Key Lessons for NYers On Cuomo’s ‘Free’ Tuition
If The Post is as concerned with job creation across the Empire State as it so grandly claims, you’d think it would support a nation-leading program that provides tuition-free college to New York’s students and equips them with the skills they need to succeed (“‘Free Tuition’ Follies,” April 11).
The Governor’s Excelsior Scholarship ensures families making up to $125,000 per year can attend SUNY and CUNY two- and four-year schools tuition-free. This is the most comprehensive, most progressive college, affordability program in the nation.
By ensuring that our highly qualified students live and work in-state for the number of years they receive the scholarship, we are guaranteeing this investment pays dividends right here at home.
Many scholarships today already require postgraduate residency in New York state. The STEM Incentive Program requires students to live and work in New York for five years upon graduation. The Master’s in Education Teacher Incentive Scholarship requires young people to live and work for at least five years in New York after completing their degree
or certification. And it’s estimated that more than 80 percent of students remain in New York following graduation.
The GPA requirement also makes it clear that New York is not writing a blank check, but rather providing a path forward for students committed to learning and preparing for their futures.
With the Excelsior scholarships, Gov. Cuomo is delivering on his promise to lift up New York’s working- and middleclass families. Robert Mujica Director NYS Division of Budget Albany
Gov. Cuomo’s idea of free tuition once again proves that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. In this case, the cost of “free” tuition is four years of indentured servitude working in New York state.
If Cuomo wants people to stay in New York after graduating, he’s going to have to come up with another lure. The cost of his “free” tuition is just too high. Mike Reynolds Tarrytown
Why can’t young people work their way through college?
State University of New York tuitions average about $5,500 yearly; it’s not too much to ask those wanting a higher education to work 10 hours a week to raise the funds. Jim Soviero Setauke
Taxpayers shouldn’t be providing free tuition to state colleges.
When my children went to a SUNY college, it left them with a mountain of student debt they’re still struggling to repay. Taxes add insult to injury, so why should we pick up the tab for other students’ tuition? Fern Welikson Roslyn Heights