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Northern Kentucky University scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$11,496per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Northern Kentucky University is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 7 published awards, and 5 are based on those numbers.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jun 2026
3 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. Commonwealth$1,000Automatic
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Commonwealth

    $1,000

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3
  2. PresidentialFull tuitionNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Presidential

    Full tuition

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.75
    SAT
    1490
    ACT
    34
  3. Excellence$2,000Automatic
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Excellence

    $2,000

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.7
  4. Ky Governors Gsp Gsa And Gse$4,500Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Ky Governors Gsp Gsa And Gse

    $4,500

    Published amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5
  5. Standard Transfer Merit$1,000–$2,500Automatic
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Standard Transfer Merit

    $1,000–$2,500

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3
  6. Kctcs Scholars Award$2,500–$3,000Automatic
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Kctcs Scholars Award

    $2,500–$3,000

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3
  7. Founders$3,000Automatic
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Founders

    $3,000

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.95

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What makes Northern Kentucky University different

NKU offers multiple honors scholarships and values Kentucky connections, with pathways for both first-year and transfer students.

Merit tiers75 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJun 2026By our research team

More than one award path

Separate the two paths.

Some awards use published academic thresholds. Others have different selection criteria. A score chart does not describe every award at this school.

  1. Match the published criteria

    Use all requirements together, including residency and the entering class.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Northern Kentucky University's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Kentucky residents, especially those with strong high school records or connections to the Governor's Scholars program, will find the most robust merit options here. Transfer students from Kentucky community colleges also have dedicated pathways.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $11,496 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Northern Kentucky University, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Northern Kentucky University, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$2,603
$30,001–$48,000$3,630
$48,001–$75,000$6,761
$75,001–$110,000$12,679
$110,001+$14,522
All income levels (average)$8,191

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$11,088
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$21,912
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$8,191

That works out to roughly a 58% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $19,725 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Northern Kentucky University is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
52%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
76%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$23,000 (~$244/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$50,220
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
36%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
43%
See other scholarships and cost examples

Other Northern Kentucky University scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityThe Tom and Fran Zaniello Honors Scholarship requires enrollment in the NKU Honors College and good standing with the Honors Program.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityZalla Scholars is listed as one of the Honors College donor scholarship awards for current NKU honors students.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityThe Sheldon B. & Fern H. Storer Honors Scholarship requires enrollment in the NKU Honors College, full-time degree-seeking status at NKU, and a cumulative GPA of 3.25 or higher.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityThe A.D. Albright Honors Scholarship is for sophomores or juniors enrolled in the NKU Honors College, with amount varying and duration of one academic year excluding summer sessions.

Source

See sources and other schools

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Northern Kentucky University’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

The next chapter

Where does Northern Kentucky University fit in your plan?

You have the school’s rules. Now put them in the context of your student and the rest of your list.

  1. Revisit the school research
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Same student.
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