Free College – It’s Not Just a Political Slogan Anymore!

April 21, 2017

In a development that has young people (and their parents) celebrating a little bit, New York state has become the first state in the country to offer free tuition for two AND four year degrees to in-state residents at state colleges/universities. For many families, this is going to open up new possibilities and some kids who thought college was out of reach are going to get a degree. There is no doubt that this program will benefit lots of families. But just like there is with any program that is rolled out, there will be some “catches” or limitations. For those who are thinking of moving to New York in order to take advantage of this program, there are some limitations you should know about:

• There is an income cap of $100,000 currently and that will be increasing annually so high income families will not be eligible for this program.
• The program is able to be used for two years for a two year degree and four years for a four year degree. So if like ~80% of my college rugby team, it takes longer than four years to graduate, the program won’t be available in your second or third senior year.
• Upon graduation, if the student doesn’t stay in New York for two years or four years (depending on two or four year degree), the scholarship money (the program is structured as a scholarship equal to tuition, not room/board/books/etc.) that was received is converted to a student loan.
• The scholarship, as noted in the prior bullet, is only good for tuition.  Books, fees, housing and incidentals aren’t covered by this so students without a strong support network will be required to work or use student loans to cover the remaining costs.

These are a few of the potential drawbacks of this from the student’s standpoint. New York taxpayers will have the drawback of funding these costs upfront and the goal of the legislature is to increase the overall education level of the workforce, thereby increasing incomes of those remaining in the state after graduation and those incomes will be taxed in New York state. In theory, this program could pay for itself over a long enough time frame. Whether it does or not or whether that even matters is a topic that I’m seeing debated on social media currently and I’ll avoid that debate for now.

There is definitely a lot of discussion, debate and movement toward making college a less expensive proposition. Lots of municipalities are approaching this in different ways. I’m not sure how it will progress, but as the parent of one child in college and two on the way, I’m DEFINITELY interested in seeing how this plays out. As more states propose and pass legislation, I’ll be potentially considering a move to a state that offers a sweetheart deal!