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Kentucky · Kentucky

Kentucky Merit Aid

Public SEC flagship with a four-tier Bluegrass Spirit Scholarship ladder for non-residents ($5,000 / $8,000 / $10,000 / $12,500 per year), a two-tier Provost Scholarship for Kentucky residents, and a full-tuition Presidential Scholarship. Every automatic merit program is tied to a December 1 Early Action deadline.

Verified Apr 2026Analyst pt-browser
Merit tiers43 automatic on stats
Avg merit award$8,345CDS 2024-2025
Last verifiedApr 2026Analyst pt-browser

Who this school is for

Kentucky is the SEC family's December 1 flagship. The Bluegrass Spirit Scholarship is UK's named non-resident automatic tier and pays $5,000, $8,000, $10,000, or $12,500 per year across four subtiers at published GPA and test-score floors. The Presidential Scholarship covers full tuition (in-state or out-of-state variant depending on residency) for students who clear a 3.50 GPA plus a 31 ACT (or 1390 SAT), or a 4.00 unweighted GPA through the test-optional pathway. Kentucky residents also qualify for the two-tier Provost Scholarship at $2,500/year (3.30 GPA + 26 ACT) or $5,000/year (3.30 GPA + 28 ACT). The competitive top tier is the Otis A. Singletary Scholars program: full tuition for 4 years plus a $10,000/year housing stipend for the first two years on campus, plus Lewis Honors College admission. Non-resident families with a UK-alumni parent should separately evaluate the Legacy Tuition Program, which runs on a February 15 deadline, requires the parent to be a paid-in-full Life Member of the UK Alumni Association, and pays either the full resident/non-resident tuition differential, $4,500/year, or $3,000/year depending on the published level.

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $59,826 for 2025-2026. Out-of-state on-campus cost of attendance for 2025-2026 is $59,826 (tuition/fees $35,164 + housing/food $16,696 + books $1,200 + travel $3,534 + personal $3,150 + loan fees $82). In-state on-campus cost of attendance is $37,604 (tuition/fees $13,908 + housing/food $16,696 + books $1,200 + travel $2,568 + personal $3,150 + loan fees $82). Source

Institutional merit aid tiers

Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.

Full in-state tuition (Kentucky residents) OR full out-of-state tuition (non-residents) for up to 4 years

Presidential Scholarship

AutomaticRenewable for up to 4 years subject to the published GPA and enrollment terms

RequirementsGPA 3.50+ · SAT 1390+ · ACT 31+ · 3.50+ HS GPA AND 31+ ACT or 1390+ SAT. Application must be submitted by the December 1 Early Action deadline.

Presidential is UK's top automatic tier. Non-residents receive the non-resident variant (full out-of-state tuition). Residents receive the in-state variant (full in-state tuition). Students who clear Presidential stats are the core pool for Singletary competitive review.

Source

$2,500/year at 3.30 GPA + 26 ACT / 1230 SAT; $5,000/year at 3.30 GPA + 28 ACT / 1300 SAT

Provost Scholarship (Kentucky residents)

AutomaticRenewable for up to 4 years subject to the published GPA and enrollment terms

RequirementsGPA 3.30+ · SAT 1230+ · ACT 26+ · Kentucky resident. Two test-score tiers: $2,500/year at 26 ACT / 1230 SAT and $5,000/year at 28 ACT / 1300 SAT. Application must be submitted by the December 1 Early Action deadline.

Provost is the resident-only tier that sits below Presidential. The 28 ACT breakpoint doubles the annual award from $2,500 to $5,000, so a 27 ACT student lifting to 28 picks up $2,500/year in additional aid. The 3.30 GPA floor is consistent across both test-score tiers.

Source

$5,000 / $8,000 / $10,000 / $12,500 per year across four subtiers

Bluegrass Spirit Scholarship (non-resident)

AutomaticRenewable for up to 4 years subject to the published GPA and enrollment terms

RequirementsNon-resident. The four subtiers are determined by combinations of HS GPA and ACT/SAT score published on UK's incoming freshmen scholarships page. Application must be submitted by the December 1 Early Action deadline.

Bluegrass Spirit is UK's single named non-resident automatic merit program and pays $5,000, $8,000, $10,000, or $12,500 per year across four subtiers. Students who clear Presidential stats (3.50 GPA + 31 ACT) receive full out-of-state tuition via Presidential and should not model Bluegrass Spirit on top. Non-residents below the Presidential threshold should model the applicable Bluegrass Spirit tier plus any Legacy Tuition Program benefit they qualify for.

Source

Full tuition for 4 years + $10,000/year housing stipend for the first two years on campus + Lewis Honors College admission and mentorship. Approximately 25 awards per year.

Otis A. Singletary Scholars Program

ApplicationRenewable subject to a 3.40 cumulative GPA renewal requirement

RequirementsGPA 3.80+ · SAT 1450+ · ACT 33+ · Competitive review, not automatic. Minimum eligibility: 3.80 HS GPA AND 33+ ACT or 1450+ SAT. Application must be submitted by the December 1 deadline.

Singletary is Kentucky's flagship competitive full-tuition package. The housing stipend is limited to the first two years on campus by design — the Singletary program expects scholars to move to independent or leadership housing in years 3-4. Roughly 25 scholars are selected per year. Families with Presidential-eligible stats should still apply for Singletary; it is a clear dollar-for-dollar upgrade when offered.

Source

Outside scholarship stacking policy

The University of Kentucky enforces a Cost of Attendance cap across all aid sources. Outside scholarships must be reported via a Declaration of Additional Resources form, and the monetary value of institutional scholarships may be adjusted when combined aid exceeds COA.

UK's published policy states that students may not receive aid in excess of their cost of attendance. Outside scholarship recipients must file a Declaration of Additional Resources form reporting the award. When combined federal, state, private, and institutional aid exceeds COA, UK may adjust the monetary value of institutional scholarships to eliminate the over-award. Kentucky does not publicly specify a loan-first or grant-first order for these adjustments, so families should file the Declaration of Additional Resources form as soon as an outside award is confirmed and ask the Student Success aid office to model the interaction in writing before billing. The Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES), administered by KHEAA, is stackable with UK institutional aid subject to the same COA cap.

Source

Common Data Set snapshot

From the Kentucky Common Data Set 2024-2025:

SAT mid-50%1070–127025th / 75th percentile
ACT mid-50%21–2825th / 75th percentile
Average merit award$8,345Across recipients

Source: Common Data Set

Lesser-known scholarships at Kentucky

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

AmountThree-level award. Level 1: the full difference between resident and non-resident tuition rates. Level 2: $4,500/year. Level 3: $3,000/year.EligibilityNon-resident children of UK graduates. Parent or stepparent must hold a UK bachelor's, graduate, doctoral, or professional degree AND be a paid-in-full Life Member of the UK Alumni Association by May 1, 2026 for Fall 2026 entry. ACM in-state students, transfer students, and students receiving Singletary or Presidential tuition awards are excluded. Application deadline for Fall 2026 is February 15, 2026.

The Legacy Tuition Program runs on its own February 15 deadline, not the December 1 Early Action gate. Level 1 effectively erases the out-of-state premium entirely for qualifying non-resident legacies, while Levels 2 and 3 provide smaller fixed-dollar supplements. Families with a UK-alumni parent need to confirm Life Membership status well in advance — the May 1 paid-in-full deadline is a hard gate. Because the program excludes Singletary and Presidential tuition recipients, families earning those larger awards cannot double-dip Legacy Tuition on top.

Source

AmountAmount varies by HS GPA and ACT/SAT score. Administered by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA), not UK.EligibilityKentucky residents who graduate from a participating Kentucky high school and enroll at an eligible in-state postsecondary institution. Built on a year-by-year GPA + test-score calculation through high school.

KEES is a state-funded outside scholarship from a Kentucky family's perspective when layered onto UK institutional aid. It stacks with UK merit up to the COA cap, so Kentucky residents with strong HS grades should model KEES as a year-one awarded amount on top of the UK Presidential or non-named academic award.

Source

Common mistakes at Kentucky

  1. December 1 Early Action is the hard gate for every UK automatic merit scholarship — Presidential, Provost, Bluegrass Spirit, and Singletary. Students who apply after December 1 can still be admitted to UK but lose the primary scholarship consideration window entirely. The Legacy Tuition Program runs on a separate February 15 deadline, so non-resident legacies have a second bite but non-legacy applicants do not.

  2. Older public references to UK merit listed See Blue, Kentucky Heritage, and Dean's as separate non-resident or resident tiers. UK's current Incoming Freshmen Scholarships page does not include any of those names. Non-residents now fit into one four-subtier Bluegrass Spirit Scholarship ($5,000 / $8,000 / $10,000 / $12,500 per year); Kentucky residents below Presidential fit into the two-tier Provost Scholarship ($2,500 or $5,000/year). Families should model the current structure, not the older named ladder.

  3. UK's published aid policy requires students to file a Declaration of Additional Resources form for any outside scholarship. Skipping the form does not make the award invisible — UK still enforces the COA cap at billing. When an outside scholarship is reported late or not at all, UK may adjust the value of institutional scholarships after the fact, and families lose the ability to sequence the reductions thoughtfully. File the form as soon as an outside award is confirmed.

Kentucky merit aid FAQ

  • What's the floor to be considered for University of Kentucky automatic merit?

    Non-residents need to qualify for one of the four Bluegrass Spirit Scholarship subtiers ($5,000 / $8,000 / $10,000 / $12,500 per year) through the published GPA and test-score combinations on UK's Incoming Freshmen Scholarships page. Kentucky residents qualify for the Provost Scholarship at a 3.30 GPA + 26 ACT ($2,500/year) or 3.30 GPA + 28 ACT ($5,000/year), and for the Presidential Scholarship at 3.50 GPA + 31 ACT / 1390 SAT. Students below those floors can be admitted but are not eligible for the named automatic merit ladder.

  • What does the Kentucky-resident Provost Scholarship pay?

    Provost is the resident-only tier that sits below Presidential. It has two test-score breakpoints at a 3.30 GPA floor: $2,500/year at 26 ACT / 1230 SAT and $5,000/year at 28 ACT / 1300 SAT. A 27 ACT student lifting to 28 picks up $2,500/year in additional aid, which is the single biggest test-score breakpoint on UK's resident merit ladder below Presidential.

  • Will an outside scholarship reduce my UK aid?

    Only if total aid exceeds your cost of attendance. UK enforces a COA cap and requires outside scholarship recipients to file a Declaration of Additional Resources form. When combined aid exceeds COA, UK may adjust the monetary value of institutional scholarships. Kentucky does not publicly specify whether loans, grants, or institutional dollars are reduced first, so families should file the Declaration form as soon as the outside award is confirmed and ask the Student Success aid office to model the interaction before billing.

  • How does the Singletary Scholars Program interact with the named automatic tiers?

    Singletary replaces, rather than stacks with, the Presidential Scholarship. Singletary covers full tuition for 4 years plus a $10,000/year housing stipend for the first two years on campus, plus Lewis Honors College membership. Families with Presidential-eligible stats should still apply for Singletary — it is a dollar-for-dollar upgrade when offered, and roughly 25 scholars are selected per year from the December 1 applicant pool.

  • How does the non-resident Legacy Tuition Program work?

    Non-resident children of UK graduates may receive a partial tuition discount under the Legacy Tuition Program. The parent or stepparent must hold a UK bachelor's, graduate, doctoral, or professional degree AND be a paid-in-full Life Member of the UK Alumni Association by May 1, 2026 for Fall 2026 entry. The Fall 2026 application deadline is February 15, 2026. Families receiving Singletary or Presidential tuition awards are excluded from Legacy Tuition, and UK does not publish a static dollar amount because award levels are reviewed each summer.