Aid for Part-time Study is a New York State grant program for students pursuing a degree on a part-time basis. It is money paid to the school for tuition only.
To be considered for Aid for Part-time Study, you must:
- Be pursuing an undergraduate degree as a part-time student.
- Be registered for at least 3 credits but less than 12 credits per semester. All credit bearing courses must count toward your degree to be payable under the Aid for Part-time Study program.
- Be in good academic standing for New York State award programs (see the NYS Good Academic Standing Charts).
- Be a legal resident of New York State.
- Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or hold an I-94 visa as a refugee, paroled refugee or conditional entrant. Be eligible under the Dream Act.
- Meet the following economic criteria:
– If not eligible to be claimed by parents as a tax exemption, and not claiming dependents of your own, have a total New York State net taxable income of less than $34,251.00.
– If claimed by parents as a tax exemption, or eligible to claim dependents of your own, have a total family net taxable income of less than $50,501.00. - Have a high school diploma from a U.S. high school, a recognized GED certificate, or receive a passing score on an approved ability-to-benefit test.
- Have not used up undergraduate eligibility for TAP or other New York State financial aid programs for full-time study.
- Be free of debt from any defaulted federal student loan.
Apply for Aid for Part-time Study by filing a FAFSAand a NYS TAP application. If you do not complete the TAP-on-the-Web application when you filed your FAFSA-on-the-Web, you will be sent an email with a link to a TAP application after your FAFSA is processed. The NYS TAP Application is necessary in order to consider you for an Aid for Part-time Study award.
After you file your NYS TAP Application, CUNY will notify you by email to complete a CUNY Financial Aid Supplement which contains several additional questions needed to determine your eligibility for Aid for Part-time Study.
You must complete the Aid for Part-time Study application process by an established deadline in order to receive an Aid for Part-time Study award. The deadline for the receipt of your application is the 2nd week in September for the fall semester and the 2nd week in February for the spring semester.
The amount of yourAid for Part-time Studyaward will vary from term to term, depending on the availability of program funds. In recent years Aid for Part-time Study awards have ranged from $15. to $65. per credit. An Aid for Part-time Study award cannot be more than the cost of your tuition, but, due to limitations on program funding by New York State, your Aid for Part-time Study award will usually only cover a portion of your tuition. Funding limitations also prevent Aid for Part-time Study awards from being available for summer study.
The college may be able to estimate the amount of your Aid for Part-time Study award and credit it to your semester tuition charges. If it is not possible to estimate the amount of your Aid for Part-time Study award, you may have to make payment arrangements with the Bursar.
One semester of Aid for Part-time Study counts as one-half a semester of TAP. You may receive up to 16 semesters of Aid for Part-time Study as an associate degree student but no more than your remaining undergraduate TAP eligibility will allow.
What do I need to know about Aid for Part-time Study and the NYS Good Academic Standing requirement?
Aid for Part-time Study recipients are subject to the same good academic standing requirements that govern the TAP program (see TAP Progress Chart). You must demonstrate Program Pursuit every semester you receive an Aid for Part-time Study award and meet the Academic Progress standard every two semesters. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the loss of your TAP/Aid for Part-time Study eligibility.
If you have lost eligibility for Aid for Part-time Study due to an academic standing requirement, you can regain your eligibility for Aid for Part-time Study and other NYS award programs by any one of the following procedures:
- Combine two or more semesters’ work, provided that only one of those semesters is paid for through New York State support.
- Be readmitted to BMCC after a leave of absence of at least one calendar year.
- Transfer to another college. There you will be eligible to receive New York State awards your first semester.
- Apply to the Committee on Academic Standing for a one-time TAP/Aid for Part-time Study waiver. If the waiver is approved, you may continue your studies without interruption of New York State program assistance.
