Paying for College with KEES

Did you know that saving as little as $500 improves your chances of starting and completing a college degree? Even small amounts of money can make high education a lot more obtainable. Students in Kentucky have an extra advantage when saving for school. Any student attending (or recently graduated from) a participating Kentucky high school can earn scholarship funding through the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES). As long as you meet the minimum requirements, the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (the organization that runs KEES) will contribute money to a KEES scholarship account on your behalf. You can even continue to earn more KEES money during your undergraduate years in college, as long as you meet the minimum GPA. 

Beginning your freshman year of high school, your yearly GPA is used to determine the amount of KEES money place into a scholarship account on your behalf. The minimum GPA is 2.5, and you earn more if your GPA is higher. So if in 9^th grade you have a 2.5 GPA, you will have $125 added to your KEES account. If in 10^th grade you have a 3.5, you will have $375 added to that first $125. You can continue to earn money in this fashion until you graduate. Whatever amount that is in your KEES account is now a scholarship award for EACH year of college. And don’t’ worry if your grades drop below the minimum one year, you can start earning KEES money again once you bring your GPA back up (This goes for college, too.). 

Students can also add to this scholarship through bonuses. To begin earning more scholarship funding, students can achieve at least a 1500 cumulative ACT score (or a 710 math/verbal SAT score). The higher the score, the more funding you receive. Free or reduce lunch students can even earn more scholarship money by taking AP or IB exams. A score of 3 on the AP exam will net another $200. So, if you have a 3.6 GPA for all four years of high school (+$1,600), a 21 ACT score (+$250), and an AP exam score of 3 (+$200), then you now have a yearly scholarship of $2050!

If college is not a part of your plan, you can still use your KEES money. KEES awards may be used to fund technical college education and even some vocational training.

To check your KEES account, go to https://www.kheaa.com/apps/registration/register-new. Register as a student and sign in. You may find that higher education is much closer than you think. 

References:

Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority. (2013). Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES). Retrieved from https://www.kheaa.com/website/kheaa/kees?main=1.

Patel, D. (2009). Education beyond high school is necessary: The role that parents, other adults, and friends play in young people’s education and training. HSFPP Update #224. Retrieved from http://www2.ca.uky.edu/hes/fcs/hsfp/updates/2009/update0224.htm.