Research · Scholarships · October 2026
Scholarships in Wisconsin: the 5 state programs and what each asks for
As of October 2026: Wisconsin has 5 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table says what each one pays, who qualifies, and when it closes, in the state's own words.
The table holds every state-funded award we could confirm for a Wisconsin 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
Wisconsin runs 2 awards that turn on grades or scores. Academic Excellence Scholarship (AES) is one of them. 1 of the 3 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.
The state's own pages are the only place these rules live. 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.
What this table does not tell you. The state agency's own page names 2 more programs 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 Wisconsin
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Excellence Scholarship (AES) | Merit | $2,250 per year toward tuition (half state-funded, half matched by the institution), for up to 8 semesters | The single highest cumulative GPA at each public or private Wisconsin high school (no fixed statewide minimum; the top-ranked senior per school qualifies) | Not required for conventionally schooled students (designated by GPA rank); home-based private-education program students instead need an ACT of 33+ or SAT of 1500+ | Designated/nominated by the high school (no student application); must enroll full-time by September 30 of the year after designation at a participating UW, Wisconsin Technical College, tribal, or independent Wisconsin institution | School nominations for the 2026 class open February 18, 2026 and close March 13, 2026 | Up to 8 semesters with continuous full-time enrollment | Source |
| Wisconsin Grant (UW System, Wisconsin Technical College System, Tribal Colleges) | Need-based | Minimum and maximum award amounts set annually by HEAB, prorated by enrollment level (full-time down to less-than-half-time) | — | — | Wisconsin resident; high school diploma or GED; enrolled at least part-time (including less than half-time) at a UW, Wisconsin Technical College, or tribal college | — | Eligibility cannot exceed ten semesters | Source |
| Talent Incentive Program (TIP) Grant | Merit and need | $600 to $1,800 for the initial award; $250 minimum continuing award, with the maximum continuing award set annually by HEAB (capped at $1,800) | — | — | First-time freshman enrolled at least half-time; must be nominated by the school's financial aid office or a Wisconsin Educational Opportunity Programs (WEOP) counselor | — | Eligibility cannot exceed ten semesters | Source |
Every row is a state-funded or state-administered award for a Wisconsin 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indian Student Assistance Grant | $250 to $1,100 a year | For a student who is at least 25 percent Native American, part-time or full-time | Source |
| Hearing and Visually Impaired Student Grant | $250 to $1,800 a year | For a student with a severe or profound hearing or visual impairment, enrolled at least half-time | Source |
These rows come from the Wisconsin 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. In Wisconsin the earliest date on this table is the one to put on the calendar first.
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 Wisconsin offer?
Wisconsin has 5 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table says what each one pays, who qualifies, and when it closes, in the state's own words.
Does Wisconsin have a merit scholarship?
Wisconsin runs 2 awards that turn on grades or scores, and Academic Excellence Scholarship (AES) is one of them.
How do I find the rules for a Wisconsin 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 Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB) and the agency's own program pages, read in October 2026. The population is a student who graduates from a Wisconsin 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.
- Higher Educational Aids Board (HEAB)
- Academic Excellence Scholarship (AES)
- Wisconsin Grant (UW System, Wisconsin Technical College System, Tribal Colleges)
- Talent Incentive Program (TIP) Grant
This brief as data: /research/scholarships-in-wisconsin.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 Wisconsin · Scholarship deadlines