank must be at or better than 10.0% — 10.4% is disqualifying. You cannot hold this and the Excelsior Scholarship or the Math and Science Teaching Incentive scholarship in the same year; you must pick one. And if you leave New York before finishing five years of NY residence and approved STEM employment, the entire award converts to a 10-year student loan with interest.
Availability: Active; accepting applications. The 2026-27 deadline is August 15, 2026.
Why people miss it: Because it has no income cap, families who assume they earn too much for financial aid never look; and because it must be claimed in senior year, students who hear about it later have already lost it.
Sources reviewed: Aug 10, 2026