Grads in top 10 percent will automatically be accepted at competitive SUNY colleges
Press Release, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Office
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the launch of the SUNY Top 10% Promise Program, creating a direct pathway for the highest-achieving New York high school seniors to gain admission and enroll at select SUNY colleges and universities.
Governor Hochul first announced this plan as a part of her 2024 State of the State to help more New York students benefit from SUNY’s unparalleled combination of accessibility, affordability, and academic excellence.
“Access to higher education has the potential to transform New Yorkers’ lives and change the trajectory of a student’s life,” Hochul said. “Offering New York students graduating in the top 10 percent of their class direct admission to SUNY campuses will help reduce barriers to higher education while ensuring our students can continue their education and pursue their dreams right here in New York State.”
The Top 10% Promise is a direct-admissions program that automatically grants acceptance to graduating high school students whose GPAs are in the top 10 percent of their class and meet specific academic readiness criteria to at least one selective, world-class SUNY campus. The program will take effect for select high school seniors preparing to enroll for the Fall 2025 semester.
The nine initial participating campuses are: University at Albany, University at Buffalo, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY Geneseo, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Purchase College, and Stony Brook University.
Students in all New York State school districts will be eligible to participate when the SUNY Top 10% Promise is fully in place. In the first year, 68 school districts (and individual charter schools) from across the state were invited to participate based on serving rural, urban, and suburban communities with high levels of adversity or enrolling a significant share of students from low-income backgrounds. The initial participating high schools are representative of the diversity of New York State.
SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, “There is a place at SUNY for every New Yorker, and The SUNY Top 10% Promise will make it even easier for our highest-achieving high school students – particularly those from low-income backgrounds – to discover SUNY’s extraordinary value and academic excellence. With thanks to Governor Hochul for her leadership, this new direct admission program will advance educational equity and open the doors to higher education even wider.”
Click here for more information on the Top 10% Promise Program.
