2025-2026 Academic Scholarships

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Eligibility & Application

Students with a minimum 3.0 unweighted GPA qualify for WKU’s Academic Scholarships.   

To be considered for an Academic Scholarship, students must have a complete application package on file by December 31st, 2024.  A complete application package includes the following:

• Applied AND admitted  to WKU
• Submit official high school transcript*
• Submit Composite ACT or SAT scores (if seeking a scholarship with an ACT/SAT requirement). Superscores are not considered.

*NOTE: Students conditionally admitted to WKU based upon a self-reported GPA must submit an official high school transcript and be officially admitted by December 31st. Conditional scholarship offers up to that point will be appropriately adjusted to reflect the award for which the student qualifies based upon the updated transcript and admission date. Scholarships estimated upon a self-reported GPA will not disburse to the student account until an official transcript is received.

 

Award & Notification

Academic Scholarships range from $1,000 to $7,500 per academic year ($4,000-$30,000 over a four year period) as demonstrated in the chart below.

 

Requirements	Award
3.80 – 4.00 GPA and a 30+ ACT (or 1360 SAT)	$7,500 per year | $30,000 total over four years
3.80 – 4.00 GPA (No ACT or SAT requirement)	$3,500 per year | $14,000 total over four years
3.50 – 3.79 GPA (No ACT or SAT requirement)	$2,500 per year | $10,000 total over four years
3.30 – 3.49 GPA (No ACT or SAT requirement)	$1,500 per year | $6,000 total over four years
3.00 – 3.29 GPA (No ACT or SAT requirement)	$1,000 per year | $4,000 total over four years

 

Students who qualify for an Academic Scholarship will be notified of their eligibility for this award shortly after being admitted to WKU.

Students receiving an Academic Scholarship may also be eligible for Supplemental Awards and TOPDollar awards, up to Cost of Attendance.

Please note that your scholarship may be partially funded using foundation awards.

Academic Scholarships require full-time enrollment (12 or more credit hours each semester at WKU).

Scholarship offers are limited and will be offered pending timely application and availability of funds.

 

Disbursement

Scholarship awards are applied toward tuition charges that exist on the student’s WKU account. Scholarships often disburse before the semester begins and always show as a credit on the bill, not to exceed the cost of attendance budget. In the event that total awards (grants, loans, scholarships) exceed total charges (tuition, fees, housing, meals, books), a refund will be issued to the student up to the cost of attendance according to the refund preference the student selected at my.wku.edu. For more information about the refund process, please visit the Office of Student Billing & Account Services.

Should a student be determined eligible for any full-tuition waiver mandated by the state and funded by the university, all scholarships offered upon admittance to WKU will be upgraded to meet the requirements of the full-tuition waiver. Students may not receive both a university scholarship and a full-tuition waiver simultaneously. Students may receive other cash scholarships such as third-party, foundation, or other externally-funded scholarships.

 

Renewal

Academic Scholarships are automatically renewable with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 (at the end of the spring semester). 

Academic Scholarships are renewable for up to eight (8) semesters of full-time undergraduate study or until receipt of a bachelor's degree, whichever occurs first.

 

We encourage all students to explore additional opportunities at https://www.wku.edu/topdollar/

 

View All 2025-2026 Beginning Freshman Scholarships