Kentucky Wesleyan College: merit scholarships by GPA
Kentucky Wesleyan College awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 2.6 GPA and reach $20,000 a year. Because the bands are steps rather than a slope, a hundredth of a GPA point is worth nothing inside a band and the whole step at the edge of one.
Enter a GPA below to see which band it actually lands in, what that band pays, and what the next band needs.
Read this first
Seven rungs, all automatic, all read off the high school GPA: 'Every new undergraduate student, whether from Kentucky or across the globe, is automatically considered for an academic merit scholarship when admitted.' No KWC award on this page uses an ACT score. Three things change the arithmetic. First, the renewal condition is 'at least 24 credit hours per year' plus a college GPA floor, and falling under it cuts the award 25% rather than ending it. Second, KWC re-reads a late transcript upward: 'If your GPA improves after your 7th or 8th semester, send your updated transcript to your admissions counselor for a possible scholarship upgrade.' Third, the full-tuition James Graham Brown Scholarship is invitation-only, offered to Winchester recipients, decided by competition, and recipients 'are not eligible for additional KWC scholarships/awards'. KWC also warns that amounts and GPA requirements may change over time.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Millersburg Scholarship
$17,500 / year
About $70,000 over four years, if it renews.
Kentucky Wesleyan awards this on GPA alone, so an ACT score does not change it. A higher score can still matter for admission, for honours programmes, and at other schools on the list — but not for this award.
The ACT doesn't move the money here — but it still decides admission, honours eligibility, and what they is worth at the other schools on the list, where most awards are score-keyed.
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The published Kentucky Wesleyan merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Kentucky Wesleyan College’s own pages for the current cycle. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
First-year academic merit scholarships
Automatic on admission with no separate application, applied toward tuition 'for up to eight semesters in a full-time undergraduate program (12 or more credit hours each semester)'. These seven are a ladder — a student lands on one rung, not several. Additive money exists outside the grid and carries its own conditions: the Kavanaugh Scholarship at up to $5,000 a year for United Methodist congregation members with a 2.5 GPA, a $2,500 Legacy Scholarship for children, grandchildren or siblings of KWC students and alumni, the Pyles Scholarship Fund at a minimum of $4,000 a year for Teacher Education entrants with a 3.0, and a $1,250 Terry Woodward Scholarship for accounting, business, economics or CIS majors. KWC does cap the total: 'the total dollar amount of all scholarships combined cannot exceed the total amount of direct KWC costs.'
$20,000
Winchester Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$17,500
Millersburg Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.60
$15,000
Trustees Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.40
$12,500
Presidential Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.20
$10,000
Deans Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.00
$8,000
Founders Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 2.60
$6,000
Wesleyan Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 0.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winchester Scholarship | — | GPA 3.80 | $20,000 |
| Millersburg Scholarship | — | GPA 3.60 | $17,500 |
| Trustees Scholarship | — | GPA 3.40 | $15,000 |
| Presidential Scholarship | — | GPA 3.20 | $12,500 |
| Deans Scholarship | — | GPA 3.00 | $10,000 |
| Founders Scholarship | — | GPA 2.60 | $8,000 |
| Wesleyan Scholarship | — | GPA 0.00 | $6,000 |
Competitive awards — not automatic
Meeting these makes you eligible to be reviewed, not to receive the award, so they are kept out of the calculator above.
- James Graham Brown Scholarship — : $34,510 — full tuition
Source: Scholarships — first-year academic merit amounts by GPA, and every other KWC award · verified 2026-10-23
Does Kentucky Wesleyan superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and not consequential here. The word 'superscore' appears nowhere on KWC's scholarship, application or financial aid pages. Since no KWC award is keyed to a score, there is nothing for a superscore to improve — the question only matters to students chasing the outside Independence Bank award or Kentucky's own KEES bonus, both of which are decided elsewhere.
With nothing published, plan for the stricter reading: look up your best single sitting in the grid above, work out your superscore as well, and ask Kentucky Wesleyan’s financial aid office which one they read before you count on the higher band.
Comparing schools? See which colleges superscore for scholarships — 66 of 501 commit to it, 52 say they do not, and the rest never say.
Kentucky Wesleyan scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Admission and academic merit scholarships | Rolling — no set deadline; KWC advises applying early for the best access to scholarships |
| James Graham Brown Scholarship (invitation to compete for full tuition) | December 1 |
Scores take roughly two to four weeks to arrive, and official reports sent to schools can take longer, so the last useful test date is several weeks before the printed deadline. Check which test dates still make it.
Where these numbers came from
Every figure on this page was read from Kentucky Wesleyan College’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Scholarships — first-year academic merit amounts by GPA, and every other KWC awardverified 2026-10-23
- How to apply as a first-year student — test-optional policy and rolling admissionverified 2026-10-23
- Grants and Loans — Kentucky's KEES, CAP and KTG, which are state moneyverified 2026-10-23
- A better final transcript is worth sending. 'If your GPA improves after your 7th or 8th semester, send your updated transcript to your admissions counselor for a possible scholarship upgrade.' The rungs are $2,000 to $2,500 apart, so a tenth of a GPA point at the right seam is real money every year for four years.
- The renewal credit-hour count is stricter than the award's own definition of full-time. The scholarship is paid for up to eight semesters at '12 or more credit hours each semester', but every rung also requires 'at least 24 credit hours per year' — so a 12-and-11 year is full-time twice and still short. A single dropped course can trigger the 25% reduction.
- One published renewal GPA looks like a typo and is reproduced as KWC printed it. The Founders Scholarship row reads 'Student must maintain a 2.58 minimum GPA' while the very next sentence sets the reduction trigger at 'less than 2.5'. The renewal field above uses 2.5, which is the figure the reduction clause names, but confirm it with financial aid rather than planning around 2.58.
- The full-tuition award is a two-step gate, not a band. The James Graham Brown Scholarship is 'invitation only, deadline is December 1', and only Winchester Scholarship recipients — a 3.8 or greater GPA — are invited to compete. It is shown here as competitive and never promised, and taking it closes every other door: 'Students receiving this full-tuition scholarship are not eligible for additional KWC scholarships/awards.'
- Denominational money is real here and it is additive. The Kavanaugh Scholarship pays up to $5,000 a year to members of a United Methodist congregation with a 2.5 GPA and 'an involvement expectation with campus ministries', and a dependent of an ordained United Methodist minister can receive 'up to half of tuition' after all other awards apply. KWC does not say whether Kavanaugh stacks on the academic rung — the only stacking exclusions it states are the Brown award and tuition remission — so ask before assuming either way.
- Kentucky's KEES is NOT college money, and this is the state award families most often mistake for one. It is earned in HIGH SCHOOL and administered by KHEAA: on KWC's own page, 'GPA determines award amounts for each year in high school (must be 2.5 or higher)' and 'ACT/AP/IPB scores can result in a bonus award'. So the ACT does raise a Kentucky student's KEES — but KEES travels with the student to any approved Kentucky college, must be used within five years of high school graduation, and is capped at eight semesters. It is not part of KWC's grid and KWC did not decide it.
- Kentucky's two need-based state grants are also not KWC's. The College Access Program (CAP) Grant is '$2,000 per year', requires Pell eligibility and Kentucky residency, at least 6 credit hours, and is 'awarded on first-come, first-serve basis' — so the FAFSA filing date, not a GPA, decides it. The Kentucky Tuition Grant (KTG) is need-based for Kentucky residents at private Kentucky colleges, also first-come-first-serve, with 'award amounts can change annually'. Neither is affected by a test score.
- The merit grid reaches only one kind of student. 'Kentucky Wesleyan College considers all full-time, on campus students for merit financial aid when students are granted admission to the College' — commuting or part-time changes the picture, and athletic, talent and connection awards 'are determined through specific processes according to the department' rather than by this table.
- A transfer student is on a different ladder entirely, keyed to the college GPA: Distinguished $15,000 at 3.5 or higher, Honors $12,500 at 3.0-3.49, Directors $10,000 at 2.5-2.99, Ambassador $8,000 at 2.0-2.49 and Achiever $7,000 at 1.99 or lower, with a KCTCS Advantage Scholarship of $5,000 for students coming from a Kentucky Community and Technical College System institution who are not receiving athletic aid.
Check before you rely on it. Grids change by entry year and schools update them without notice. This page is a reproduction with a date on it, not a guarantee, and it is not financial aid advice. ClutchACT is not affiliated with Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Kentucky Wesleyan?
Kentucky Wesleyan College publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Kentucky Wesleyan test-optional?
Test-optional, stated as a position rather than a concession. Step 3 of KWC's own application checklist is headed as optional, and scores are accepted off the transcript if sent: 'Scores listed on your official high school transcript are also accepted as official.' Admission is rolling, with the transcript as the required document. For merit aid the answer is different: not used. Every one of the seven academic merit rungs is keyed to the high school cumulative GPA, and the full-tuition James Graham Brown Scholarship is reached through the Winchester GPA band rather than through a score. The only award on the page that reads an ACT is the Independence Bank Scholarship Program — an outside bank's money for seniors from a list of western Kentucky counties, 'judged on high school grades to date, ACT scores, extracurricular activity and community involvement, scholarship essays and financial need' — which is not KWC's to give. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
How much is a 30 on the ACT worth at Kentucky Wesleyan?
On Kentucky Wesleyan's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Millersburg Scholarship at $17,500 a year, about $70,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Kentucky Wesleyan superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and not consequential here. The word 'superscore' appears nowhere on KWC's scholarship, application or financial aid pages. Since no KWC award is keyed to a score, there is nothing for a superscore to improve — the question only matters to students chasing the outside Independence Bank award or Kentucky's own KEES bonus, both of which are decided elsewhere.
When are Kentucky Wesleyan scholarship deadlines?
Admission and academic merit scholarships: Rolling — no set deadline; KWC advises applying early for the best access to scholarships. James Graham Brown Scholarship (invitation to compete for full tuition): December 1. The application and the official score report are both due by that date, and ACT scores take roughly two to four weeks to arrive — so the last useful test date is several weeks earlier than the deadline suggests.
Is this Kentucky Wesleyan scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Kentucky Wesleyan College's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-23. The sources are linked at the bottom of the page with that date. Grids change by entry year, so check the source before relying on a figure for a decision.
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What to do next
Kentucky Wesleyan awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Kentucky Wesleyan is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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