State of Illinois Grants

Monetary Award Program (MAP)

The MAP Grant is a state-funded grant awarded by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC).
    • Need-based
    • Apply by completing the FAFSA each year before the suspension date announced by ISAC
    • Independent students or parents of dependent students must be Illinois residents
    • Available to undergraduate students who have not earned a bachelor's degree or professional degree
    • Awards vary from $300 to $8,400 per academic year
    • Awards for students with less than 15 credit hours per semester will be prorated
      • Formula for calculating prorated award amount: Semester amount on award15 x actual number of registered hours
      • Example:
        • Full award amount = $4,200
        • Actual number of registered hours = 13
        • $4,200 / 15 x 13 = $3,640
    • Grants may be limited based on FAFSA application date, number of applicants, and funding levels appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly
  • Students who have accumulated 135 MAP Eligibility Units are not eligible

You can find more detailed information about the MAP Grant at the Illinois Student Assistance Commission website or check out the 'getting to know the Monetary Award Program' video.


Other Illinois Grants

The state of Illinois offers several additional grants including:

  • Grant Program for Dependents of Police, Fire, or Correctional Officers
  • Illinois Veterans Grant (IVG)
  • Illinois National Guard Grant

For information about qualifications and award amounts, visit the Grants page of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission website.

IVG benefits may be used for tuition and mandatory fees, and ING Grant benefits may be used for tuition, graduation fee and general activity fees.


Senior Citizen Waiver

The Illinois Senior Citizen Courses Act permits senior citizens, 65 years of age or older, to enroll in regularly scheduled credit courses at public institutions of higher education without the payment of tuition. View or download the senior citizen tuition waiver.

Note: for graduate and law students, the tuition rate assessed is comprised of the instructional charge, institutional charge and program differential charge. Most tuition waivers, including but not limited to the Illinois Senior Citizen Waiver, only pay the instructional charge portion of tuition.


Illinois Scholarship Programs

The state of Illinois has scholarships available for eligible candidates. State scholarship programs include:
  • Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI)
  • Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Program
  • Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois (GAS)
  • Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program

For information about qualifications and award amounts, visit Scholarships page of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission website.

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