State

State Grant and Award Programs

The State of Illinois has several programs and services that deliver financial aid to students in Illinois. Below are some of the state financial aid programs that, dependent upon annual appropriations (i.e., funding levels), may be available at private non-profit institutions such as SAIC. Additionally, a number of financial aid programs such as the federal grants, loans and work-study are offered by the federal government and are listed in other sections of the SAIC website and publications. 

The number of scholarships and grants made through these programs (administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission/ISAC), as well as the individual dollar amount awarded, are subject to sufficient annual appropriations by the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor.

Monetary Award Program (MAP) Grants are awarded to Illinois residents attending colleges and universities in Illinois. The award is restricted to tuition and mandatory fees. Eligibility: Students who are Illinois residents attending colleges and universities in Illinois are eligible to apply for the MAP Grant by submitting an FAFSA form each year by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) announced deadline date. Award Amount: Award amounts are determined based upon available state funding as determined by the Illinois General Assembly and date the annual FAFSA is submitted each year.

A recipient may receive the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours of MAP benefits paid which will allow most students to have sufficient MAP coverage to complete a baccalaureate degree. The 135 credit hour model converts to approximately 4½ years of full-time study and will help the student who needs to enroll beyond four years. A recipient may use no more than 75 MAP paid credit hours while enrolled at the freshman or sophomore level. For each credit hour of MAP benefits paid on behalf of the recipient, the recipient will be assessed one MAP Paid Credit Hour toward his or her maximum usage. Payment will be made according to the number of credit hours enrolled by applying a fraction, according to the student's credit hours claimed with a maximum of 15 and a minimum of 3, to each student's calculated term award amount.

Residency Requirements

All recipients of the Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant must be residents of the State of Illinois as defined by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Student (and parents if dependent) must reside in Illinois for the relevant 12 continuous, full months prior to the beginning of the school's academic year.

Further details are available in the MAP section in the Students & Parents area of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission website.

The Retention of Illinois Students & Equity (RISE) Act allows eligible undocumented students and transgender students disqualified from federal financial aid due to failure to register for Selective Service to apply for all forms of state financial aid. The RISE Act provides a way to apply for ISAC gift assistance programs – including MAP, the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program and others – to those who meet the RISE Act criteria and each program’s eligibility requirements. The RISE Act does not exempt applicants from meeting existing program eligibility criteria. The Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid provides a way for these qualified students to apply for Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants, the state's largest need-based grant program for low-income college students. Click here for details.

Applying for Other ISAC Programs

Students who want to learn about and apply for ISAC programs other than MAP can access program information and the applications through this site, in the Students, During College area. The Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid is for MAP consideration only.

If 1) you plan to teach at a nonprofit Illinois public, private, or parochial preschool, elementary school, or secondary school, for which the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) has determined that no less than 30 percent of the enrolled students are African American/Black, Hispanic American, Asian American, or Native American; and 2) you are of African American/Black, Hispanic American, Asian American or Native American origin or are a qualified bilingual minority applicant, then you may qualify for up to $5,000 per year as part of the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program. Funds from this program may be used  to pay for tuition, fees and room and board, or commuter allowances, if applicable. This scholarship may be received for a maximum of the equivalent of four academic years (eight semesters or 12 quarters) of full-time enrollment. Click here for details.

The Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program encourages academically talented Illinois students, especially minority students, to pursue teaching careers, especially at high-need, hard-to-staff schools by providing tuition assistance (tuition, fees and room and board or commuter allowance) at one of the participating colleges. You may qualify for up to $2,500 as a freshman or sophomore, and up to $5,000 as a junior or senior.

As part of the application process, you must agree to teach, on a full-time basis, for a period of not less than five years at nonprofit Illinois public, private or parochial preschool, or an Illinois public elementary or secondary school considered a School of Need. You must begin teaching within two years of the completion of your degree or certificate program for which the assistance was awarded.  If the teaching commitment is not fulfilled, the award will convert to a loan, which must be repaid, with interest. Click here for details on the Illinois Student Assistance Commission website and here for the Golden Apple website.