BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -  For some students ACT scores and grade point average requirements are an obstacle that can stand in the way of going to college.

Western Kentucky University is making changes to its scholarship criteria to make college more equitable.

Changes include getting rid of the ACT score and lowering the minimum required GPA from 3.3 to a 3.0. The smallest scholarship offered is also changing, increasing from $1500 to $2500. WKU Spokesperson, Bob Skipper, says students should be rewarded for their hard work.

“We’re wanting to make education more affordable, we understand that’s a major economic driver, we want to make sure that students who are wanting to take courses here at WKU if they want a WKU experience they can afford it. Sometimes these students don’t do so well on a standardized test and we don’t want that one test, that one day to keep them from getting a scholarship."

The FAFSA or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, was released October 1 and 2020 freshman class is now applying for aid and scholarships. These are the students who will benefit from WKU's changes and current students like Kameron Trowell say “It’s great for incoming students because so I think that’s one less thing they have to worry about when it comes to them applying to college because the ACT is a really hard test and sometimes you don’t get the best scores”.

The changes take effect for the fall 2020 semester.