Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES)

Kentucky's flagship, automatic merit scholarship: any Kentucky high schooler who earns at least a 2.75 GPA in a given year of high school earns a GPA-based award for that year ($187 at 2.75 GPA up to $500 at 4.0 GPA), plus a one-time ACT/SAT bonus ($36 up to $500, based on the highest score achieved before graduation). Uncapped supplemental awards of $300 per exam are also available for AP scores of 5, IB scores of 7, or Cambridge (CAI) scores of a*/a/b, though this bonus requires the student to be eligible for free or reduced-price lunch during any year of high school. The GPA awards from all four high school years and the one-time test bonus stack together into one combined amount usable at about 49 participating Kentucky colleges and universities for up to 8 semesters (or 5 years post-graduation), as long as college GPA renewal requirements (2.50 cumulative GPA) are met; no separate application is required.

Eligibility

DemographicsMust be a Kentucky resident (or qualify under a stated exception, e.g. Congressional Page School, foreign exchange, or a parent/guardian in the U.S. Armed Forces who maintains KY residency) attending a certified KY high school; home-school and GED graduates qualify via ACT/SAT score alone. Not eligible if a convicted felon.

Applying

Per-year-of-high-school GPA award of $187-$500 plus a one-time ACT/SAT bonus of $36-$500; these stack into one combined annual college award, plus uncapped $300-per-exam AP/IB/CAI supplemental awards (free/reduced-lunch students only). Max from base plus bonus alone works out to $2,500/year (4.0 GPA all 4 HS years = $2,000 + $500 top test bonus) times up to 4 years of college = $10,000 total, before any AP/IB/CAI add-ons.