State Grants
New York State Residents
The New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) is for students residing in New York State and attending a college or university in New York State. Initially, there is not a separate TAP application. The TAP application is part of the FAFSA. In general, as long as the student is a New York State resident, provides their New York State permanent home address, and indicates at least one college of interest located in New York State on the FAFSA, then the application will be filed when the FAFSA is completed and processed.
After the FAFSA is filed, the processing center will send the information to the TAP office (Higher Education Services Corporation - HESC). HESC will send the applicant an Express TAP Application (ETA) to complete the process. St. Lawrence's school code for TAP is 0775. More information about the TAP process and other general financial aid information may be found online at www.hesc.ny.gov.
Financial Aid Eligibility for New York State
As mandated by New York State HESC, eligible students are required to meet qualitative (minimum grade point average) and quantitative (minimum courses accrued) requirements to retain New York State financial aid awards such as the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). The New York State Education Department mandates these requirements. These requirements are shown below:
Non-Remedial Program
| Before Being Certified for this Payment | Students Must Have Earned at Least This Number of Units | Students Must Receive a Grade for this % of Courses in Previous Semester | Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average* |
| 1st | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 2nd | 1.67 | 50% | 1.50 |
| 3rd | 4.17 | 50% | 1.80 |
| 4th | 7.50 | 75% | 1.80 |
| 5th | 10.83 | 75% | 2.00 |
| 6th | 14.17 | 100% | 2.00 |
| 7th | 18.33 | 100% | 2.00 |
| 8th | 22.50 | 100% | 2.00 |
| 9th | 26.67 | 100% | 2.00 |
| 10th** | 30.83 | 100% | 2.00 |
Remedial Program
| Before Being Certified for this Payment | Students Must Have Earned at Least This Number of Units | Students Must Receive a Grade for this % of Courses in Previous Semester | Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average* |
| 1st | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 2nd | 0.83 | 50% | 1.10 |
| 3rd | 2.50 | 50% | 1.20 |
| 4th | 5.83 | 75% | 1.30 |
| 5th | 9.17 | 75% | 2.00 |
| 6th | 12.50 | 100% | 2.00 |
| 7th | 16.67 | 100% | 2.00 |
| 8th | 20.83 | 100% | 2.00 |
| 9th | 25.00 | 100% | 2.00 |
| 10th** | 29.17 | 100% | 2.00 |
*Courses with incomplete grades cannot be included unless they are resolved to a passing or failing grade by the end of the following term. Failing grades are included in the number of courses completed per semester, only passing grades are included in the number of courses earned.
**Only students enrolled in the HEOP program are eligible for ten TAP payments.
According to New York State regulations, any courses added after drop/add will not be included towards increased eligibility. New York State does not allow institutions to certify and/or disburse TAP prior to the student commencing their full-time course work. That means we must withhold TAP until the students attends one day of class that makes that semester at least 3.33 units. It is also important to note that students qualifying for NYS TAP or NYS academic merit funds MUST be fully registered in a full-time course load by the end of a semester/session add/drop date, or they will lose this eligibility.
Continuing eligibility is reviewed at the beginning of each semester. New York State Award/TAP recipients must be in full-time status defined as enrollment for at least 12 semester hours (3.5 SLU units) of matriculated credit for a term of 15 weeks.
A student whose academic progress is unsatisfactory and who therefore loses eligibility for New York State awards may be eligible for a one-time waiver of the good academic standing requirements by submitting a petition to the Financial Aid Office. Please complete the TAP waiver form and submit it for approval.
Vermont Residents
Vermont is one of the only states allowing the grant to be used at colleges outside of the state. This does require a separate application and information may be found at www.vsac.org.