New York spent $873M on student financial aid in 2023-2024 school year
ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — The New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) released its annual report for the 2023-2024 academic year. The report highlights major accomplishments that make higher education accessible and affordable, including more financial aid, scholarships, and initiatives to help students.
HESC administered over $873 million in financial aid over the year:
| Grants and scholarships | Academic Year | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 | 2020-2021 | 2021-2022 | 2022-2023 | Estimated 2023-2024 | ||
| Tuition assistance | $840,167,000 | $704,996,000 | $711,477,000 | $667,411,000 | $697,998,000 | |
| Other grants and scholarships | $202,084,000 | $182,976,000 | $172,942,000 | $178,059,000 | $175,765,000 | |
| Percent change from prior year | -1.2% | -17.4% | -0.4% | -4.6% | 3.2% | |
| Total | $1,042,251,000 | $887,972,000 | $884,419,000 | $845,470,000 | $873,763,000 | |
2024 marks the 50th anniversary of the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), which has awarded over $30 billion to more than 6 million New Yorkers. In the 2023-2024 school year, HESC expanded TAP to part-time and non-degree students, giving almost $698 million to 255,000 students in total.
In March, HESC released The TAP Difference Report. It showed that TAP recipients are likelier to graduate and stay in New York schools. The program closed educational gaps, particularly for disadvantaged groups, by boosting college persistence and completion rates. TAP recipients stayed in college about six months longer on average, and 81% of TAP graduates got a bachelor's, compared to just 65% of non-TAP graduates.
Other achievements included launching the New York State Healthcare Workers for Our Future Scholarship, addressing healthcare worker shortages. The NYGEAR UP program, in its second year, supported 6,400 low-income students with events like the Youth Summer Leadership Camp to encourage interest in science, technology, engineering, and math. HESC also concluded its role as a guarantor for the Federal Family Education Loan Program, allowing more focus on direct student support.
Future initiatives include a statewide FAFSA mandate and targeted student support campaigns. Take a look at the report below: