The New York State Achievement and Investment in Merit Scholarship (NY-AIMS) provides merit-based scholarships to New York State high school graduates who achieved academic excellence as a high school student, and enroll or plan to enroll in a public or private New York State college immediately after high school.

Eligibility

To be eligible, an applicant must:

1. Be a legal resident of New York State (NYS) and have resided in NYS for 12 continuous months
2. Be a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen
3. Graduate from a NYS high school
4. Enroll full-time as a first time student in an eligible NYS college for the fall term
5. Have achieved at least two of the following during high school:
   • Graduated with a final grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 or above
   • Graduated "with honors" on a New York State Regents diploma, or received a score of 3 or higher on two or more Advanced Placement (or AP) examinations
   • Graduated within the top 15 percent of their high school class

Awards

Recipients receive annual awards of $500 for not more than four years of undergraduate study, or five years if the program of study normally requires five years. Awards will be disbursed directly to the college and may be used to support the recipient’s expenses while in college.

Note: Any award payment received may have tax implications. Any questions regarding this should be directed to a tax professional, the Internal Revenue Service, or the NYS Department of Taxation and Finance.

Application Process

No new NY-AIMS scholarships are being awarded by NYS HESC. For more information, contact the Scholarship Unit at scholarships@hesc.ny.gov or 888.697.4372.