New Yorkers can apply to many SUNY, CUNY and private colleges statewide for free until November, Hochul says
The fee to apply to Stony Brook University and all others SUNY schools is waived through late November, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office announced Monday.
Prospective college students in New York can apply for free to nearly 130 higher education institutions statewide this month and in November, Gov. Kathy Hochul's office has announced.
Participating universities and colleges in the 3-year-old fee waiver include the State University of New York and City University of New York systems and dozens of private institutions, Hochul’s office said in a Monday news release.
The waiver opens more doors for students and increases the likelihood for students to apply to colleges like SUNY schools, said Kelly Whitney-Rivera, director of guidance and chief information officer at the Valley Stream Central High School District.
"More kids are applying because they have nothing to lose," Whitney-Rivera said.
An application fee typically ranges from $50 to $90, according to the governor’s office.
"By waiving application fees at SUNY, CUNY and nearly 50 private colleges across the state, we’re saving families money and ensuring that more students can access the opportunities and futures they deserve," Hochul said in a statement.
Rebecca Gottesman, director of school counseling at the Malverne school district, said the initiative offers high schoolers more opportunities because students typically don’t know how they will pay for college until after they apply.
"In the past, if [students] didn't think they could afford to go to college, they wouldn't apply because it cost too much money to apply to, then find out that they wouldn't even get the financial support they needed to attend," Gottesman said.
With the fees waived, students can apply without worrying about that cost and then decide after they evaluate and compare the financial aid packages from the colleges, she said.
For SUNY campuses, each student can have the application fees waived for five SUNY schools from Oct. 20 to Nov. 3.
The SUNY schools on Long Island include Stony Brook University, Farmingdale State College, SUNY Old Westbury, Nassau Community College and Suffolk County Community College.
This fall is the third year Stony Brook University is participating in the state initiative. Last year, the university received roughly half its applications, or about 38,000 out of 76,000, during the no-fee period, according to Richard Beatty, senior associate provost for enrollment management at Stony Brook.
For families living paycheck to paycheck, educators said, the fee waiver reduces stress for them during an application process that can feel overwhelming.
For some parents, Whitney-Rivera said, they may not have to pick between: “Am I spending that money on an application to a school you may not get into? Or am I going to spend that money on my grocery bills?”
Students can look up the complete list of participating schools on the New York State application waiver webpage, which also includes the time frames of the waiver period, which differs from school to school.
For the CUNY system, students from New York City schools can apply for free from Oct. 27 through Nov. 21. For those from outside the city schools including Long Island, the waiver period is in effect from Nov. 10 through Nov. 21.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
