Posted by Dale Fleury, NMSI Regional Director

This is good news:  Thanks to legislation that was recently passed by the Kentucky legislature, a new AP-related scholarship program will get underway this fall in Kentucky.   The program is a terrific way to reinforce the work that NMSI and Advance Kentucky are doing to expand AP enrollments – and it should go a long way toward making college more affordable for low-income students.

Here’s how it works:  The program is a new component of the existing Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program.  Students who are eligible for free and reduced-price lunches and who make qualifying scores on Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) exams can earn scholarships to attend Kentucky colleges and universities.

The new program focuses on all AP subjects, not just math and science, but will certainly complement the incentives NMSI and Advance Kentucky are providing for students who do well in those subjects. It’s a real win-win -- it will give these students the financial means as well as the preparation to attend college.

Students can earn scholarships for $200 for an AP score of 3, $250 for an AP score of 4, and $300 for an AP score of 5.   (There is a similar sliding scale for IB scores of 5, 6, 7.)

The students receive the scholarships each year of college if they maintain a minimum GPA.  KEES has previously awarded these scholarships based on ACT scores and GPAs, so the new AP/IB scholarship provides a new opportunity – and should  encourage more students to take challenging courses.

This is the kind of program that will build on the work that NMSI and Advance Kentucky are doing – and create real exponential growth in the education of the Kentucky workforce.  It’s a model that other states might want to consider, so it’s well worth spreading the word.  

 To follow the program’s development, see Kentucky Education Assistance Authority www.kheaa.com or link directly to the KEES page for the other ways students can earn KEES awards at http://www.kheaa.com/website/kheaa/requirements?main=1

Contact is Becky Gilpatrick, Student Aid Branch Manager, KHEAA at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Joanne Lang, our local NMSI contact, is Executive Director of Advance Kentucky and can provide context on public policy aspects of how the program was developed at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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