High School Seniors Cool to Late-Arriving Free SUNY Tuition Program

St. Francis High School graduate Johnathan Ciolek applied to six colleges last fall and winnowed the list in January to John Carroll University, a private Jesuit school near Cleveland. But few things trump free. So when Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature agreed in April to provide middle-income students with free tuition to New York State's public colleges and universities, Ciolek changed his mind. He now plans to attend SUNY Buffalo State, where he will enroll in the honors program and intends to study communications and journalism. Students like Ciolek, however, appear to be the exception. The free tuition offer has had little effect on where most graduating high school seniors are headed to college this fall, area guidance counselors say.