Say Yes Syracuse reports $932,116 in awards, unveils local college-attainment network

Ahmed, executive director of Say Yes to Education, presented the Say Yes Syracuse annual report card for the 2023–24 school year to the Syracuse City Council and community partners, reporting that the program awarded $932,116 in scholarships last year and helped students leverage about $18.3 million in external aid.

The report covers application and enrollment outcomes for the class of 2024. Ahmed said 40% of that class completed the Say Yes application and that roughly 80% of Say Yes applicants enrolled in college in fall 2024. “This report card is for the 2023, 2024 school year,” Ahmed said. He credited the program’s last-dollar model for leveraging federal Pell grants, New York State TAP grants, institutional aid and other grant sources to produce the $18.3 million figure.

Why it matters: Say Yes Syracuse provides scholarship dollars plus navigation and supports that the presenter and council members said are intended to raise college matriculation and persistence rates for Syracuse City graduates. Ahmed said the persistence rate among Say Yes applicants who enrolled was 69% from first year to second year, compared with 36% for the broader student population in the available data.

The presentation described several challenges and planned responses.…