Academic Excellence Scholarship AES

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Academic Excellence Scholarships (AES) are awarded to Wisconsin high school seniors who have the highest grade point average in each public and private high school throughout the State of Wisconsin.

The number of scholarships each high school is eligible for is based on total student enrollment grades 9-12. In order to receive a scholarship, a student must be enrolled on a full-time basis by September 30th of the academic year following the academic year in which he or she was designated as a scholar, at a participating University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Technical College, or independent institution in the state. The value of the scholarship is $2,250 per year, to be applied towards tuition. Half of the scholarship is funded by the state, while the other half is matched by the institution. Eligibility must not exceed 8 semesters.

Eligible students must attend one of the following Wisconsin Colleges to qualify for AES funding.


Technical Colleges

UW System

Independent Colleges

Tribal Colleges
Blackhawk
Lakeshore
Moraine Park
Southwest WI
Chippewa Valley
Madison Area
Nicolet Area
Waukesha County
Fox Valley
Mid-State
Northcentral
Western
Gateway
Milwaukee Area
Northeast WI
Northwood 		Madison
Milwaukee Co.
Green Bay/Sheboygan/Manitowoc/Marinette
Parkside
Eau Claire/Barron Co.
La Crosse
Oshkosh
Platteville
River Falls
Steven's Point/Marathon Co./Marshfield/Wood Co.
Stout
Superior
Whitewater/Rock Co. 		Alverno
Bellin College of Nursing
Beloit
Carroll
Carthage
Concordia
Edgewood
Herzing
Lakeland
Lawrence
Maranatha Baptist
Marian
Marquette
Milwaukee Institute of Art
Milwaukee School of Engineering
Mount Mary
Ripon
St. Norbert
Viterbo
Wisconsin Lutheran
 Lac Courte Oreilles
Menominee Nation

Nominations will open for 2026 on February 18th, 2026 and will close March 11th, 2026.


We have some new things to share with you about the nomination process for students graduating in 2026.

  1. We have a new and improved system we are using called GLASS (Grants Loans and Scholarship System). We use this system for all the programs HEAB administers. The nominations this year will be made through GLASS as well as the student contact and awarding. Please see the AES nomination instructions.
  2. A new law has been signed by the Governor affecting AES (Act 80).
    1. The new law allows for ONE scholarship for each high school in Wisconsin in the 1-499 enrollment category. In the past, high schools who had between 1-79 students were entered into a statewide pool of 10 scholarships.
    2. The new law also allows pupils in a home-based private educational program to be nominated. The qualification for this senior to be nominated is that they must have at least a score of 33 on their ACT or 1500 on their SAT.

    HEAB will be hosting 2 training sessions on how to use the new system. The first will be on Wednesday, February 11th at 10am. The second will be on Monday, February 16th at 1pm. Please contact me via email if you would like to be sent an invite to attend.

    For additional information about the Academic Excellence Scholarship:


    For questions or concerns, please contact:

    Cassie Weisensel
    Phone: (608) 267-2213
    Email: cassie.weisensel@wisconsin.gov