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Northern Illinois University

Student Financial Aid

IIA To Do List:

  1. Complete the FAFSA by March 1 (priority filing date).
    • NIU's School Code is 00173 
  2. Check your NIU e-mail account for messages from the NIU Student Financial Aid office.
  3. Check your MyNIU account for awarding to be applied to your Bursar's account.

Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access Program (IIA)

The IIA is an ISAC-administered program that provides grants to freshmen students who have a limited ability to pay for college (as determined by the FAFSA).

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for the IIA Grant, the student must:

  • Be a U.S. citizen
  • Be an Illinois resident
  • Be classified as a freshman
  • Be enrolled at least half-time
  • Have a valid Student Aid Report (SAR) with a zero expected family contribution
  • Not have a bachelor's degree
  • Be MAP eligible
  • Not be in default on any student loans
  • Not owe a refund for any state or federal grants

Eligibility will be automatically determined by NIU . Only if you are eligible will an estimated IIA grant appear on a financial aid award letter from NIU.

Grant Funds

Funds for the IIA program are based upon the amount of funds that are available. The number of grants awarded as well as the dollar amount are subject to annual appropriations by the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor of Illinois.

For the 2008-2009 academic year, the maximum amount of the grant awarded to students was $500.

Resources

For more information on the Illinois Incentive for Access Program please visit College Zone.