GENESEO, N.Y. — SUNY Geneseo is one of the schools participating in a new initiative to help high-achieving students enroll in college while staying in state.

“The SUNY Top Ten Promise program will automatically accept graduating high school seniors whose GPAs are in the top ten percent of their graduating class. One school that’s doing it is here at SUNY Geneseo,” said Costa Solomou, SUNY Geneseo’s Vice President of Enrollment Management.

Solomou says they will still do a full review of the student, but this new initiative will help attract more who do well academically but don’t have the resources to go to college.

“I think that was the whole concept around the top ten initiative is, is to really try to target these students who are not looking at Geneseo because they don’t feel as if they’re strong enough, but they are. So creating that pathway, opening that door allows even more students who again, under reach their institution to see that a place like Geneseo is truly possible,” Solomou said.

Governor Hochul introduced the initiative Thursday. She hopes it will help more high-achieving students stay in-state and make university systems more equitable. It will also give low-income students a chance at schools they normally couldn’t afford.

“It’s not just about being successful in the classroom, but being able to afford it,” Hochul said. “We are supporting students throughout the entire spectrum. Students who need a small gap filled or a larger gap filled as well.”

The program will start by phasing in a select amount of graduating high school seniors planning to enroll for the 2025 fall semester.

The other schools participating are University at Albany and at Buffalo as well SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, SUNY’s New Paltz, Oneonta, Polytechnic Institute, Purchase College and Stony Brook University.

A.I. assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News 10 uses A.I.