Every year, the New York State Education Department awards the Academic Excellence Scholarship to a few high school seniors from school districts around New York State that fit the following criteria:

1. Each scholarship candidate must be eligible to graduate from a New York State high school by the end of the current school year.

2. If the scholarship candidate is a U.S. citizen, or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States; or an individual of a class of refugees paroled by the attorney general of the United States under the parole authority pertaining to the admission of aliens to the United States then the student must:
   • have graduated from a New York State high school;
   • be a full-time, matriculated student in an approved undergraduate program of study in a New York State postsecondary institution;
   • be in good academic standing; not be in default on any State or federal student loan or on any repayment of state awards; and be a New York State resident.

Scholarship Identification Process

The state notifies each school district the number of scholarships that they will give out each year and one of the factors they go by is the number of students in the senior class. Typically, three Mount Markham seniors are awarded this scholarship each year. There is nothing that students need to do to apply as high school personnel will nominate the most qualified seniors based on the following weighting of Regents exam scores:

English Language Arts weight of three

Algebra II weight of three

Global Studies and Geography weight of one

United States History & Government weight of one

Science: The two highest science Regents exams with each being a weight of one

Additional Information

For more information, please refer to the NYSED website.