The New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) helps eligible New York residents pay tuition at approved schools in New York State. Because TAP is a grant, it does not have to be paid back.

To be eligible for TAP benefits, you will have to meet the requirements set by the program.

You will be certified by NYU for TAP benefits after we’ve verified your eligibility, which typically happens during the third week of the term.

If you receive TAP benefits, you must reapply every year.

Eligibility Requirements

In order to receive TAP benefits you will have to meet and maintain a series of criteria to remain eligible.

To be eligible for TAP, you must:

  • Be a NY State resident
  • Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen
  • Be a graduate from a high school in the U.S., have earned a high school equivalency diploma by passing a Test Assessing Secondary Completion (TASC), or pass a federally approved “Ability to Benefit” test as defined by the Commissioner of the State Education Department
  • Be enrolled in an approved program of study
  • Be a full-time student taking 12 or more credits that count toward your degree program each semester
  • Be charged at least $200 in tuition per year
  • Meet income eligibility limitations
  • Not be in default on any state or federal student loans and not be in default on any repayment State awards
  • Be in compliance with the terms of any service condition imposed by a NYS award

NY State Residency Requirement

You must be a New York State resident to qualify for TAP.

Requirements include:

  • Currently being a legal resident of New York State

And one of the following:

  • Have been a resident of New York State for at least 12 months immediately preceding the first term for which the award is being sought, or
  • Have been a legal resident for the last two semesters of high school, or
  • Have been a legal resident of New York State at the time of entry into the armed forces, Peace Corps, or Vista and re-establish NYS residency within six months of release from active duty.

If we are unable to confirm your New York State residency, you will be asked to complete a Proof of Residency Form before your TAP awards is certified.

When you’ve completed the form, you must email it to certifications@nyu.edu from your NYU email. 

When the Certifications team receives your form it will review your information and reach out to you as necessary letting you know the status of your award.

Good Academic Standing

You must remain in good academic standing to continue to be eligible for your TAP award.

Good academic standing consists of two parts:

  • Making satisfactory academic progress towards a degree
  • Program pursuit

You must earn a minimum number of credits with a minimum cumulative grade point average each term you receive a TAP award. Please reference these charts to find out your requirements. 

For example, to be eligible to receive the 5th payment, a non-Opportunity Program student must have already earned 39 credits (or more) with at least a 2.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA).

To reach your required program pursuit, you must complete a percentage of the minimum full-time course load in each term an award is received. 

Percentages by term, as specified by regulations, include:

  • 50 percent of the minimum full-time course load in each term of the first year an award is received
  • 75 percent in each term of the second year an award is received
  • 100 percent in each term of the third year an award is received and thereafter

If you fail to make progress toward a degree — either by failing to accrue sufficient credits or by failing to achieve a sufficient cumulative grade point average — the student loses eligibility for a subsequent award. 

The Regulations of the Commissioner of Education permit a waiver of good academic standing requirements in certain circumstances.

Good Academic Standing Chart for Non-Opportunity Program Students

Payment Number Total Credits Cumulative GPA
1 0 0
2 6 1.5
3 15 1.8
4 27 1.8
5 39 2.0
6 51 2.0
7 66 2.0
8 81 2.0
9 96 2.0
10 111 2.0

Good Academic Standing Chart for Opportunity Program Students

Payment Number Total Credits Cumulative GPA
1 0 0
2 3 1.1
3 9 1.2
4 21 1.3
5 33 2.0
6 45 2.0
7 60 2.0
8 75 2.0
9 90 2.0
10 105 2.0

Good Academic Standing Waiver Request 

You can request a one-time waiver of the good academic standing requirements of the TAP award program in the waiver is determined to be in your best interest. The waiver covers one semester. 

A situation that might warrant a waiver should be beyond your control and not a chronic circumstance that cannot be remedied. 

You are expected to regain good standing in the additional term that results from the approval of the waiver.

You must complete the waiver form to be considered. 

Once the Certifications team receives your form it will review your application. You will receive a decision about your waiver in your NYU email account within three weeks of submitting your request. All decisions are final. 

Please note:

  • The waiver is not automatically granted.
  • The waiver form must be completed before the end of the semester for which you are requesting a waiver
  • The waiver is intended only to accommodate extraordinary or unusual cases
  • The waiver will only be granted when there is a reasonable expectation that the student will meet future requirements

Good Academic Standing Waiver Request Process

Good academic standing requirements may be waived once for a student if it is determined that such a waiver is in the best interests of the student. Situations that caused a student to lose good academic standing should be beyond the student’s control, not chronic circumstances that cannot be remedied. With the additional term that results from approval of the waiver, a student should be able to regain good standing.

Complete this form to request a one-time (one semester) waiver of the good academic standing requirement of the TAP award.

On the form, you will be asked to explain the reason(s) you do not meet the requirements of TAP's good academic standing, and how you intend to reestablish good academic standing in accordance with TAP regulations within the probationary period of one semester. Include any supporting information that may be relevant to your circumstances.

Upon receipt of your form, the Certifications team will review your application and reach out to you as necessary.  Decisions on your waiver application will be made within three (3) weeks of receipt.  Decisions will be sent to your NYU email. All decisions are final.

Notes:

  • The waiver is not automatically granted.

  • The waiver form must be completed before the end of the semester for which you are requesting a waiver.
  • The waiver is intended only to accommodate extraordinary or unusual cases.
  • The waiver will only be granted when there is a reasonable expectation that the student will meet future requirements.

Further information about TAP regulations can be found on the HESC website.

Major Declaration Requirement

You must declare a major within 30 days of the add-drop period of your junior year according to TAP regulations. This means you can not be an undeclared or undecided major. 

If you have not declared a major in time, you will not be certified for further TAP payments until you do and your major is reflected in NYU Albert. 

If you become decertified because of an undeclared major, you can email certifications@nyu.edu after you’ve declared a major and it is updated in NYU Albert to let the Certifications team know your major is updated and you’d like to be reconsidered for TAP certification.

Part-Time TAP

Full-time registration is a requirement of the TAP award, however, you can be certified for part-time TAP if you:

  • Are enrolled for at least 6 but fewer than 12 semester hour credits or the equivalent
  • Have earned 12 credits in each of the two consecutive prior semesters. A full-time summer term can be used to meet the prior study requirement. 

If you apply for TAP and meet the above requirements, in addition to all other TAP requirements, you will be certified for part-time TAP automatically. 

If you are certified for part-time TAP, you will be awarded a prorated TAP award based on the amount of credits you are registered for. This amount is determined by HESC. 

If you do not want to be certified for part-time TAP, email certification@nyu.edu

Please note:

Repeated Coursework

You can repeat a course and have it count as part of your minimum full-time course load for TAP certification only if you did not previously earn credit for the course. This includes courses in which you received an F or a W and did not earn credit.

If you earn a passing grade in a course but want to repeat it to improve your grade and overall GPA, that course will not count as part of your minimum course load. 

However, if you need to repeat a course you previously earned a grade in in order to meet your major requirements, that course can count towards your full-time or part-time study requirements of TAP. 

For example, if you receive a D in a nursing course, that is technically a passing grade. However, any grade lower than a C in a nursing course is considered failing. Therefore, you can retake the nursing course you earned a D in and count it as part of your minimum full-time or part-time course load. 

Please note: If you are repeating a course under the above condition, you will receive an email from the TAP Certification team requesting your advisor submit (via the advisor's NYU email address) a letter which certifies that the repeat is indeed required to achieve a certain grade as per your major requirements. The letter should be emailed to certifications@nyu.edu.

TAP Payment Points

The NYS Higher Education Services Corporation maintains records of student TAP awards by assigning points for each payment

An undergraduate student has a total of four years (or a total of 48 points) of award eligibility or five years (or 60 points) if enrolled in an approved five-year program.

TAP awards equal:

  • 6 payment points for a full semester
  • 4 payment points for a trimester or quarter
  • 3 payment points for a half-time award