The following information is the general “must know” for all students who intend to apply for the HEOP program. It is adopted from the official NYS HEOP website. You can download the latest HEOP brochure published by the New York State’s Collegiate Development Depart by clicking here.

INTRODUCTION

In 1966, the Governor and the Legislature approved a bill to provide access to higher education for the “educationally and economically disadvantaged” students in New York State. The program known as Search for Education, Elevation, and Knowledge (SEEK) was begun at The City University of New York (CUNY). The College Discovery Program, which was already in existence at community colleges in New York City, was continued, and the State University of New York (SUNY) started the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP). In 1969, legislation established the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) at independent colleges and universities in New York State. In 2006, the Governor and the Legislature approved a name change in honor of the important role former Assemblyman Arthur O. Eve played in increasing access to higher education in New York State.

These programs are designed to meet the special needs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Among the strategies available to meet these needs are testing, pre-freshman summer programs, counseling, tutoring, coursework, and financial assistance.

In general, students in opportunity programs are individuals from families with low incomes, with high potential for successful collegiate experience but who have not acquired the verbal, mathematical, and other cognitive skills required for collegiate level work. Generally, their grades fall in the bottom half of their high school graduating classes. They are students who have not earned Regents diplomas, are assigned to high schools which have poor records for developing students, or have been tracked or scheduled into general, commercial, or vocational high school programs.

Students eligible for HEOP will generally rank low on such traditional measures of collegiate admissions as SAT scores, high school average, or class standing.

Opportunity programs are available for students living in urban and rural areas. They are available at two and four year levels, at public and independent colleges, and in every academic discipline and career field. Students are selected without regard to age, color, religion, creed, disability, marital status, veteran status, national origin, race, gender, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or sexual orientation.

What is HEOP?

The Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) provides supportive services and financial aid to New York State residents attending independent colleges and universities in New York State.

Who is Eligible?

To be eligible for HEOP you must meet all of the following conditions. You must:

1. Have been a resident of New York State for one year preceding your term of entry into HEOP.
2. Possess a high school diploma or a State-approved equivalency diploma (with a composite score not higher than 3100) or its equivalent. The equivalent of a general equivalency diploma is defined as being one of the following:
   1. An Armed Forces Equivalency Diploma, with a minimum score of 410 on each test section and a minimum composite score of 2250?
   2. A level of knowledge and academic ability equal to the level required for entrance to the educational opportunity program at the institution to which the individual seeks admission.
3. Be educationally disadvantaged. An educationally disadvantaged student is a student who otherwise would not be accepted as a matriculated student under the institution’s normal admissions standards in the degree program for which application is made. At open admissions institutions, an educationally disadvantaged student must meet one of the following criteria:
   1. Possess a high school equivalency diploma? or b) Possess the equivalent of a GED? or
   2. Have no high school diploma? or
   3. Meet other acceptable academic criteria, which differentiate the HEOP student from regularly admitted students (e.g., lower test scores, lower GED scores).
4. Have the potential and motivation for successful completion of college.
5. Be economically disadvantaged. (See section titled “Economic Eligibility Criteria for Opportunity Programs.)
6. Have been in an approved opportunity program (if a transfer student).

How Do I Apply?

To apply for admission to a Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), request an application from the institution that you are interested in attending. There are 58 HEOP programs throughout New York State, offering a wide variety of academic courses in major fields of study. Specific information can be obtained by writing to the HEOP program on that campus. A roster of HEOP programs is listed at the end of this brochure.

Please note: Many independent colleges require you to apply by February 1 of the year you intend to begin. This date varies at each campus. Please plan to apply as early as possible.

If I Am Accepted – What Next?

Summer Program. Entering students usually are required to take part in a prefreshman summer program. The summer program is designed to orient the student to college life, initiate a program of academic skills building, and acquaint the student with the services available through HEOP.

Supportive Services. During the summer and academic year, supportive services take many forms:

1. Remedial and Developmental Courses. If you need additional academic assistance to prepare you for college-level work, HEOP can meet your academic needs. Before you begin your classes, the HEOP professional staff will evaluate your academic strengths and weaknesses, and design a specific academic program to help eliminate your academic deficiencies. You will have the opportunity to take noncredit and credit remedial/developmental courses. These courses provide instruction in basic skills, reading, writing, vocabulary, mathematics, and other areas of study.
2. Tutorial Services. HEOP provides you with tutorial services to assist you with your academic courses. Tutorial services are conducted on a one-to-one basis or in groups, depending upon your needs. Some tutors are competent, experienced HEOP students and some are professional tutors.
3. Counseling Services. Counseling services are provided by the HEOP staff on an individual or group basis to assist you with any problems that may interfere with your academic work. You will receive the following types of counseling:
   1. Academic The HEOP counselor will assist you in selecting your academic major and courses. You can take a reduced course load during your first semester. You are also given an extra year of eligibility to graduate.
   2. Personal Adjustment to college life often presents many new problems for HEOP students. Counseling helps you develop your self-confidence, identity, and a positive attitude about learning.
   3. Career Students are often undecided about what to do after graduation. The HEOP staff will assist you in making career choices. Career counseling will help you in selecting the necessary courses to prepare you for employment or postgraduate study.

Can I Afford to Attend College?

HEOP provides colleges with funds to help meet the cost of your education. You will also be eligible for other State, Federal, and institutional financial aid awards. Students are required to apply for the State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and the Federal Pell Grant.

The amount of financial aid and the application procedures vary from campus to campus. HEOP students are expected to contribute to the cost of their education from family savings or summer earnings. Specific information can be obtained by contacting the HEOP Office or Financial Aid Office at the college you are interested in attending. For general questions about HEOP, please feel free to call or write to:

Collegiate Development Programs Unit
New York State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue, Room 1071 EBA
Albany, NY 12234 (518) 4745313

Economic Eligibility Criteria for Opportunity Programs

Family Income Scale for the Purpose of Determining Eligibility for Supplemental Financial Assistance for First-time Students Enrolled in Opportunity Programs:

1. A student is economically disadvantaged if he or she is a member of a household supported by one member thereof with a total annual income which does not exceed the applicable amount set forth in the following table? or a household supported solely by one member thereof who works for two or more employers with a total annual income which does not exceed the applicable amount set forth in the following table by more than $2,790? or of a household supported by more than one worker thereof or of a household in which one worker is the sole support of a one-parent family, if the total annual income of such households does not exceed the applicable amount set forth in the following table by more than $5,570. For the purposes of this subdivision, the number of members of a household shall be determined by ascertaining the number of individuals living in the student’s residence who are economically dependent on the income supporting the student.

   Household Size

   • 1
   • 2
   • 3
   • 4
   • 5
   • 6
   • 7
   • 8
   • 9
   • 10
   • 11+

   Total Annual Income

   • $16,060
   • $21,630
   • $27,210
   • $32,790
   • $38,360
   • $43,960
   • $49,500
   • $55,070
   • $60,640
   • $66,210
   • $71,780
     +$5,570 for additional members
   Household size must include all household members including the head of the household. Total annual income must be from the preceding calendar year.

   The income figures in the table of this section apply to the student applicant’s income only when he or she is an independent student. For purposes of this part, an independent student:

1. is a student who is 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the program year? or
2. is an orphan or ward of the court (A student is considered independent if he or she is a ward of the court or was a ward of the court until the individual reached the age of eighteen)? or (iii) is a veteran of the Armed Forces of the United States who has engaged in active duty in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard and was released under a condition other than dishonorable? or
3. is a married individual? or
4. has legal dependents other than a spouse? or
5. is a student for whom an opportunity program and financial aid administrator has made a satisfactorily documented determination of independence by reason of other extraordinary circumstances.
2. A maximum of 15 percent of the students admitted to a HEOP program may come from households whose income exceeds the scale listed in the preceding table when unusual and extenuating circumstances warrant. Documentation of these circumstances shall be kept on file by the institutions at which such students are enrolled, and shall be corroborated by a disinterested, reliable third party. Categories into which the exceptions may fall are limited to the following:
1. Serious mismanagement of the family income, with little accruing to the interest of the student? or
2. A onetime fluctuation in household income, where there is a history of low income? or
3. Households with substantial long-term, non-reimbursed medical obligations such as maintenance of physically or mentally handicapped children? or
4. Families which must maintain two households, one for the wage earner and one for the dependents in order to maintain employment? or
5. Families where the family contribution as computed from base year financial data by a United States Department of Education approved needs analysis system indicates no contribution other than the minimum expectation from student income for independent students, or a zero parental contribution for dependent students.

For information about similar programs at public universities, you may write to: