Veterans Tuition Award

There are no income limits for this Scholarship.

Financial Status

To receive the Scholarship, you must:

• Be in good standing (a non-default status) on a student loan made under any NYS or federal education loan program or on the repayment of any NYS award, AND
• Be in compliance with the terms of the service condition(s) imposed by any NYS award that you have previously received.

To receive the Scholarship, you must meet the following residency requirements: 

• You are a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen.
• You are a legal resident of New York State and have resided in New York State for 12 continuous months.

Approved programs are defined as: undergraduate degree, graduate degree, diploma, and certificate programs at degree-granting institutions, or non-credit vocational training programs of at least 320 clock hours specifically approved by the NYS Education Department Office of College and University Evaluation. Contact your Financial Aid Office to determine if your program is approved for this award.

Approved Vocational Training Programs

Below is the current list of participating vocational schools:

• Albany-Schoharie-Schenectady-Saratoga BOCES
• Alliance Computing Solutions
• Apex Technical School
• Cambridge Business Institute
• Charles Stuart School
• Compu21 
• CUNY Hostos Community College
• Digital Film Academy
• Emerging Technologies Institute
• Institute of Culinary Education
• LaGuardia Community College
• Lincoln Technical Institute
• Madison-Oneida BOCES
• New York Automotive & Diesel Institute
• Onondaga Cortland Madison BOCES
• Orange County Community College
• Oswego County BOCES
• Southern Westchester BOCES
• Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES
• Western Suffolk BOCES

Please have your school’s financial aid office contact HESC at [email protected] if they are not listed above. 

Eligibility criteria for students applying prior to July 1, 2025

To be eligible recipients cannot be discharged under dishonorable conditions from the U.S. Armed Forces and a/an:

• Vietnam Veteran who served in Indochina between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975; or
• Persian Gulf Veteran who served in the Persian Gulf on or after August 2, 1990; or
• Afghanistan Veteran who served in Afghanistan during hostilities on or after September 11, 2001, or
• Veteran of the United States Armed Forces who served in hostilities that occurred after February 28, 1961, as evidenced by receipt of an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal or a Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal.

Eligibility criteria for students applying effective July 1, 2025 

• Veterans with a minimum of four years of active-duty service or those who served in combat or the combat theaters of Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, or Afghanistan, and must not have been dishonorably discharged.

High School, GED, or Ability to Benefit

• Graduated from high school in the United States, earned a high school equivalency diploma (GED), or passed a federally approved "Ability to Benefit" test. 

College & Program 

Once in college, you must meet the following requirements:

• Matriculated at an undergraduate or graduate degree-granting institution in NYS or in an approved vocational training program full- or part-time.

  • Full-time study: 12 or more credits per semester (or the equivalent) in an approved program at a degree-granting institution, or 24 or more hours per week in a vocational training program.

  • Part-time study: At least three but fewer than 12 credits per semester (or the equivalent) in an approved program at a degree-granting institution, or six to 23 hours per week in a vocational training program.

• Be in good academic standing.

• Charged at least $200 tuition per year.