Disenrolled Howard University students can apply to SUNY, CUNY schools, get $800 credit

New York students who are scrambling to find a new college after being disenrolled from Howard University can seek expedited admissions review at SUNY and CUNY schools along with an $800 credit, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday.

Stony Brook University and the State University of New York campuses at Albany, Binghamton, New Paltz and Oneonta, as well as the University at Buffalo and Buffalo State University, are among the SUNY campuses providing rapid reviews of applications for students who were dropped from Howard this summer, state officials said. Other campuses are also examining their capacity to see if they can accept more students, according to the governor’s office.

The $800 credit is meant to offset any nonrefundable payments students might already have made to Howard, state officials said.

In a statement, Hochul said, "To every student who is worried that their educational future has been disrupted: New York is ready to support and empower you.”

Hochul’s announcement follows news that more than 500 first-year students at Howard — about one fifth of the incoming class — were notified last week that they had been disenrolled from the Washington, D.C., university, one of the nation’s most prestigious historically Black institutions, after missing a July 10 payment deadline.

It was not clear Monday how many impacted students are from New York State.

University representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

Howard said in a statement last week  it had “provided multiple detailed communications” starting in March about the deadlines to make arrangements for financial aid or other payments.

“Students who did not meet the established payment, payment arrangement, or scholarship and other financial aid reporting deadlines have been notified that the University can no longer hold their place in the incoming class,” the university said. “As Howard finalizes enrollment for the Fall 2026 semester, which begins August 17, confirming enrollment is essential to planning academic programs, housing, financial aid, and student support services.”

Some incoming first-year students have reported they encountered delays getting financial aid applications processed, and a limited number have had their enrollment reinstated after further review by the university, according to news reports.

The news of students being disenrolled is “heartbreaking,” especially since some students might not return to school if their education gets disrupted, said Kuturie Rouse, a 2013 Farmingdale State College graduate who works as chief of staff at Roads to Success, a Manhattan nonprofit that provides college preparatory programs and other services to children and young adults.

Rouse said he took about 30 students from Long Island and New York City on a tour of Howard and other historically Black institutions this spring. The tour was offered by the Long Island and New York City chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc., he said. 

Rouse said he would encourage Howard students to consider the state's offer. At Stony Brook University, New York State residents pay $7,070 in tuition, and the total cost of attending is $30,671 for a student living on campus without financial aid, according to Stony Brook’s website.

Tuition at Howard is nearly $38,000, and the total cost of attendance for a student living on campus is more than $66,000 a year without financial aid, according to Howard’s website.

“SUNY and CUNY produce a lot of great graduates, they have phenomenal programs and phenomenal schools, and actually award-winning professors," Rouse said. "So I think that's truly amazing.” 

For more information, prospective students can visit suny.edu/howard or cuny.edu/admissions/undergraduate.

By Maura McDermott

maura.mcdermott@newsday.commauramcdermott

Maura McDermott covers education. Since joining Newsday in 2012, she also has worked on the investigations team and covered real estate and the business of health care.