Independently Unaffordable: The New York Tuition Assistance Program’s Inequitable Treatment of Independent Students

For more than fifty years, New York’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) has been the cornerstone of college affordability for New York residents. However, the structure of TAP contributes to inequities that make college less affordable for the very students the program was designed to help.  

Our new report shows how the unique distinctions TAP makes in categorizing Independent and Dependent students lead to lower grant awards for Independent students, most of whom are low income and on average have higher debt burdens. We offer recommendations to make TAP fairer and more reflective of Independent students’ real financial circumstances to both strengthen access to college and advance the state’s broader commitment to upward mobility and opportunity for every New Yorker.