Key Points
- New York’s Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) administered $1 billion in state financial aid to nearly 300,000 students in 2025-26, including 152,438 who newly qualified under higher TAP income limits.
- Part-Time TAP now covers students taking as few as three credits a semester, down from six, after the state merged three part-time programs into one.
- A three-credit student can get TAP, but federal student loans require at least half-time enrollment.
New York’s Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) administered $1 billion in state financial aid to nearly 300,000 students in 2025-26, according to Governor Kathy Hochul’s announcement. That count includes 152,438 students who newly benefited from higher income limits for the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP).
The biggest change landed for students paying for college part-time. The 2025-26 state budget merged three part-time programs into a single Part-Time TAP award, and it cut the minimum course load from six credits to three. Aid for Part-Time Study and the Part-Time Scholarship no longer run as separate programs.
HESC began letting colleges certify Part-Time TAP for students taking three to five credits on October 22, 2025.
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Why It Matters
One three-credit class is now enough to qualify for a New York grant that never has to be repaid. That puts TAP within reach of students who can only fit one course around work or family. A Trellis survey of students who left college without a degree found 72% worked while enrolled and 25% were raising children.
The income change reaches further into the middle class. New York raised the dependent student limit in the 2024-25 budget from $80,000 to $125,000 in net taxable income. Net taxable income comes from the family’s New York tax return after deductions, so families with gross pay above $125,000 can still land under the limit.
Our New York financial aid and college cost breakdown shows how TAP works alongside Excelsior and other state awards.
Who Qualifies For Part-Time TAP Now?
Part-Time TAP covers New York residents taking 3 to 11 credits a semester toward a degree at an eligible New York college, according to HESC’s Part-Time TAP rules.
HESC prorates the full-time TAP award by the credits a student takes. It lists full-time awards of $1,000 to $5,665 a year, and the income limits match full-time TAP for New York families. Students who don’t meet the citizenship or residency rules can apply through the NYS DREAM Act.
| Rule | What HESC Requires |
|---|---|
| Credits Per Semester | 3 to 11 credits toward a degree (was 6 to 11 before 2025-26) |
| Programs Merged In | Aid for Part-Time Study and the Part-Time Scholarship |
| Award Amount | Full-time TAP award prorated by credits taken |
| Dependent Student Income Limit | $125,000 net taxable income |
| Independent Married, No Dependents | $60,000 net taxable income |
| Independent Single, No Dependents | $30,000 net taxable income |
| Grade Requirement | Cumulative C average, no waiver allowed |
| Minimum Tuition Charge | $200 a year |
| 2026-27 Deadline | June 30, 2027 |
The fine print matters more at three credits than at nine:
- Academic pace: HESC warns that taking only three credits for more than four consecutive semesters can leave students short of satisfactory academic progress credit requirements.
- Eligibility clock: Part-Time TAP draws on the same lifetime TAP eligibility as full-time awards, capped at four years of full-time or eight years of part-time study.
- Federal student loans: Three credits falls below half-time, so students at that load generally can’t borrow federal student loans. A Pell Grant can still apply at a reduced amount.
- Grades: Students need a cumulative C average, and HESC won’t let a Good Academic Standing waiver cover a shortfall.
What Else The Annual Report Showed
Veterans gained more access to financial aid as well. Since July 1, 2025, New York’s Veterans Tuition Award covers veterans with at least four years of active duty, even without combat service. For 2025-26, the award equals average SUNY undergraduate tuition of $7,070 or actual tuition, whichever is less.
The state says support through the program rose about 70%, and our state-by-state list of veteran tuition benefits shows how New York compares.
The report also tracked application gains. New York ranked sixth nationally in FAFSA completion by June 2026, according to the state. Completion rose about 6% from the prior class. That came in the same year the class of 2026 set a national FAFSA completion record. About 130 colleges waived fees on roughly 300,000 applications during College Application Month in 2025. The state valued those waivers at $15 million.
That 300,000 figure counts applications rather than students, since one senior can apply to several colleges. Families can still use the New York windows in our list of free college application programs, including CUNY’s free applications for New York seniors through November 16.
How This Connects
TAP pays tuition, which is the smaller part of the bill at SUNY. Four-year SUNY schools charge $7,070 in in-state tuition and fees, according to our New York college cost data. On-campus cost of attendance averages about $24,800. Housing, food, books and transportation sit outside TAP, and they make up most of a student’s cost of attendance.
That’s the same limit we flag with free-tuition offers, which usually stop at tuition.
We tell families to price the full cost of attendance over four or five years with 5% to 8% annual increases. Part-time students need that math even more, since a degree at three credits a semester takes far longer than four years. Only 33.7% of part-time students in the fall 2018 cohort earned a degree within six years, according to a national college completion report. Among full-time students, 67.2% did.
What’s Next
The 2026-27 TAP deadline is June 30, 2027, and students apply through the FAFSA or HESC’s separate TAP application. Students starting in fall 2027 need the 2027-28 FAFSA, which is already open. HESC has also picked a vendor for a new financial aid processing portal, though the announcement didn’t give a launch date.
Students thinking about dropping to one class for spring 2027 should ask their financial aid office how the lighter load changes their TAP award first. Colleges can set earlier priority dates of their own, so check our FAFSA deadlines by state and school before you file.
Editor: Colin Graves
Robert Farrington is the founder of The College Investor and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading voices on student loan debt and saving for college. He holds an MBA from UC San Diego Rady School of Management and has spent over 15 years researching, writing, and advising on student loans, 529 plans, financial aid programs, and saving and investing for young professionals.
Robert has been featured in the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NBC News, and Forbes, where he has been a regular personal finance contributor for over a decade. His work combines both professional expertise and personal experience – he successfully navigated his own student loan repayment journey and has helped thousands of readers do the same.
He is committed to making the intersection of personal finance and education transparent and accessible. You can learn more about Robert on the About Page or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.