Before starting an application, please review the scholarship eligibility and criteria, then follow the instructions carefully as they will detail what you will need to best prepare yourself.
Additional information and FAQs are available here.
Scholarship Eligibility
The applicant must be the child of an individual who currently is employed by and works more than 20 hours per week for KeyBank. The employee must have been at KeyBank for at least one year by the application deadline based on their most recent hire date. A child is defined as a natural or adopted child, a dependent stepchild or foster/under legal guardianship of a KeyBank employee. The applicant must be under 26 years of age.
Scholarship Criteria
Financial need will be considered if all else is equal between applicants. The applicant must:
- be a graduating high school senior or a current college student planning to attend or currently attending an accredited two- or four-year college or university, pursuing an associate’s or bachelor’s degree or equivalent;
- be applying to attend school on a full-time basis;
- have a minimum 3.0 GPA; and
- demonstrate at least one year of participation in an extracurricular sport, activity or employment.
Apply for the KeyBank Scholarship in Four Easy Steps
1. Gather the following required materials, scan and have them ready to upload.
All materials must be uploaded in PDF or Word format. Apple Pages and Google Docs must be converted to PDF format.
- The first page of the FAFSA Submission Summary that includes the Student Aid Index number
- Most recent, official school transcript. College freshmen will need to upload their high school transcript and their current college transcript.
- One Reference - Name and email address of a guidance counselor, teacher and/or administrator, employer or volunteer coordinator who will write a letter of recommendation for you
- A resume or comprehensive list that includes volunteering, extracurricular activities and community service
2. Set up your student account.
Create your ScholarshipCONNECTSM account.
Enter your email address and a password then click the “Sign Up” button in the lower right corner. Once you submit your information, you will receive an email confirming your account and access to the KeyBank Application. Be sure to check your spam folder if you don't see this email in your inbox.
3. Complete the KeyBank Application.
Access the KeyBank Scholarship Application.
Once you have set up your student account, please sign in to complete the KeyBank Application. Do not complete the ScholarshipCONNECTSM General Application as you will not be included in the KeyBank pool of applicants.
Please answer the questions carefully and thoroughly. If any required questions are not completed, your application will not be considered.
You may work on your application over time. To save your work each time you exit, click the “Save and Keep Editing” button.
To submit your completed application, click the “Finish and Submit” button. If all required questions have been answered, you will see a green check mark. If you missed a question, you will be prompted to complete it and resubmit your application.
4. Manage your reference and application.
We recommend that you review your Student Account often to check the status of your application and manage your reference.
Your reference will be sent an email with instructions on how to upload a letter of recommendation. To check if your reference has uploaded the letter, click the “References” button. If you need to remind your reference, simply click the “Resend” button to send the email again. It is your responsibility to make sure this is completed before the deadline. The letter of recommendation is due one week after the application deadline.
Timeline
The deadline to submit an application for the 2024-25 school year is 4:00 p.m. Friday, March 8, 2024.
June: Scholarship recipients will be notified if they have received a scholarship and will need to accept their scholarship online by uploading their school acceptance letter and updating their student ID number and contact information.
July: Scholarship checks will be mailed directly to the scholarship recipients’ schools in July, if the student has completed the online acceptance questions.