Scholarships for Academic Excellence Criteria

Scholarships for Academic Excellence

Pending the appropriation of State funds during the annual session of the New York State Legislature, 8,000 scholarships will be awarded. Of the 8,000 awards, 2,000 scholarships will have a value of $1,500 each and 6,000 scholarships will have a value of $500 each. Winners of this scholarship may concurrently receive any other New York State academic or general award for which he or she may be eligible. However, winners cannot be awarded a Scholarship for Academic Excellence in any amount when the combination of all awards would exceed their cost of attendance.

Scholarship winners must attend a college or university (SAE’s cannot be used for trade schools) in New York State. Those who do not attend a college or university in New York State forfeit the award. Cost of attendance includes tuition, required fees, laboratory and other institution-related expenses, books, transportation, and room and board.  Awards are renewable for up to four academic years of undergraduate study or five academic years, if the program of study normally requires five years as defined by the Commissioner of Education. In the event that a scholarship is declined by the student or revoked by the Commissioner of Education, its benefits will lapse and no re-awards will be made.

More information can be found at: 2025 Bulletin - NYS SAE's 

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

A. Each scholarship winner must graduate from a New York State high school by the end of the current academic school year.

B. Each scholarship winner must be a legal resident of New York State or otherwise qualify per the requirements noted in the 2025 NYS SAE Bulletin: click here for Bulletin  

C. In order to use the benefits of this scholarship, the winner must be in attendance as a full-time, matriculated student at an approved New York State postsecondary institution by the Fall semester following date of the award. Winners who enroll in an out-of-state institution are not eligible and forfeit the award. If a winner is not accepted as a full-time, matriculated student at an approved postsecondary institution in New York State by the immediate Fall semester, the scholarship may be accepted and enrollment postponed for a period of one year. To avoid forfeiture, a written request for a leave of absence must be submitted to the: Higher Education Services Corporation, Division of Grants and Scholarships, Room 1300B, 99 Washington Avenue, Albany, New York 12255-0001.

ALLOCATION OF SCHOLARSHIPS TO THE HIGH SCHOOLS

A. Each registered high school in the State, as defined in the Regulations of the Commissioner, will be allocated a single scholarship of one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500.)

B. The remaining $500 scholarships will be allocated to the high schools in the same ratio that the number of students enrolled in the twelfth grade at each high school in the prior school year bears to the total number of students who were enrolled in the twelfth grade in the State during that year. The ratio will be multiplied by the number of scholarships available, and the result, rounded to the nearest whole number, will be the number of scholarships allocated to the school. Six thousand scholarships valued at $500 each will be allocated in the same manner as described above.

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR SCHOLARSHIPS FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

A high school shall use uniform criteria for the selection of scholarship nominees, applicable to all competing students Regents test scores

A high school, which, prior to its students’ senior year, has offered to all such students seeking Regents credit at the school a Regents examination in each of the following subjects: Comprehensive English, Global Studies, United States History/Government, Algebra2/Trigonometry, and in two of the following four sciences: Earth Science, Living Environment/Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, shall select scholarship nominees on the basis of the following criteria:

• The high school shall select their winner(s) by computing a weighted average of the scores on the Regents examinations and/or approved alternative assessments taken by its students prior to their senior year, in all of the following subjects:

The weighing of the scores shall be:

• Comprehensive English - weight of three

• Algebra 2 & Trigonometry - weight of three

• Global studies - weight of one

• U.S. history/government - weight of one

• Science: At least two - weight of one for each course