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
Children of eligible Key employees can apply for a college scholarship. Eligible Key employees are those full-time or part-time employees who work more than 20 hours per week, and, at the time the application is received, is currently employed by Key and has been a full-time or part-time employee at Key for at least one year following 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.
Please follow the directions for the New Dashboard: https://support.foundant.com/hc/en-us/articles/4520645408151-SLM-Applicant-Tutorial-Universal-Application
After reading the directions, please move on to Step 3 and click “Apply Here” to create an account.
3. Complete the KeyBank Application.
During registration we will collect contact information from you, and you will be prompted to enter your email address and create a password. Please be sure to use a personal email address. Your high school email address will not work after you graduate, and we will need to contact you this summer.
After creating your account, you automatically will be directed to the KeyBank page. Please answer the questions carefully and thoroughly. If any required questions are not completed, your application will not be considered. Once you submit your application, you will not be able to go back and edit it. If any changes are required, please email me at pgill@daytonfoundation.org.
4. Manage your references and application.
Check the status of your Letters of Recommendation in the Action Needed column on the application dashboard.
There will be a red third-party icon that you can hover over to see the number of outstanding requests. An automatic reminder will be sent to your references seven days after the initial request. If the request still has not been submitted after that time, please contact the reference. If your reference has not received any emails from our system, have them check their junk or spam folders. If they cannot locate the email, double-check your application to confirm you entered the correct reference email. If there is an error in the email address, please reach out to our office and we will help correct this error.
5: Check your email.
If you are offered a scholarship, you will receive an email with directions how to accept it. It is important you check your email frequently. All scholarships will be awarded by the end of June.
Timeline
The deadline to submit an application for the 2025-26 school year is 4:00 p.m. Friday, March 7, 2025.
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.