Illinois Veterans Grant

This program provides payment of tuition and certain fees at an Illinois public two- or four-year college or university. The grant is available to qualified Illinois veterans or military service members with at least one year of active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and who have served honorably. Veterans must have been residents of Illinois six months prior to entering the services and must have returned to Illinois to reside within six months of leaving the service. Students need to be enrolled in one or more credit hours to participate.

 

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Illinois Veteran Grant, a student must:

  • Satisfy Illinois residency requirements by meeting the below qualifications as outlined either in #1, #2, and #3, or in #4:

    1. Currently reside in Illinois unless the student is serving federal active duty service at the time of enrollment in college or residing with a spouse in continued military service who is currently stationed outside of Illinois.

    2. Where a resident of Illinois at the time of entering federal active duty service or within six months prior to entering the service or were a student at an Illinois public two- or four-year college at the time of entering federal active duty service.

    3. Established, or if on federal active duty service, plan to establish Illinois residency within six months after leaving federal active duty service, or if married to a person in continued military service:
      • Apply for this grant within six months after and including the date the spouse was stationed within Illinois, or
      • If the spouse was stationed outside Illinois, established, or plan to establish, Illinois residency within six months after and including the date the spouse was separated.

OR

  1. Reside in Illinois at the time of application and at the time of receiving benefits for enrollment and, at some point after leaving federal active duty service, have been a resident of Illinois for at least 15 consecutive years.

    (Note: A student may be considered eligible for the IVG program by fulfilling #2 and #3 above; however, if the student does not currently reside in Illinois (#1), the student is not to receive IVG benefits)
  • Meet one of the following two criteria:
    • Have served at least one year of federal active duty service in the Armed Forces of the United States, which may include the Illinois National Guard and the Reserve component of the Armed Forces, or
    • Regardless of the length of service, have served in a foreign country in a time of hostilities in that country; was medically discharged for service-related reasons; or was discharged prior to August 11, 1967.

  • Have received an honorable discharge (general discharge under honorable conditions is not eligible) for each period of federal active duty service, and/or be honorably serving.** Contact information is available for Illinois military personnel who need to request a copy of the DD214 (equivalent to the DD214 Member 4).

  • Not be a current member of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). Applicants are not eligible if their only service has been attendance at a service academy. Time served attending military schools or for Initial Active Duty for Training, in the Delayed Entry Program, National Guard, Reserve or any other time that was not federal active duty is not considered equal to federal active duty service.  Drill time (weekend and summer drills) by Guard members and Reservists are not equivalent to federal active duty service.

  • Not be in default on any student loan, nor owe a refund on any state or federal grant. Refer to the Default Resolution Options to learn how an applicant can re-establish eligibility.

  • Maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or above. Visit our veteran's page for information regarding veterans' satisfactory academic progress.

*If the student receives benefits from the IVG Program while serving on federal active duty service, upon discharge the student will be required to verify that service has been characterized as honorable.

 

HOW TO APPLY

  • The Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) application is available online as an interactive application via the Student Portal. The online application has many benefits, including program information that is available at your fingertips, online edits which prevent errors, elimination of mailing time, and immediate confirmation that your application has been received at ISAC. 

 

DETERMINING PAYMENT AND REFUNDS

  • An estimated payment will show on the student's bill following registration. IVG is applied to the student's account approximately two weeks prior to the tuition deadline.