Top Illinois scholarships for you

The Great Lakes Award will be awarded based on academic record to students entering Fall 2025, Winter 2026, or Summer 2026. This is a scholarship for non-resident students. The scholarship will be automatically awarded to admitted students who meet the GPA, enrollment term, and residency criteria. No application is necessary. Students may receive scholarships for up to 8 consecutive semesters, or until completion of first bachelor's degree, whichever comes first. Please visit the scholarship's website for more information.

The Illinois Real Estate Educational Foundation (REEF) administers the Illinois Diversity Real Estate Scholarship Program in partnership with the State of Illinois to qualified racial residents of Illinois pursuing courses of study that will prepare them for careers relating to real estate or enhance the skills and knowledge that they currently use as real estate professionals. Applicants must be pursuing courses of study that will prepare them for careers relating to real estate or enhance the skills and knowledge that they currently use as real estate professionals. Two letters of recommendation are required. Please visit the scholarship's website or contact the Illinois Real Estate Educational Foundation for more information.

The Beloit College Midwest Flagship Match is open for students that are academically qualified residents of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Minnesota that pay the same tuition at Beloit as their home state's flagship public university. For first-year applicants, they must have an unweighted GPA of 3.5 or above in core academic classes. And for transfer applicants, they must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above in college classes. Please see the scholarship website for more information. Eligible students must have been state residents for at least 12 months before enrollment and complete the FAFSA by April 1.

The Bridge Award will be awarded based on academic record to students entering Fall 2025, Winter 2026, or Summer 2026. This is a scholarship for non-resident students. The Bridge Award fills the out-of-state tuition gap between non-resident and resident tuition rates. The scholarship will be automatically awarded to admitted students who meet the GPA, enrollment term, and residency criteria. No application is necessary. Students may receive scholarships for up to 8 consecutive semesters, or until completion of first bachelor's degree, whichever comes first. Please visit the scholarship's website for more information.

Becoming a Greenhouse Scholar is the first action in a series of positive events that will create change in you, your community, and the world. Eligible students must be a graduating high school senior planning to attend a four-year accredited academic institution. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and a legal resident of California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, New York, or North Carolina. Applicants must demonstrate financial need (annual household income no greater than $80,000), and possess excellent leadership skills, an ability to persevere through difficult circumstances, and a strong interest in and commitment to your community. The eligibility survey will open on September 1, 2024 and close on November 14, 2024. Students must report their unweighted GPA, household income, and geographic location to confirm eligibility, and submit one short answer response. The academic information and submission of essay responses will start on September 15, 2024 and end on December 1, 2024. Applicants must submit a transcript, ACT/SAT test scores (optional), two letters of recommendation, and four written essay responses. Then, starting January 10, 2025 to January 26, 2025, semi-finalists have two weeks to create and submit a five-minute video response and submit proof of income documents. Finalist registration for interviews open on March 10, 2025. Finalists will be invited to submit updated transcripts, ACT/SAT test scores (optional), a headshot, college acceptance status, other scholarship awards statuses, and to schedule an interview. The deadline for the submission of finalist documents and scheduling of interviews will be on March 17, 2025. Please visit the award's website for more information.

If you have served at least one year of federal active duty service in the Armed Forces of the United States; or served on federal active duty service in a foreign country during a time of hostilities in that country and were honorably discharged after your most recent period of federal active duty service; and/or are honorably serving, you may be eligible for the Illinois Veterans Grant (IVG) Program. Any member of the Illinois National Guard or a Reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States who meets the eligibility requirements is considered a qualified applicant for the IVG Program. Qualified applicants are encouraged to submit an IVG Program application if they anticipate attending college at any point in the future. To be considered eligible, applicants must satisfy one of the four categories of Illinois residency requirements, which can be seen in the program's website. Applicants must notify their college's financial aid office of their eligibility status as soon as possible, but not later than the last scheduled day of classes in the term for which a grant is requested. Applications for the IVG Program can be submitted any time during the academic year for which assistance is being requested. The complete information about the program and the list of eligible schools are available on the program's website. Please visit the program's website or contact ISAC for more information.

The Iowa State University of Science and Technology Transfer Expedition Award can be stacked with the Transfer Achievement Award or Transfer Success Award. This award is available to new students starting in the Fall of 2024. Preference is given to students who apply by May 1, 2024. Please visit the scholarship's website for more information.

The Isabel Hanford Olmstead Scholarship shall be awarded to a junior or senior collegian or an alumna member of a chapter located in Illinois or Michigan or with a permanent address in the states of Illinois or Michigan who will pursue an undergraduate or graduate degree during the academic year for which the scholarship is awarded. Applicants must be initiated members, college and alumni, of Kappa Alpha Theta in good standing with the Fraternity. New members may apply but should be initiated by the application deadline. A recommendation from a member of Kappa Alpha Theta and a recommendation from an academic or professional reference are required. Please visit the scholarship's website or contact the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation for more information.

If you are a teacher or an academically talented student pursuing a career in special education, you may be eligible for the Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver Program if you teach at one of the following Illinois schools that has been approved by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE): a nonprofit public, private or parochial preschool; or a nonprofit public, private or parochial elementary school; or a nonprofit public, private or parochial secondary school. By receiving the tuition waiver, you must teach in Illinois in the field of special education. If this teaching commitment is not fulfilled, the amount of benefits received converts to a loan, and you must repay the entire amount plus interest. Applicants must meet one of the following conditions: they are a high school graduate; or they are scheduled to graduate from an approved high school by the end of the academic year in which the award is made and they performed in the upper half of their graduating class according to performance-based academic data provided by the high school; or they hold a valid teaching license that is not in the discipline of special education. Applicants must be enrolled in a program of special education within 10 days after the beginning of the term for which the waiver was initially awarded. Applications submitted after the priority deadline date will be given consideration for the award if, after the initial round of awarding, all 250 available tuition waivers have not been awarded. Please visit the program's website or contact ISAC for more information.