Tuition Exchange

Council for Independent Colleges - Tuition Exchange Program

The Council for Independent Colleges - Tuition Exchange Program (CIC-TEP) is open to dependents of full-time employees in the fall following the start of their full-time employment. 

Participating institutions are required to award a minimum of three CIC-TEP scholarships for full tuition (no $ limit) each academic year to incoming students.

Tuition Exchange, Inc.

Tuition Exchange, Inc. (TE), open to dependents of full-time employees upon hire, is the larger of the two programs with 675+ member institutions. Unfortunately, the scholarship decision criteria applied by each school tend to differ and they are not published. Often, it’s first-come, first-served; but not in all cases.

Contrary to popular belief, we do not have to import a student from a specific school in order to send a student to that school. 

The annual dollar value of the TE scholarship varies. Most TE scholarships cover full tuition, but not additional fees, course overloads, or housing and meal plan charges. For 2027-2028, institutions that charge more than $45,000 for tuition are permitted to award less than their full tuition, but not less than $45,000.

Tuition Exchange Rules for Full-Time Employees

Requirements and Limitations on Participation in TE or CIC-TEP

• Dependents are eligible to apply for TE and CIC-TEP scholarships upon hire.
• Upon receipt of a scholarship application request, the TE Liaison Officer will verify employee eligibility (see 1 above). If eligible, the liaison will certify the application and forward it to the desired school(s).
• TE and CIC-TEP scholarships are not guaranteed. The importing school(s) will process the scholarship application based on their own criteria and time frame.
• Once a student is selected, the TE or CIC-TEP scholarship is a continuing commitment through at least two years and typically four years of higher education. The scholarship is renewed each year for a maximum period of four years/eight semesters.
• In order to attain and maintain eligibility for the TE or CIC-TEP scholarship, the student must comply with the admissions and academic standards of the importing institutions. 

Tuition Exchange Program

• Access the Tuition Exchange EZ-Application.
• The student will need to create an account using a personal email address (not a high school or parent email)
• The student completes the Tuition Exchange EZ-Application to apply for both TE and CIC-TEP scholarships.
  • List York College of Pennsylvania as the Host Institution.
  • Students can select up to 20 TE and/or CIC-TEP member institutions on their application.
• View Participating TE Institutions
• View Participating CIC-TEP Institutions

Contact Stephanie Perago, Tuition Exchange Liaison, for any questions about the Tuition Exchange Programs at sperago@ycp.edu or 717.815.1582.

D17. York Country Day School Tuition Discount

York College of Pennsylvania is able to offer full-time employees a discount at York Country Day School from kindergarten through grade 12 that enables dependent children age 19 or younger (son, stepson, daughter, or stepdaughter of an employee [as defined above in sections D17.1.5.A.3.a, D17.1.5.A.3.b, D17.1.5.A.3.c., and D17.1.5.A.3.d., and in accordance with Internal Revenue Code sections 117(d), 117(d)(2), 132(h), and 153(e)(3)]); to apply for the discount covering a substantial portion of tuition.

A. Tuition 

1. Tuition charged by York Country Day School.

B. Requirements and Limitations on Participation

1. Otherwise eligible participants must meet the admission standards relevant to the course or program intended. York Country Day School follows rolling admissions policies; applicants, including tuition remission or discount students, are accepted if they meet admission criteria on a first-come, first-served basis until the class or program is full.

C. Applicable Courses and Programs for Eligible Participants

1. Eligible participants must complete the appropriate Authorization Tuition Waiver Form through the Human Resources Office. All external aid (not loans) will be deducted from the applicable limits of the remission or discount.

2. A discount of 60 percent for grades Kindergarten through grade 12, for a limited time at York Country Day School is provided. Preschool programs are excluded.

D. Questions about the application of the Tuition Remission and Tuition Discount Program shall be referred to the Director of Human Resources.

E. The Tuition Remission and Tuition Discount Program may be subject to federal, state, and/or local tax liability, depending on individual circumstances.

We recommend starting in the fall of their senior year of high school, as soon as the admissions application has been sent.

• Access the Tuition Exchange EZ-Application.
• The student will need to create an account using a personal email address (not a high school or parent email)
• The student completes the Tuition Exchange EZ-Application to apply for both TE and CIC-TEP scholarships.
  • List York College of Pennsylvania as the Host Institution.
  • Students can select up to 20 TE and/or CIC-TEP member institutions on their application.
• View Participating TE Institutions
• View Participating CIC-TEP Institutions

In general, to be a taxpayer’s dependent, a person must satisfy four tests:

• Relationship — Dependent age 23 or younger (child, stepchild) of an employee, eligibility through a baccalaureate degree or up to 124 registered undergraduate credits.
   
• Residence — has the same principal residence as the taxpayer for more than half the tax year. Exceptions apply, in certain cases, for children of divorced or separated parents, kidnapped children, temporary absences, and children who were born or died during the year.
   
• Age — must be under the age of 19 at the end of the tax year, or under the age of 24 if a full-time student for at least five months of the year, or be permanently and totally disabled at any time during the year.
   
• Support — did not provide more than one-half of their own support for the year.

No, they must have applied for admission before we certify the scholarship application, but they do not need to have been accepted yet.

Possibly. Some deadlines are as early as January, depending on that institution’s timeline.

Students can list up to 20 TE and/or CIC-TEP member institutions on their TE EZ Application.

There is no fee to the applicant. YCP pays member dues and fees per applicant, but no cost is passed along to you.

Yes, your student can log into their TE EZ Application at any time to add or delete schools.

As soon as your student decides not to apply to a previously listed school, they can log in and update their TE EZ Application.

No. We are limited to the member schools only.

The scholarships automatically roll over from one year to the next, as long as your student meets eligibility criteria.

Yes. 

• If you end your full-time employment (for reasons other than retirement or death) with YCP or YCDS, the scholarship will be revoked at the start of the next semester. 
• If your student gets into academic trouble or drops to part-time status the scholarship may be revoked. 
• If your student pursues a program not covered by the exchange, like study abroad, the scholarship may be revoked or put on hold. 
• If your student no longer meets the IRS definition of a dependent, the scholarship ends.

CIC-TEP Scholarships cover full tuition even when tuition is raised. TE Full-Tuition Scholarships also covers full tuition even when tuition increases. Set rate TE Scholarships typically increase each year. In recent years they increased by $1,000 per year.

The criteria vary from school to school and they are not typically published. Some schools base their offers on grades, others use a first-come,first-served rule, and still others offer to everyone who qualifies for admission.

No. CIC-TEP and TE scholarships are basically courtesy tuition waivers. No real money changes hands, and the scholarships are typically unfunded. The only costs to YCP are annual membership fees and a participation fee per student.

Wrong. Each school is different, but you will probably still need to fill out all of the financial aid forms, like the FAFSA. Exchange scholarships are not funded, and therefore, other grants may be used to offset a portion of the scholarship.

The answer is "maybe." You will need to check with the other school's financial aid office. In some cases other grants are not added on top of the exchange scholarship but instead are used to offset a portion of the cost of the exchange scholarship.

According to the IRS:

Topic 421 - Scholarship and Fellowship Grants

A scholarship is generally an amount paid or allowed to a student at an educational institution for the purpose of study. A fellowship is generally an amount paid to an individual for the purpose of research.

If you receive a scholarship or fellowship grant, all or part of the amounts you receive may be tax-free.

Qualified scholarship and fellowship grants are treated as tax-free amounts if the following conditions are met:

• You are a candidate for a degree at an educational institution that maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a regularly enrolled body of students in attendance at the place where it carries on its educational activities; and
• Amounts you receive as a scholarship or fellowship grant are used for tuition and fees required for enrollment or attendance at the educational institution, or for fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for courses at the educational institution.

You must include in gross income amounts used for incidental expenses, such as room and board, travel, and optional equipment, and generally amounts received as payments for teaching, research, or other services required as a condition for receiving the scholarship or fellowship grant. Also, you must include in income any part of the scholarship or fellowship that represents payments for services. Generally, when reporting scholarship income on your tax return, you will include the amounts on the same line as “Wages, salaries, tips, etc.” Review the instructions of your tax form to determine how to report any income from scholarships.

However, you do not need to include in gross income any amounts you receive for services that are required by the National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program or the Armed Forces Health Professions Scholarship and Financial Assistance Program.

If any part of your scholarship or fellowship grant is taxable, you may have to make estimated tax payments. For more information refer to Publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education.

No. York College of PA limits the program to dependents (IRS definition) only.

There are some member schools that allow use for grad school but they are few. Your student can only use the exchange for a maximum of 8 full-time semesters of study and only while legally listed as your dependent.

Yes, their scholarships can even overlap. However, they might not all receive TE scholarships at the same school.

Possibly. If the student is your biological child or if you declare them on your taxes as a dependent, you qualify.

Possibly. If you declare them on your taxes as a dependent, they qualify.

Yes, as long as you officially retire with at least 20 years (40 semesters) of full-time service to the college.