More than 160 Yonkers high school students applied to a new housing scholarship program at Purchase College before the March 1 deadline, signaling strong early demand for a partnership launched this year between the college and Yonkers Partners in Education (YPIE).
One student from each of Yonkers’ eight public high schools — Yonkers Middle High School, Lincoln High School, Saunders Trades and Technical High School, Riverside High School, Gorton High School, Yonkers Montessori Academy, Roosevelt High School–Early College Studies, and Barack Obama School for Social Justice — will be awarded a housing scholarship funded by Purchase. A separate scholarship is also available to every YPIE student who qualifies for Pell Grants or New York State tuition assistance (TAP).
Yonkers is the fifth partner to join the Westchester Scholars program, after White Plains, Port Chester, Mamaroneck, and Ossining.
The partnership also introduces a direct admissions track for YPIE students, designed to streamline the application process and reach students who might not have otherwise put Purchase on their list.
Breaking Down the Barriers
“This partnership with YPIE helps ensure that talented Yonkers students can fully experience all that Purchase has to offer,” said Caitlin Read, Dean of Enrollment Management at Purchase College. “Residential life is such an important part of a student’s growth and engagement, and this housing scholarship helps make that experience possible while deepening our commitment to serving Yonkers and the broader Westchester community.”
Many graduating seniors choose local schools they can reach by public transportation. Purchase College’s campus in Purchase, NY sits in Westchester County but is difficult to reach without a car — public transit options are limited and the trip can be lengthy.
“Purchase is super affordable, but it’s not that easy to get there if you don’t have a car,” said Anne Daniel, Senior Director at YPIE Yonkers, who developed the partnership. “A lot of our students would say: ‘I’d really like to go to Purchase, but it would be hard for me to commute back and forth.'”
But Daniel noted that the goal extends beyond solving a transportation problem. Research consistently links campus residency to academic success and degree completion, and YPIE sees on-campus living as a key factor in helping students graduate.
“A lot of students are yearning for that campus experience, that away experience — you’re just more a part of campus life,” Daniel said. “We feel like our students are going to be positioned even better to be successful, because they’ll have that opportunity to be really engaged in campus life.”
Who Qualifies and How It Works
Scholarship decisions are made by YPIE college advisors, who nominate students from each school based on their level of commitment to attending Purchase. Students must also be recommended by YPIE, accepted into one of the program’s approved majors, and agree to live on campus.
The housing scholarship is open to students participating in YPIE, which currently serves 467 Yonkers seniors through its College Access program. Not all Yonkers high school students are automatically enrolled — YPIE is a program students must join. More information is available at ypie.org.
To qualify for the direct admissions track, students must have a cumulative GPA of at least 84.00 by the end of junior year and be on track for an Advanced Regents Diploma, an International Baccalaureate Diploma, or a Regents Diploma.
What Comes Next
The application window for the first cohort closed March 1, 2026. Scholarship recipients for this year will be notified by April 1, 2026. YPIE expects a broader rollout in subsequent years. Students or families with questions about future eligibility can contact Caitlin Read at caitlin.read@purchase.edu or 914-251-6317.
Purchase offers 27 fields of study under this partnership, including an undeclared option. The college is known for small class sizes and accessible faculty, and is the only public four-year SUNY institution in Westchester County.
“Purchase College is a fabulous option for so many students,” Daniel said. “It can be a launching pad for almost any career. Students who aren’t already considering Purchase should be.”
About YPIE
YPIE, now in its 19th year, is a Yonkers-based nonprofit that supports students from high school through college, with programs covering academics, career readiness, college placement, and persistence. Anne Daniel, who has been on the YPIE team for more than a decade, has worked with thousands of students helping them find the right college.
The housing scholarship is in its first year and was launched late in the current application cycle, which Daniel says limited its initial reach. She expects a broader impact as the direct admissions track becomes more established.
“I think the housing was definitely an incentive,” Daniel said. “But I feel like next year, it’ll really simplify the application process for a number of students.”
