--- description: Students from families making below a certain income could attend state universities for free title: New York Governor Announces Free College Plan With Bernie Sanders image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt594af1db12182b8e/6988b4548e0601905f468b21/andrew-cuomo.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Education](/tag/education/) ## Education Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Announces Free College Plan With Bernie Sanders by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 4, 2017 12:28 AM CUT  Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo speaks at Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's election night party at Javits Center on November 8, 2016 in New York City. Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo speaks at Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's election night party at Javits Center on November 8, 2016 in New York City.Noam Galai—FilmMagic/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 4, 2017 12:28 AM CUT New York Gov. [Andrew Cuomo](http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/nyregion/free-tuition-new-york-colleges-plan.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined") proposed a free college tuition plan on Tuesday, throwing his support behind a position that enjoyed enormous [political popularity](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-08-01/majority-of-americans-want-college-to-be-free "undefined") during the presidential campaign season. Cuomo, who was joined by free college proponent Sen. [Bernie Sanders](http://time.com/4588027/bernie-sanders-donald-trump-carrier-corporate-tax/ "undefined") for the announcement, proposed that students from families making $125,000 or less per year could attend state and city colleges, including community colleges, for free. New York already spends $1 billion per year on a tuition assistance program that caps awards at $5,165, the New York _Times_ reports. Current in-state tuition at [SUNY](http://time.com/money/4463313/college-come-with-money-back-guarantee/ "undefined") schools is $6,470\. Nearly one million families with college-aged children would qualify, and the plan is estimated to cost $163 million depending on participation. Hillary Clinton — who proposed a similar plan when she ran for president in 2016 — quickly praised Cuomo’s proposal. > [](https://twitter.com/HillaryClinton/status/816425914850492416) The plan will now go to the state legislature for approval. \[[_NYT_](http://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/03/nyregion/free-tuition-new-york-colleges-plan.html?%5Fr=0 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4621407/free-college-andrew-cuomo-bernie-sanders-new-york/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4621407/free-college-andrew-cuomo-bernie-sanders-new-york/"},"headline":"New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Announces Free College Plan With Bernie Sanders","datePublished":"2017-01-04T00:28:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:31:58.560Z","description":"Students from families making below a certain income could attend state universities for free","url":"https://time.com/4621407/free-college-andrew-cuomo-bernie-sanders-new-york/","keywords":["Education","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt594af1db12182b8e/6988b4548e0601905f468b21/andrew-cuomo.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt594af1db12182b8e/6988b4548e0601905f468b21/andrew-cuomo.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Hillary Clinton Holds Election Night Event In New York City","caption":"Hillary Clinton Holds Election Night Event In New York City","creditText":"Noam Galai—FilmMagic/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/education/","name":"Education"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4621407/free-college-andrew-cuomo-bernie-sanders-new-york/","name":"New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Announces Free College Plan With Bernie Sanders"}}]}] ```