Parents or legal guardians of any New Yorker who is 12 to 17 years of age and who has received at least their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccination, may enter their child for a chance to win one of 50, four-year, full-ride scholarships (including tuition, fees, room-and-board, and expenses) to any two-year or four-year New York State public college or university.
Only one valid entry will be accepted per child. Duplicate entries will be removed prior to each drawing.
To Enter
From Saturday, May 29, 2021 through Monday, June 28, 2021 at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT, Eligible New Yorkers may enter the ‘Get a Shot to Make your Future’ Vaccine Incentive drawing.
The drawings will be conducted weekly, for five (5) weeks, beginning on June 1, 2021.
Entries must be completed at governor.ny.gov/nysvaccineincentive.
Entries must be completed by a parent or legal guardian on behalf of each eligible 12- to 17-year-old New Yorker. Verification of entry by a parent or legal guardian of the eligible individual is required to receive an award, unless an eligible individual demonstrates proof of legal emancipation.
By successfully transmitting a completed online entry form, each participant will be entered into the drawing.
Eligibility
You are eligible to participate in the drawing if you meet the following requirements:
- Your child is a resident of New York State.
- Your child has received at least their first dose of an immunization against the virus that causes COVID-19 authorized for emergency use for their age group by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as of the date of entry.
- Your child is or was between the ages of 12 and 17 on the date of their first vaccination.
- Neither parent, step-parent or legal guardian, spouse, sibling, grandparent or residing household member of the entrant is an employee of the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH), the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) or the New York State Executive Chamber.
Lottery Selection and Validation Process
Ten winners will be announced weekly beginning Wednesday, June 2, 2021 and each Wednesday thereafter for five consecutive weeks (final drawing to take place June 29, 2021). A total of 50 prize winners will be selected in accordance with the following drawing announcement schedule:
| Entry End Date | Drawing Date | Announcement date |
| May 31, 2021 at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT | June 1, 2021 | June 2, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. EDT |
| June 7, 2021 at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT | June 8, 2021 | June 9, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. EDT |
| June 14, 2021 at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT | June 15, 2021 | June 16, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. EDT |
| June 21, 2021 at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT | June 22, 2021 | June 23, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. EDT |
| June 28, 2021 at 11:59:59 p.m. EDT | June 29, 2021 | June 30, 2021 at 11:30 a.m. EDT |
Entries will be randomized, and winners will be selected from within the pool of eligible individuals who have submitted an entry form (“entrants”). The first 10 lottery results returned will be the prize winners in that week’s lottery, subject to verification. The order of each lottery result will be recorded and kept on file for audit purposes.
Each winner’s eligibility to receive the prize will be verified by New York State prior to declaration as an official winner.
In the event that an entry is deemed invalid, a discrepancy is found, a winner cannot be located, refuses the prize, refuses to provide verification information, does not promptly respond to the initial contact by State officials, or is otherwise unwilling or unable to be verified, the winner will be removed from the prize group and the prize will be awarded to the next entrant in the order in which they were ranked until 10 weekly winners are verified.
The promptness and degree of reasonableness of efforts to locate a winner or of any decision to deem a winner ineligible based upon these rules shall be at the sole discretion of the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation.
Once 10 weekly winners are verified, the names of each week’s winners will be publicly announced.
All non-winners will be automatically included in subsequent weeks’ lotteries. No entrant may win more than one prize under this program.
The COVID-19 vaccination is not required to be obtained in New York State to be eligible; however, validation of vaccination, to the satisfaction of the NYSDOH, will be required.
No entries will be accepted after 11:59 p.m. Monday, June 28, 2021.
Notification
- The top 10 adult entrants will receive notification requesting the submission of documentation to validate their eligibility and the eligibility of their child to receive the scholarship.
- All notifications will occur by email from nyvaxscholarship@hesc.ny.gov the same day as the drawing and a phone call if a response is not received. If an adult entrant does not acknowledge receipt of notification by 1 p.m., they will be withdrawn from the prize, re-entered for any future drawings, and the next eligible entrant will be notified.
- Entrants must confirm that they wish to claim the prize and agree to provide the necessary documentation.
- Entrants must also agree not to notify anyone outside of their household of their status as a potential winner until verifications are completed and the official announcement is made.
- To be eligible to win a prize, New York State must validate the following entry requirements: vaccination, child’s age at time of vaccination, residency, and that entrant does not have a parent, step-parent, legal guardian, spouse, sibling, grandparent or other residing household member who is an employee of the NYSDOH, the HESC, or the New York State Executive Chamber.
- Adult entrants must provide an image of all necessary documents and/or grant the HESC and the NYSDOH permission to obtain information from an appropriate New York State agency to validate eligibility to receive the prize.
- Following verification of eligibility, parents or legal guardians of winners will be required to enter into a prize agreement governing the terms and conditions of acceptance on behalf of their minor child.
- Winners will be required to attend a public college of SUNY or CUNY in order to claim the prize. If a winner chooses not to attend a public SUNY or CUNY institution, the prize will be forfeited.
Prize
Winners will receive funding for the full scholarship (including tuition, fees, room-and-board, and expenses) to a two-year or four-year New York State public college or university.
Winners must be matriculated in a degree program on a full-time basis to maintain eligibility to receive funds.
Funds will be available for eight semesters of full-time attendance. “Step-out,” part-time and hardship exceptions will be available in certain circumstances as governed by the prize agreement.
Any funds not utilized by the end of the semester in which a winner reaches age 30, will be forfeited and revert to the public university systems.
Parents or legal guardians of winners will be required to enter into a prize agreement governing the terms and conditions of acceptance on behalf of their minor child.
Additional Terms and Conditions
1. The ‘Get a Shot to Make your Future’ vaccine incentive program and any prizes awarded thereunder are NOT A GUARANTEE OR ASSURANCE OF ADMISSION OR ENTRY into any college or university. Students must independently meet all requirements for admission and continued attendance at an institution, including but not limited to all academic performance requirements, degree program requirements, health requirements, and student conduct policies.
2. By agreeing to participate in the program, entrants agree to authorize the NYSDOH to verify vaccination information on behalf of their child, the NYSDOH to disclose this information to HESC, and HESC to obtain vaccination information from NYSDOH.
3. By agreeing to participate in the program, entrants agree to authorize HESC to verify employment information with their employer, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance (NYSDTF) or the New York State Department of Civil Service (NYSDCS), and agree to authorize their employer, NYSDTF or NYSCS to disclose any information necessary to HESC for the purpose of verifying they are not an employee of a prohibited participating State entity.
4. The COVID-19 vaccination is not required to be obtained in the State of New York, however, proof and verification of vaccination, to the satisfaction of the State of New York, is still required. At least the first COVID-19 vaccination must be obtained prior to the entry deadline. New Yorkers ages 12 to 17 who participated or are currently participating in a clinical trial for other COVID-19 vaccines are also eligible.
5. By agreeing to participate in the program, entrants agree that New York State and its entities may utilize and publish their name, likeness and any other information submitted as part of the program for promotional or other purposes in perpetuity without further compensation.
6. Individuals are responsible for the information submitted as part of this program. Entry submissions will include attestation of accurateness of information under penalty of perjury.
7. Winners are responsible for any tax liability that may be incurred from receiving a prize under this program.
8. Any attempt to undermine or manipulate the entry or prize drawing process will be met with prosecution under applicable law. Further, any individual found to have committed such act in the discretion of HESC will be ineligible to receive a prize.
9. Neither the State of New York, the HESC, nor any of its employees or agents shall be responsible for late, inaccurate, lost, misdirected, or incomplete entries, regardless of the reason.
10. Neither the State of New York, the HESC, nor any of its employees or agents shall be responsible for inaccessibility of the entry website or other means of entry or communication, or for the incompatibility with the program website of any individual’s computer, internet connection or other technical hardware or software, regardless of the reason.
11. Neither the State of New York, the HESC, nor any of its employees or agents shall be responsible for any inaccurate, missing, or misinterpreted information in any program documents or communications.
12. By accepting a prize, winners agree to hold New York State and its employees and agents harmless against all claims arising out of receipt of the prize.
13. By participating in the program, all entrants agree to be bound by these Official Program Rules.
14. Prizes are for the benefit of the winners only and are not transferrable to any other person.
15. These rules may be revised at any time at the sole discretion of officials of the State of New York.
16. New York State reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate, modify or suspend the program.
17. Program Rules, Registration, and Prize Information can be found at https://www.governor.ny.gov/programs/vaccination-scholarship-incentive or by emailing nyvaxscholarship@hesc.ny.gov.
