Research · Scholarships · October 2026
Scholarships in Kentucky: the 2 state programs and what each asks for
As of October 2026: Kentucky has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table starts with KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship): Up to ~$2,500/yr of college (banked $187-$500 per HS year + a test bonus).
The table holds every state-funded award we could confirm for a Kentucky high school graduate going to college. It does not hold federal aid, or a scholarship that comes from one college rather than from the state.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Kentucky runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores. KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship) is one of them. 1 of the 1 programs we could read name a GPA, and 1 name a test score. A need-based award asks about family income instead, through the FAFSA.
KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship) is the award to read first. What KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship) pays: Up to ~$2,500/yr of college (banked $187-$500 per HS year + a test bonus). Neither page posts a deadline, so file the FAFSA early and check again in the spring.
What this table does not tell you. The state agency's own page names 1 more program in a second table below. Some of those pages give no award figure at all, so those rows carry the name and the link only.
Every state scholarship in Kentucky
Read the row, then open the state's own page before you count on a figure.
| Program | Merit or need | What it pays | GPA it asks for | Test score it asks for | Who qualifies | Deadline | Renewable | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship) | Merit | Up to ~$2,500/yr of college (banked $187-$500 per HS year + a test bonus) | 2.75+ each high-school year ($500/yr at a 4.0) | Bonus: ACT 15+ / SAT 830+ (max $500 at ACT 28+ / SAT 1300-1600) | Free/reduced-lunch students can add AP/IB/CAI supplements | — | — | Source |
Every row is a state-funded or state-administered award for a Kentucky high school graduate going to an undergraduate program, as of October 2026. A scholarship from a single college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all left out. A blank cell means the state's own page does not state it. Dollar figures and GPA floors change every year.
Other programs the state names
The agency's own page lists these too. Where its page gives no award figure, the row carries the name and the link only.
| Program | What it pays | What the page says | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|
| College Access Program (CAP) Grant | Up to $2,500 a year at a two-year college and up to $5,300 a year at a four-year college | Need-based, for a financially needy Kentucky resident undergraduate | Source |
These rows come from the Kentucky agency's own index of programs. A blank award means that index does not state one, not that the program pays nothing.
How to read a state scholarship
State awards come in two shapes. A merit award asks about grades, a course list, or a test score, and it does not care what a family earns. A need-based award asks about income and assets through the FAFSA, and it does not care about grades. Some awards ask about both, and the table calls those merit and need.
The deadline column is the one families miss. For most need-based state aid the deadline is really the FAFSA deadline, and it falls months before a college asks for a decision. A merit award more often has no application at all: the state or the high school nominates the student from records it already holds.
What a family should do with this
Open the official page in the last column for the one or two programs your student plausibly qualifies for, and write down two dates: the state aid deadline and the FAFSA deadline. Those are the two that close. The Kentucky pages on this table post no date, so file the FAFSA as early as you can and check the program page again in the spring.
Then look past the state. A state award is usually the smaller half of an offer. The college's own merit grid and its net price for your family income move more money than any state program on this page, and both are published.
Questions parents ask
What scholarships does Kentucky offer?
Kentucky has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table starts with KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship): Up to ~$2,500/yr of college (banked $187-$500 per HS year + a test bonus).
Does Kentucky have a merit scholarship?
Kentucky runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores, and KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship) is one of them.
How do I find the rules for a Kentucky scholarship?
Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
Method & sources: Programs come from the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) and the agency's own program pages, read in October 2026. The population is a student who graduates from a Kentucky high school and enrolls as an undergraduate. A scholarship offered by one college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all out of scope. A value the agency's own page does not state is left blank rather than filled from elsewhere, and a page that could not be read drops every figure.
- Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA)
- KEES (Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship)
This brief as data: /research/scholarships-in-kentucky.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: Merit scholarships by college · State scholarships in every state · High schools in Kentucky · Scholarship deadlines