Kickstart Wyoming's Tomorrow Scholarship

This application is for new UW Kickstart scholarship recipients beginning in fall 2024

Kickstart Wyoming’s Tomorrow Scholarship is a new state-funded scholarship program for adults enrolling at one of Wyoming’s eight community colleges, or the University of Wyoming, to pursue a degree or certificate. You can receive up to $1,800 per semester if enrolled in 12 credit hours or more, for up to four full-time academic terms. Selected students enrolled in less than 12 credit hours will still be eligible to receive the award at a prorated amount for no more than a total of $7,200 over the course of their program.

You are eligible if:

• You’ve been a Wyoming resident for no less than one (1) year immediately preceding application or not less than a total of three (3) years at any time prior to application;
• You’re twenty-four (24) years of age or older when you begin school;
• You’ve completed and filed a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the academic year for which you are applying for a scholarship;
• Have unmet financial need as determined by the FAFSA;
• You agree to register with the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services by completing a new account registration at wyomingatwork.com.

You may not be eligible if:

• You are currently receiving a scholarship under the Hathaway Scholarship program;
• Are not a United States citizen or a permanent resident alien who meets the definition of an eligible non-citizen under federal Title IV requirements, or requirements of a subsequent similar federal enactment;
• Owe a refund under a federal Title IV student financial aid program, or a subsequently enacted similar federal student financial aid program, or a student financial aid program administered through the state;
• Are incarcerated; or
• Previously received a scholarship under this scholarship program of four (4) full-time academic terms or a total of seven thousand two hundred dollars ($7,200) in scholarships for unmet financial need.

Continuing eligibility requirements:

• Make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) toward a degree or certificate;
• Cumulative GPA of at least 2.0 (evaluated at end of spring);
• Meet other criteria as established by UW to ensure the student earns a degree or certificate in a timely manner;
• Continuous enrollment for not less than 2 academic terms in each successive academic year.

Continuous enrollment will be defined as enrolling both Fall and Spring academic terms. Summer awarding is an available semester upon request. A continuous enrollment waiver for military service, religious service, and other good cause may be granted with provided documentation.

Please note: The awards are subject to available funding through the State of Wyoming. Qualifying for a Kickstart Wyoming’s Tomorrow Scholarship does not automatically qualify a student for admission to UW.
In 2022, the Wyoming’s Tomorrow Scholarship (WTS) program and its initial endowment contribution of $10M was established by the Wyoming State Legislature. During that same 2022 legislative session, the WY legislature allocated $1.25M to “kickstart” scholarships with the same WTS student eligibility criteria and named it “Kickstart Wyoming’s Tomorrow Scholarship” in an effort to support students during the WTS endowment’s corpus maturity phase. In March 2024, the 2024 Legislative Session contributed the remaining funds to reach the mandated $50M WTS endowment corpus necessary to authorize student scholarship dividends beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year. During the same 2024 legislative session, an additional $2.5M was allocated to prolong KWTS awards until the 2025-26 award year begins for the WTS award disbursement. Once all legislatively appropriated KWTS funds are exhausted, KWTS awards shall be discounted and only scholarships awarded from the WTS endowment dividend shall remain in effect. Per Wyoming Legislature 2024 Session Laws, Chapter 118, Section 327© (page #355), students who receive KWTS may not receive WTS awards in any future semester of enrollment, even if the four full-time equivalent semesters of permitted usage are not exhausted.