126 New York schools waive college application fees

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — In an effort to lower financial barriers for high schoolers heading to college, New York is expanding financial aid and waiving college application fees. Governor Kathy Hochul proclaimed October New York State College Application Month and announced free applications for almost 130 institutions statewide, including the State University of New York, the City University of New York, and dozens of private colleges.

Waived application fees typically range from $50 to $90 each.

While the fee waivers remove one obstacle, students will still have to pay tuition. Applications for state and federal financial aid—Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the New York State Tuition Assistance Program, and the NYS Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Incentive Program—are all open for students enrolling in the 2026/2027 school year.

TAP distributes about $800 million a year in aid based on need. Hochul’s office said higher income thresholds and expanded access for part-timers and non-degree students made tap available to almost 38,000 more students. The governor’s office announced that the FAFSA and TAP applications for the 2026/2027 school year are open until June 30, 2027.

The STEM program’s scholarships cover tuition for students who graduate in the top 10% of their class in high school, pursue a STEM degree at SUNY or CUNY, and commit to working for five years in the field in New York after graduation. The deadline for STEM applications for 2026/2027 is August 15, 2026.

FAFSA, which determines eligibility for federal aid like the Pell Grant, work study, and loans, also helps determine eligibility for TAP, STEM, and the Excelsior Scholarship that combines with other aid to make SUNY or CUNY tuition-free. According to Hochul, completed FAFSAs increased by nearly 12% since enacting the Universal FAFSA Completion legislation, placing the state sixth in the nation for FAFSA completions.

The New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) coordinates College Application Month with the NYS Education Department, SUNY, CUNY, and private college associations. Students who don’t meet citizenship or residency requirements can apply for state financial aid through the Senator José Peralta New York State DREAM Act. According to HESC, it connects eligible undocumented students to grants and scholarships.

An analysis from WalletHub released October 2 showed that New Yorkers have the sixth-highest average student loan payment in the country, paying about $229 a month. Vermont faced the highest average at $248 and Mississippi’s was lowest at $142.

Nationally, roughly 42.3 million Americans owe a $1.67 trillion total in student loans, averaging over $39,000 each. WalletHub crunched the numbers, figuring that with a fixed interest rate of 6.39% for federal undergraduate loans, you’d need to pay about $288 a month for 20 years to pay off that $39,000 average.