On Memorial Day weekend, NYU President Andrew Hamilton has announced that the University would help make it more affordable for veterans to pursue their undergraduate degrees at NYU by tripling its “Yellow Ribbon” grants from $3,500/year to $10,000/year. The larger grants will take effect in 2016-17 for both entering students and current students.
Media Contact: John Beckman | 212-998-6848/917-968-4942 | john.beckman@nyu.edu
NYU “Yellow Ribbon” Grants to Undergrad Vets Go from $3,500 to $10,000
University Also Establishes Veterans Advisory Council And Plans Plaque to Honor NYUers Who Served
On Memorial Day weekend, NYU President Andrew Hamilton has announced that the University would help make it more affordable for veterans to pursue their undergraduate degrees at NYU by tripling its “Yellow Ribbon” grants from $3,500/year to $10,000/year. The larger grants will take effect in 2016-17 for both entering students and current students.
Schools in the “Yellow Ribbon” program – such as NYU – offer grants from their own funds to eligible veterans over and above GI Bill entitlements to help them afford college. The grants are matched by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Affordability has been a major priority for NYU’s new president, Andrew Hamilton. Since arriving in January 2016, he has set the lowest increase in cost-of-attendance in 20 years, announced a minimum wage for student workers of $15/hr., frozen room and board rates for the coming year, and established an Affordability Steering Committee to look at solutions to make NYU less costly for students and their families. In the last 10 years, NYU has more than tripled its budget for scholarships, and in the last five years it has reduced average student debt by nearly 30 percent.
Andrew Hamilton said, “We are thrilled to be able to make this announcement on a weekend when Americans take time to reflect on the sacrifices that members of the armed forces make for the nation. We are glad to help make NYU more affordable and more welcoming for veterans; NYU currently enrolls several hundred veterans, and their presence makes our university community stronger and more vibrant.”
In addition to increasing “Yellow Ribbon” scholarship aid for veterans, NYU made two other Memorial Day Weekend announcements:
- NYU will use a recent donation to create a plaque honoring the contributions and the sacrifices of the members of the NYU community who served in the armed forces.
- NYU is expanding the scope and membership of the Veterans Working Group, made up of administrators who work on veteran-related issues. The Working Group – which has been reviewing veterans’ issues during the 2015-16 year – will expand to include students, administrators, faculty, and alumni, and will be renamed the Military Veterans Support Services Advisory Committee. The Committee will help the University determine support and programming for veterans who are students and employees. It will be led by NYU’s Sr. Vice President for Student Affairs, Marc Wais, and the Vice President for Enrollment Management, MJ Knoll-Finn.
In addition to nearly tripling the “Yellow Ribbon” grants for its undergraduate programs, a number of NYU graduate schools also increased their support of veterans:
- NYU’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service increased its graduate studies “Yellow Ribbon” grant from $3,500 to $10,000
- NYU’s School of Professional Studies increased its graduate studies “Yellow Ribbon” grant from $3,500 to $5,500
- NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study increased its graduate studies “Yellow Ribbon” grant from $3,500 to $5,000
- NYU’s Stern School of Business (which provides $10,000 “Yellow Ribbon” grants) and Meyers College of Nursing (which provides $3,500 “Yellow Ribbon” grants) removed restrictions on the number of “Yellow Ribbon” students they would accept.