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Scholarship Opportunities at EKU

EKU offers a range of scholarships designed to address students’ financial needs and reward their academic achievements. Scholarships are a type of financial assistance that lowers the overall cost of attendance and do not need to be repaid.

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Contact Information

Big E Central

Whitlock Building
Room 210

Mailing Address:
521 Lancaster Avenue
CPO 60
Richmond, KY 40475

859-622-2361
bigecentral@eku.edu

Find Your Scholarship

A scholarship is a financial award given to students to help pay for their education that do not need to be paid back. Scholarships are awarded by schools, universities, and other organizations, and are based on a variety of criteria, such as: academic achievement, financial need, or professional experience. The money can be used to cover tuition, books, room, board, and other educational expenses.

Merit scholarships make EKU even more affordable for first time students.* EKU recognizes the hard work and dedication needed to achieve at a high level. Get rewarded for your high school accomplishments with merit scholarships. If you meet the following criteria, merit scholarships will automatically be applied to your account. No application needed!

Scholarship LevelHigh School GPAACTAnnual Award
Merit Tier 13.8-4.028+$8,000
Merit Tier 23.8-4.024-27$5,000
Merit Tier 33.4+None Needed$1,500
Merit Tier 43.0-3.39None Needed$1,000
*Merit Scholarships are for eligible Kentucky residents only. Tier I and GSP scholarships will not include any additional tuition fees above 18 credit hours. Student must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
  • GSP participants are automatically awarded Merit Tier 1.
  • GSA and GSE participants are automatically awarded Merit Tier 2.
  • EKU Honors, GSP, GSE and GSA participants receive an additional $1,500 in merit awards.

Undergraduates from any U.S. state are eligible for Eastern Kentucky University’s out-of-state discounted tuition rate of $11,120 per year. High achieving students can get rewarded for their work and receive additional scholarships to make EKU even more affordable. If you meet the following criteria, merit scholarships will automatically be applied to your account. No application needed!

Scholarship LevelHigh School GPAACTAnnual Award
Scholar I4.034+$7,000
Scholar II4.033$5,000
Scholar III4.031-32$3,000
Scholar IV4.029-30$1,000
Scholar V4.0None Needed$500
*Merit Scholarships are for eligible Kentucky residents only. Tier I and GSP scholarships will not include any additional tuition fees above 18 credit hours. Student must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Madison County Promise
EKU is proud of the long-standing partnership with our larger community, and we want students from our county to succeed. Now, many students can attend EKU for an even more affordable rate.
Award Amount: $1,000
Eligibility Requirements: Madison County, KY resident with a 2.5 – 2.9 high school GPA

Colonel Commitment
Kentucky residents who are Pell Grant-eligible may receive this scholarship, which will cover up to 100 percent of tuition and fees for first-year students who have a 3.0 high school GPA. This scholarship is intended to act as “gap funding” for any first-time freshman who has exhausted all avenues of federal, state, and institutional scholarship and grant assistance, and still has a remaining balance for tuition and required fees. This scholarship is for on-campus students only.
Award Amount:
Eligibility Requirements: On-campus, Pell Grant-eligible, Kentucky resident, first-time freshman with a 3.0 high school GPA

Opportunity Scholarship
Kentucky residents with a minimum 2.5 high school GPA, 18 composite on the ACT and demonstrated financial need as determined by the FAFSA may receive additional scholarship funding to help them achieve their goals. This cannot be awarded in addition to a Merit Tier scholarship.
Award Amount: $1,000 – $3,000
Eligibility Requirements: On-campus, Kentucky resident, first-time freshman with a 2.5 high school GPA, 18 ACT and financial need

Trailblazer Scholarship
EKU’s Trailblazer Scholarship assists students seeking to become the first in their family to earn a college degree. Serving this population of students has been at the heart of Eastern’s mission for over a century, and this scholarship will help fill unmet needs many first-generation families experience when attempting to find affordable quality college options for their children. Awards will be made until funds are exhausted. The application deadline is March 1st: https://success.eku.edu/register/trailblazer
Award Amount: Up to $2,000
Eligibility Requirements: First generation, first-time freshman

Dr. Rodney T. Gross Scholarship
The Dr. Rodney T. Gross Scholarship program provides scholarships to applicants based on a holistic evaluation of academic achievement, including high school/college grade point average and test scores, a personal essay, extracurricular activities, and letters of recommendation.
Award Amount: $2,000
Eligibility Requirements: On-campus, first-time, full-time freshman with a 2.5 high school GPA

Alumni Scholarships
One way EKU Alumni stay connected to current EKU students is through financial assistance. The EKU Foundation offers several annual scholarships to new and continuing students to aid in the cost of tuition and other fees.
Award Amount: varies based on scholarship
Eligibility Requirements: varies based on scholarship

Eastern Kentucky University values the education and experience students from other schools bring to their EKU experience. On-campus students who transfer to EKU with 24 earned college credits are eligible for the following scholarships. If you meet the following criteria, transfer scholarships will automatically be applied to your account. No application needed!

Scholarship LevelCollege GPAAnnual Award
Colonel Plus3.75+$4,000
Colonel3.50-3.74$3,000
Maroon Plus3.25-3.49$2,000
Maroon3.0-3.24$1,000
Students must have earned a minimum of 24 college credits to be eligible. Students must maintain an EKU GPA of 3.0+, be enrolled full-time, and earn a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester to retain award. Maximum award is for three (3) academic years (fall and spring). Students enrolled in 100% online programs are not eligible. Students who have already earned a baccalaureate degree are not eligible. Only in-state students are eligible. *Out of state transfer students, from any U.S. state, benefit from the Out of State Discounted Rate. Students must enroll full time to get the discount. Transfers with less than 24 transfer hours earned will be considered for New Freshman Scholarships.

EKU has a made a difference in thousands of lives. Donors who have experienced the life-changing effect an EKU education can have, now want to make a difference in your life. Thanks to their generosity, there are hundreds of scholarships available for EKU students.

Eligibility criteria ranges from GPA to county of residence to degree program and more. Simply fill out the foundation scholarship application and you’ll learn which scholarships you may be eligible for.

Scholarship Portal

These scholarships are awarded by an organization other than the government or university. They are available from several groups, organizations, and entities nationwide. Third-party scholarships can be general in nature or very specialized and tied to the type of work you would be doing after graduation.

If you receive an outside scholarship, you must notify Big E Central so the award can be properly reported as part of your total aid package. Failure to report awards can result in the award not being accepted or a portion of the funds having to be repaid due to overpayment.

Outside scholarship opportunities can be found from a number of reliable online sources, including but not limited to:

Important Dates

  • March 1
  • Last day for students to be admitted to be considered for Merit Scholarships, Out of State Discount, and Scholar awards
  • Application Deadline for:
    Rodney Gross Diversity Scholarship
  • Trailblazer First Generation Scholarship
  • Foundation Scholarship
  • April 15
    Transfer Scholarships Transcript Deadlines for Summer Session
  • June 1
  • Last day to accept Merit Scholarships & Out of State Discount, Rodney Gross Scholarship, and New Horizon Scholarship
  • Last day to be admitted to be considered for Madison County Promise
  • June 15
    Transfer Scholarships Transcript Deadlines for Fall Semester
  • June 30
  • Deadline for EKU to have received high school transcripts and ACT scores for merit upgrades
  • November 15
    Transfer Scholarships Transcript Deadlines for Spring Semester
  • November 22
    Out of State Discount acceptance deadline for Out of State Spring Transfers

Transfers with less than 24 transfer hours earned will be considered for new Freshman Scholarships

  • June 15
    Deadline to be admitted for Fall
  • June 22
    Deadline to accept for Fall
  • November 15
    Deadline to be admitted for Spring
  • November 22
    Deadline to accept for Spring

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