Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)

The TAP Application Process

Step 1: File the FAFSA

The first step in applying for TAP is to complete the FAFSA. After you have completed the FAFSA on the Web (FOTW), the confirmation page will give you a link to the TAP on the Web (TOTW) application for New York State financial aid.

Step 2: Create a HESC PIN

Before completing the TAP application, you will be asked to establish a PIN (personal identification number) for TAP. This PIN will allow you to complete your application later, access your application information, and make changes.

Step 3: Complete the application

After establishing your PIN, you will be able to complete your TAP application. The TAP online form will be pre-filled with some of the information from the FAFSA you completed online. Review this data, supply any missing information, and submit the form. Follow the instructions provided.

• TAP school code for undergraduate students: 1410

A detailed outline of the TAP Application process is available on the HESC website.

What if I do not apply online or missed the link from the FAFSA?

If you choose not to apply online, HESC will mail you an Express TAP Application (ETA). Information from your FAFSA and your family’s calculated New York State net taxable income will be preprinted on your ETA. Review this information, change any incorrect items, complete any missing items, then sign and mail the form using the return envelope.

If you provide an e-mail address on your FAFSA, HESC will use that address to contact you about your TAP application, give you processing updates, or award information. Please respond to any requests or instructions sent by HESC.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for TAP, a student must:

• be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen;
• be an undergraduate student (graduate students are ineligible for TAP);
• be a resident of New York State (that is, you must have lived in the state for at least one year prior to the first term for which you are seeking payment);
• study full time (at least 12 credits per semester) at an approved postsecondary institution in New York;
• have graduated from high school, or have a GED, or have received a passing score on an approved Ability to Benefit (ATB) test as defined by the commissioner of the State Education Department;
• be charged at least $200 tuition per year;
• be matriculated in an approved program of study and be in good academic standing;
• have at least a cumulative C average after receipt of two annual payments’
• have declared a major no later than 30 days from the end of the add/drop period in the first term of the junior year in an approved four-year program;
• remain in good academic standing for New York State financial aid programs by meeting academic progress standards and demonstrating program pursuit (PDF) each semester you receive TAP;
• not be in default on any state or federal student loan; and
• meet income eligibility requirements.

New York State Aid/TAP Academic Progress and Pursuit Requirement Chart (PDF) 

A complete list of TAP eligibility requirements is available on the HESC Website.

Checking Your Application Status

You can check the status of your TAP Application online on the HESC Website.

Direct questions concerning the certification process via e-mail or call TAP Payments at 518.474.3608.

Beginning with the summer 2010 term, non-remedial students first receiving state aid in 2007–08 and thereafter must be evaluated using the new Satisfactory Progress Chart (PDF).

Common Reasons Why Students Lose their New York State Award Payments

There a number of reasons that can cause students to lose their TAP award:

• Learn more about what can cause loss of a TAP award on the HESC website
• Learn more about maintaining your TAP eligibility with the TAP Information Guide (PDF)

Reinstatement of Good Academic Standing

Students who have lost good academic standing may restore this standing in one of the following ways:

• Make up past academic deficiencies by completing one or more semesters of studies without receiving any state grants or scholarships.
• Be readmitted to the school after an absence of at least one calendar year.
• Be granted a one-time waiver.

One-time TAP Waiver

Regulations permit students to receive a one-time waiver of the good academic standing requirement as an undergraduate student. Reasons for granting a waiver may include:

• Personal illness involving either hospitalization or extended home confinement
• Illness in the immediate family requiring your absence from classes for an extended period of time
• Emotionally disabling condition that prevented you from attending classes
• Change in working conditions of your job on which you and your family are dependent
• Military duty, incarceration or other involvement with agencies of government

Summer TAP

Students must have been registered at Brooklyn College in both the fall and spring semesters prior to summer.

Students must have earned a minimum of 24 credits toward their degree requirements during the prior two semesters and have been full-time in the spring semester prior to summer. The equivalent of three credit remedial hours per semester maybe included in the 24 credits earned.

Students must register for a minimum of six credits and will use half the TAP award. Students who register for 12 or more credits will use a full semester award.

All other TAP requirements must also be met.

Repeated Courses

Repeated courses in which you have already received a passing grade cannot be included in meeting the TAP full-time study requirement unless:

• You repeat a course for additional credit (e.g., certain seminar courses).
• You need to meet a minimum grade requirement for that course. (Check the college Bulletin or specific department. GPA requirements do not count.)

Remedial Courses

For payment purposes, remedial courses may be counted toward full-time study requirements. Up to one half of a student’s minimum course load can consist of non-credit remedial courses (for example, six credits at a semester institution), except that during the first term of college-level study, the minimum full-time course load of 12 semester hours can include up to nine hours of non-credit remedial hours. Credit-bearing courses need equal only one-fourth the minimum full-time study requirement (for example, three credits at a semester institution).

Ability to Benefit

The Ability to Benefit (ATB) test must be passed if a student does not have a high school diploma or GED from within the United States.

• The ATB regulation applies to all students who are first-time state aid recipients in the 2006–07 academic year or thereafter.
• Beginning in summer of the 2008–09 academic year, students must take the ATB exam within the add/drop period of the term.