ACE Scholarships

ACE Scholarship application are closed until February 2027.

ACE Scholarships is a non-profit organization that awards financial need scholarships to students attending private schools in a number of states including Kansas. Beginning last year, they accepted St. Mary’s Academy as a partner school, but since the Academy was not yet accredited, our students did not qualify for the Kansas Tax Credit Scholarships. (This year is different and students will begin to qualify.) Their income guidelines are generous and many SMA families may qualify.

ACE provides three possible scholarships for Academy families when they submit an ACE application:

  1. ACE Kansas Tax Credit Scholarship
    Available to new or returning students under age 8 as of Mar 3, 2026 in families meeting certain income thresholds for Kansas tax credit scholarships. We expect many to qualify once we complete fundraising (we are 66% of the way on our fundraising goal for this scholarship).
  2. ACE Private Scholarships
    Available to older students in families at about half of the income thresholds; these funds are very limited.
  3. ACE Federal Tax Credit Scholarship
    New for Spring 2027 scholarships for students in families with income under $270,000.

Most awards will likely go to the ACE Tax Credit Scholarship.

Start ACE Scholarship Application

Notes

  • At the link above, if you have an ACE Platform Account, then Log In;  otherwise, “Create ACE Platform Account”
  • If you see a message allowing you to use either a 2024 tax return or 2025, only the 2025 tax return will qualify for the tax credit scholarship, so do not use a 2024 return.
  • When you are ready to submit your application, please make a copy for your file as the Academy may need a copy if there is a question about awards later.
  • You need to know the public school district where you live.  For St. Marys, it is 321.  For Wamego, it is 320.
  • You can start your application any time, save it, and come back later to finish. It must be submitted by 11:59 pm on Apr 15 including your 2025 income tax.
  • Families that apply for ACE scholarships can also still apply for our St. Mary’s Academy financial aid awards and can also apply for matching grants for Learning Quest 529 contributions.