FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 8, 2021) — A rising junior at one of Kentucky’s public or private high schools will win a $500 scholarship and a photo shoot at their school through the “Promote Your School” scholarship contest, sponsored by the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA).
“The ‘Promote Your School’ scholarship contest gives students an opportunity to inspire others and showcase the true value of education in their community,” Gov. Andy Beshear said. “In addition to receiving scholarship money, the winner will also get to see themselves and their classmates featured in KHEAA publications that are distributed to all the high schools across in the commonwealth.”
A school must participate in the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) program for one of its students to be eligible to enter. To be considered for the scholarship, students must submit an essay addressing one of these subjects:
- “How I will inspire others to do better”
- “How education makes a community stronger.”
The essay must be no more than 200 words in length and cannot mention the student’s name, school, county or community. The essay should not identify the student by race, gender, religion or other manner. Essays in excess of 200 words or ones that include identifying information will be disqualified.
The essay topic must be clearly indicated at the top of the page. The student’s name, address and high school must be listed at the bottom of the essay. The student must be a high school junior during the 2021–2022 school year. For contest details, visit kheaa.com/website/contest/intro.
Photos from the winning school will be used in KHEAA publications and on KHEAA websites.
To enter, mail your essay to KHEAA Publications, P.O. Box 798, Frankfort, KY 40602. You may also email your essay to publications@kheaa.com. The winner will be chosen by a committee of KHEAA employees. The deadline for submissions is May 31, 2021.
The scholarship funds will be sent to the winner’s school when he or she enters college as a freshman.
Students from high schools that have been featured in the past five years — Bullitt East, Warren East, Paducah St. Mary, Logan County and Daviess County — are not eligible to enter this year’s contest.
KHEAA is the state agency that administers the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES), need-based grants and other programs to help students pay their higher education expenses. Kentucky Lottery funds pay for many of those programs.
In addition, KHEAA disburses private Advantage Education Loans for its sister agency, the Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation (KHESLC). For more information about Advantage Education Loans, visit advantageeducationloan.com.
For more information about Kentucky scholarships and grants, visit kheaa.com; write KHEAA, P.O. Box 798, Frankfort, KY 40602; or call 800-928-8926, ext. 6-7214.
Money Tip for Students, January 2021
First-time federal student loan borrowers must complete entrance counseling
Kentuckians who will borrow federal student loans for college must complete entrance counseling if they are borrowing for the first time, according to the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA).
“Entrance counseling will help students understand the financial commitments they’re agreeing to when they receive their loan,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “Fully understanding these financial obligations is an important step if you’re taking out federal student loans to help pay for education after high school. I’m glad our students have this resource to learn more early in the process.”
The U.S. Department of Education requires borrowers to complete the counseling before students will receive loan funds. The counseling will teach users how to borrow responsibly so they don’t take out more loans than they need.
The department offers online counseling at studentaid.gov under the Complete Aid Process tab. The counseling should take between 20 to 30 minutes. Borrowers should check with their college to see if the federal counseling session is accepted as some schools have alternate counseling program requirements.
KHEAA is the agency that administers the state’s grant and scholarship programs, including the Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES). The agency also provides financial literacy videos at itsmoney.kheaa.com and free copies of “It’s Money, Baby,” a guide to financial literacy, to Kentucky schools and residents upon request at publications@kheaa.com.
Many of KHEAA’s student aid programs are funded by Kentucky Lottery receipts.
For more information about Kentucky scholarships and grants, visit kheaa.com; write to KHEAA, P.O. Box 798, Frankfort, KY 40602; or call 800-928-8926, ext. 6-7214.