N.Y. EDN Law § 669-G

§ 669-g. The New York state achievement and investment in merit\nscholarship (NY-AIMS). 1. Purpose. The New York state achievement and\ninvestment in merit scholarship (NY-AIMS) is hereby established for the\npurpose of granting merit based scholarship awards to New York state\nhigh school graduates who achieve academic excellence.\n 2. Eligibility. To be eligible for such awards, an applicant must have\ngraduated from a New York state high school, enrolled in an approved\nundergraduate program of study in a New York state post-secondary\ninstitution beginning in the two thousand fifteen--two thousand sixteen\nacademic year or thereafter, and achieved at least two of the following\nduring high school:\n a. graduated with a grade point average of 3.3 or above;\n b. graduated with a "with honors" distinction on a New York state\nregents diploma or received a score of 3 or higher on two or more\nadvanced placement examinations; or\n c. graduated within the top fifteen percent of their high school\nclass, provided that actual class rank may be taken into consideration.\n 3. Priority. a. Such awards shall be made to eligible applicants in\nthe following priority:\n (i) first, to applicants who have received payment of an award\npursuant to this section in a prior year and remain in good academic\nstanding; and\n (ii) second, to applicants in descending order based on the unmet need\nto reach the full cost of attendance as indicated on the financial aid\naward letter.\n However, in the program's first year, first priority shall be in\naccordance with subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph.\n b. In the event that there are more applicants who have the same\npriority than there are remaining scholarships, the president shall\ndistribute the remaining number of such scholarships by means of a\nlottery or other form of random selection.\n c. In each year, the awards made shall be proportionate to the total\napplications received for students accepted for undergraduate study at\npublic and private not-for-profit degree granting institutions.\n 4. Awards. Within amounts appropriated therefor, the president shall\ngrant an annual award to eligible applicants on a competitive basis\npursuant to subdivisions two and three of this section in the amount of\nfive hundred dollars for not more than four academic years of\nundergraduate study, or five academic years, if the program of study\nnormally requires five years as defined by the commissioner pursuant to\narticle thirteen of this chapter. Up to five thousand awards may be\ngranted to new recipients annually.\n 5. Offset. Such awards may be used to offset the applicant's total\ncost of attendance determined for federal Title IV student financial aid\npurposes.\n 6. Rules. The corporation is authorized to promulgate rules and\nregulations, and may promulgate emergency regulations, necessary for the\nimplementation of the provisions of this section.\n