KC Scholars

The KC Scholars (KCS) program provides financial and support services for low- and modest-income students from both Kansas and Missouri in the greater Kansas City area. KC Scholars may choose from 17 area colleges including William Jewell. If you live in and attend school in the Kansas City area, you may be eligible for the KC Scholars Program funded by the Kauffman Foundation and more than 70 community partners.

KC Scholars Promise at Jewell

KCS Traditional Scholarship awardees enrolling at William Jewell College in Fall 2025, as either new first-year students or new transfer students, will receive the William Jewell KCS Promise award. The $10,000 Promise is intended to match the $10,000 KC Scholar Traditional Scholarship award.

This Promise award will supplement the KCS Traditional Scholarship ($10,000 per academic year) toward the total cost of attendance at William Jewell College. All federal and state aid will be applied after the Promise award funds are applied. The Promise award replaces any institutional merit aid for which the student may qualify, and funding cannot be combined with athletic or talent scholarships. Scholars eligible for merit, talent or athletic awards that exceed the Promise award and who wish to pursue those opportunities will be packaged on a case-by-case basis to obtain the best offer possible.

Requirements:

To qualify initially for the Promise award, students must be awarded the KCS Traditional Scholarship and be fully admitted to William Jewell College. The renewability requirements for the Promise award are a cumulative Jewell GPA of 2.0 or greater and filing the FAFSA by Feb. 1 of each academic year while also maintaining all commitments to remain in good standing with KCS.

There are three parts of the KC Scholars program:

  1. Traditional scholarship for 11th-grade students
    • up to $10,000/year, renewable for five years
    • 250 awarded annually
  2. Adult scholarship for those age 24 and older
    • up to $5,000/year, renewable for five years
    • must have some college, no degree: 12 previously earned college credits
    • 200 awarded annually
  3. College savings match for 9th-grade students
    • 4:1 match for 50 students, match not to exceed $5,000
    • 1,000 students receive seed money in a 529 account

Applications open Jan. 1. Visit kcscholars.org for the application and details.