I first got a Medical Assisting certificate at Ridely Lowell, which is a trade school, which I am currently in $18,000 in debt for. I then got my Associates at Dutchess Community College in psychology.  I am now going for my Bachelors in Psychology. I didn’t qualify for any financial aid because I am independent, even though I only make $25,000 a year.

I work full time to cover outside expenses like food, rent, utilities, a car.  I got a better job at a hospital recently which pays a little bit more. I take out loans for New Paltz. If I get a C or above in school, my full time job gives me a grant of $2500 toward tuition. To pay for this semester, I had to put it on a credit card though, because the tuition assistance from my job doesn’t kick in until later. I work full time over night so I only sleep 3 hours a night. Its impossible to study.

If college was free, I wouldn’t have to work so hard, maybe just part time. It would greatly improve my college experience. I’d get to spend more time studying and be able to meet deadlines. Now I record my notes to play while I’m driving. I have to take a course over because I got a D, it was a course that started at 11am but I got out of work at 9:30am and sleep deprivation made it hard to stay awake through the class. I now have to retake the class but it’s full. I often have trouble registering for a class because it interferes with work, especially since I live 30 minutes from campus. If the class is too close to 5pm or right after then I can’t take it. I wanted to get a concentration in organizational psychology but a lot of the required courses were at 8am and since my job wants me to be at work that early it’s not realistic. I need the job though, so what can I do? This limits the options I have for my future prospects of becoming a Physician’s Assistant.

I applied for the Excelsior Scholarship, one day I was on hold for 20 minutes, then 40 minutes. They said I didn’t have enough credits, I was in school for too many semesters, they said over the phone that as long as I don’t have a bachelors and meet the income eligibility I’d get it, but in the 11th hour of the last day they denied it because of credits. When I call them and talk to them no one knows anything.

I am a freshman at Brooklyn College studying Communication Television and Radio.  Without the Excelsior Scholarship, I would have needed to take out a loan.  Luckily, I found out about the scholarship through Forest Hills High School. They pushed me to fill out FAFSA early. They had an assembly about the scholarship and sent emails with a link to apply.  I don’t plan to stay in Brooklyn College.  My mom just moved to Florida and I will be transferring to a school down there.  I am aware that the scholarship will turn into a loan however, I am still grateful because the scholarship gave my mother time to save up before she can start paying out of pocket.

Currently, balancing work and school is a lot.   I am taking 15 credits while working 40 hours a week to pay for additional costs such as textbooks, food and transportation. My mom helps me out with the costs but balancing it is a lot, especially straight out of high school. If I had the option to take fewer classes I would. I believe the scholarship would be better if students were able to take a mandatory 12 credits because 15 is a lot of pressure, especially since the scholarship doesn’t cover Winter or Summer semesters.

I was initially rejected from the Excelsior Scholarship. I was looking forward to having my last year of college paid for. When I did some research into why I was rejected, I realized it had to do with the amount of credits I had. As an Excelsior applicant, I needed to have 90 credits going into my senior year but only had 89. I realized that my college level courses in high school had not been transferred to CSI. I had taken credits through College Now at Kingsborough Community College when I was in high school that had not automatically been applied to my transcript.

Once I contacted my high school, I was able to access the credits, appeal and qualify for the scholarship. I had taken out loans for the first three years, gotten some TAP and some merit scholarships. Excelsior came at the right time, I figured if I could get it for my last year that would be great so it was worth appealing! For the rest of the costs I have a small savings from my grandfather and I work 20 hours a week. This pays for books, food and metrocards.

Textbooks are definitely the most stressful cost. I pay around $200 a semester. I don’t know a lot of people who applied for Excelsior, maybe only one other person. I found out because I saw the commercial on TV and the news stories. My parents also saw it and urged me to apply. I think that the 15 credit requirement is fair as long as students know about it beforehand. As far as the four year requirement, I think it would be unfortunate if they got a job outside of the state, but for majority of students I think it’s fair. For me that would be the least fair part of the scholarship.

I am studying psychology.  I receive the Pell Grant and TAP.  I had to drop chemistry because it was so hard and I ended up becoming part time that semester.  It disqualified me from TAP mid semester, which was really stressful.  Another semester, I dropped Russian and the same thing happened.  If I didn’t receive financial aid at all during college I would be in a lot of debt, probably have a mental breakdown. 

I work as a home attendant 20 hours a week.  I used to do tutoring.  I pay for food out of pocket.  I live with my grandma and we have SNAP.  When I first got into school it was hard to register for the courses I needed.  If college was free it would mobilize and expand people.  People would have more time.  It would help people in need that can barely survive.  Transportation is the biggest challenge for me as a student.  It takes me 2 hours each way.  Also mental health.  There needs to be better mental health services and services for non traditional students. 

I am a Sophomore studying Computer Engineering.  I am a part of  the ASAP program.  I work at a restaurant 30 hours a week.  I get an $875 voucher for textbooks and materials for school.  Some semesters I max out.  My job pays for food. 

It’s hard to balance work and school.  I sleep 2-3 hours.  ASAP gives me priority registration, that’s how I’m able to work 30 hours/week.  I can plan my class schedule around work. 

College should be free and available for everyone.  A lot of people want to go to college, but they can’t because they have to work to support their family and kids!  My biggest challenge is sleep and transportation.  There’s no parking near my school and the F train is always having problems.

I study Precolonial History.  I am a 4th year student receiving  a TAP award and the Pell Grant.  I work 30 hours a week as a home attendant.  Pell covers textbooks, metrocard and food.  I live with my mom so I don’t have to worry about rent.

It is stressful to work and be in school.  I wouldn’t be in school if I didn’t receive financial aid.  I’d be working.  I am not graduating on time, I have to stay an extra year and will run out of TAP.  It stresses me out a lot I don’t know what I’m going to do.  It’s really messed up that in order to receive TAP I’ve been forced to be full time.  It’s a lot of work, I can’t handle it.  The workload from five classes is a lot.  Paper after paper.  12 credits is considered full time but you can’t graduate on time. 

Most people I know don’t graduate in 4 years.  The hardest part about being a student is balancing work and finances, it effects my mental health.  We need better mental health services!  Food is super expensive too, especially at Hunter which is on the Upper East Side. Who can afford to spend $10 a day on food? It’d be great if there was an affordable option for students.

I was raised in a single parent household with my two sisters. My mom worked full time to support us all. She didn’t get the opportunity to go to college but wanted better for me and my sisters. No one in my family has finished a four year degree yet and that is mainly because of the financial burden.

I am a full time student enrolled in the EOP program and do receive financial aid, but that covers tuition. I still have multiple loans in my name I had to take out and have worked 1-2 jobs during the school years to pay for living expenses such as books, food, my car, and most recently off campus rent because seniors aren’t allowed to live on campus anymore. I would love to just focus on school but that’s not possible.

I am worried about paying back those students loans and possibly wanting to further my education because of the costs. Investing in higher education will greatly improve the future students of New York.

I am a pre-law student.  I have always received tuition assistance through FAFSA, New York State TAP, and/or merit scholarships. English is my third language. I am first generation American, both of my parents came from Paraguay.  

I’m a single parent, I have a five-year old. I work part-time for a litigation attorney in White Plains. Now that I’m newly divorced, it results in an increase in money I get from FAFSA and the state.

I already qualify for financial aid through TAP, so I didn’t have to apply for the Excelsior Scholarship.

I was a General Education major at Bronx Community College. I wasn’t able to graduate and needed to get a full time job. I couldn’t do both. I had participated in the workstudy program but I wasn’t making enough. I had to pay rent, food, cable, and utilities. I was awarded a partial Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) award and the Pell Grant.

I found out about ASAP too late, but if I had known about it, I would have applied to it for the tutoring to bring my grades up! I wanted it for the tutoring. Everyone should have ASAP. While I was at BCC I received SNAP assistance. The transition from high school to college was really horrible. Textbooks were the biggest cost. I couldn’t keep up with my studies because I couldn’t afford the materials, and this is when I was receiving TAP and Pell. Pell helped for some but I also had to pay for all of my living expenses it was way too much.