Kentucky KEES Award Calculator
Quick answer: KEES pays a base amount for each high school year with a qualifying GPA — $125 for a 2.50 up to $500 for a 4.00 — plus a one-off ACT bonus of $36 (ACT 15) to $500 (ACT 28+). The total is your award for each college year. The 2026-28 state budget raised the minimum to 2.75 for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years; earlier years use 2.50.
Kentucky KEES calculator
How KEES is worked out
KRS 164.7879: “Kentucky educational excellence scholarship awards shall be based upon an established base scholarship amount and an eligible high school student’s grade point average.” You earn a base amount for each school year from that year’s GPA, plus a supplemental amount from your best ACT. The “KEES award” is “the sum of the KEES base amount for each academic year of high school plus any KEES supplemental amount” (KRS 164.7874) — the amount you can receive for each year of college.
Base amount by GPA (KRS 164.7879)
| GPA | Amount | GPA | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.50 | $125 | 3.30 | $325 |
| 2.60 | $150 | 3.40 | $350 |
| 2.70 | $175 | 3.50 | $375 |
| 2.75 | $187 | 3.60 | $400 |
| 2.80 | $200 | 3.70 | $425 |
| 2.90 | $225 | 3.75 | $437 |
| 3.00 | $250 | 3.80 | $450 |
| 3.10 | $275 | 3.90 | $475 |
| 3.20 | $300 | 4.00 | $500 |
| 3.25 | $312 |
Minimum GPA: the statute sets 2.50, but the 2026-28 state budget (2026 Ky. Acts ch. 168, Part I, K, 2, (4)) says: “for the 2026 - 2028 fiscal biennium, an eligible high school student shall only be eligible for a Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship base award for an academic year in which the student has attained at least a 2.75 grade point average.” The calculator applies 2.75 to the 2026-27 and 2027-28 school years and 2.50 to the others; a later budget may change 2028-29 and after.
GPAs between rows: the statute lists the rows above and does not say how a GPA between two of them is paid. The calculator pays the highest row your GPA reaches (a 3.15 earns the 3.10 amount, $275), so its figure may be lower than KHEAA’s.
ACT supplemental amount
| ACT | Amount | ACT | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | $36 | 22 | $286 |
| 16 | $71 | 23 | $321 |
| 17 | $107 | 24 | $357 |
| 18 | $143 | 25 | $393 |
| 19 | $179 | 26 | $428 |
| 20 | $214 | 27 | $464 |
| 21 | $250 | 28+ | $500 |
The KEES GPA for each year
11 KAR 15:090 has your school calculate each year’s GPA from all courses that year: A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, F = 0.0, but AP, IB and Cambridge (CAI) courses, and dual credit courses (using the college grade, not remedial), on a 5.0 scale where A = 5.0 down to F = 1.0. Enter the KEES GPA your school reports for each year.
Other rules in the statute
A student who graduates after three years receives “the total actual KEES scholarship earned … divided by three (3) and multiplying that number by four (4).” Students whose family was eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in any year of high school also earn $200, $250 or $300 for each AP score of 3, 4 or 5 and each IB score of 5, 6 or 7 (and Cambridge scores), shown separately in the calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What GPA do I need for KEES?
How much is KEES for a 4.0?
Is KEES paid every year of college?
Does a weighted GPA count for KEES?
Sources
- KRS 164.7879 (effective 29 June 2023) — base amount table, ACT supplemental table, AP/IB/CAI awards, three-year graduates
- KRS 164.7874 (effective 15 July 2026) — definitions of KEES award and GPA
- 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 168 (HB 500, 2026-28 budget) — 2.75 minimum GPA for the 2026-28 biennium
- 11 KAR 15:090 (effective 17 September 2024) — how the yearly KEES GPA is calculated, 5.0 scale for AP/IB/CAI/dual credit
All are official state documents, checked on 2026-10-01.