Grant Program for Dependents of Police or Fire Officers

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Program Description
Eligibility
How to Apply (and Obtaining the Application)
     Application Priority Consideration Date: October 1
     (for full-year award)
How Funds Are Disbursed
Processing Updates
Participating Schools

If you are the spouse or child of an Illinois police or fire officer who was killed or became at least 90 percent disabled in the line of duty, you may be eligible for the Grant Program for Dependents of Police or Fire Officers. This grant provides assistance toward college tuition and mandatory fees* for undergraduate or graduate study at an ISAC-approved Illinois college. You do not need to be an Illinois resident at the time of enrollment to receive this grant. You may receive the equivalent of eight semesters or 12 quarters of assistance.

* Recipients attending approved public colleges in Illinois shall receive full payment of tuition and mandatory fees on their behalf. The grant will cover the difference in costs for courses taken at an out-of-district college that are not offered at a recipient's in-district college. Recipients attending approved private colleges in Illinois shall receive payment of tuition and mandatory fees in an amount not to exceed the maximum grant payable to a student enrolled in the most expensive comparable program of study at a public college in Illinois.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen
• Be enrolled on at least a half-time basis at an ISAC-approved Illinois 2- or 4-year college
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress as established by your college
• Not be in default on any student loan, nor owe a refund on any state or federal grant
• Be the spouse, natural child, legally adopted child, or any child in the legal custody of the police or fire officer at the time of death or disability
• Allow sufficient mailing time to make sure ISAC receives your complete application on or before the deadline date, based on the first term for which you wish to receive funds each academic year. For 2008-09:
  • October 1, 2008 - Full Year Consideration
  • March 1, 2009 - Only 2nd Semester (2nd/3rd Quarter) and Summer Consideration
  • June 15, 2009 - Only Summer Term Consideration

How to Apply

An application for this grant is available at College Zone, and at your college's financial aid office.

It is the applicant's responsibility to allow sufficient mailing time in order for complete applications to be received at ISAC on or before the applicable deadline date. In order to receive full-year consideration your application must be received on or before October 1 of the academic year for which you're requesting assistance. For spring- and summer-term consideration, the deadline date is March 1. For summer-term consideration only, applications must be received on or before June 15. Applications received by ISAC after these deadline dates will be processed only for subsequent terms, with June 15 as the final date of acceptance for the summer term.

How Funds Are Disbursed

ISAC works with the college to disburse funds for this program. The college certifies student eligibility and then submits a payment request on behalf of the student. It may take up to eight weeks after the date that ISAC processes the payment request before funds are received at the college.

Depending on the college, students may be responsible for payment until program funds are received. Qualified applicants who are awaiting receipt of funds from this program should contact the Financial Aid Office or Business Office to determine the college's policy.

Note that ISAC routinely updates this section as new information becomes available. Be sure to check back periodically for the current processing status.

For the 2008-09 Academic Year (last updated on May 16, 2008):

The application for the 2008-09 Grant Program for Dependents of Police, Fire, or Correctional Officers is available to download and print from College Zone. Use the 2008-09 application to apply for the fall 2008, spring 2009, and summer 2009 terms. Applications received by ISAC after the deadline dates (see How to Apply, above) will be processed only for subsequent terms, with June 15, 2009 as the final date of acceptance for the summer term.

Applicants must reapply each academic year. Complete and timely applications are processed in the order they are received.

After July 31, 2008, allow at least four weeks for the processing of the application. Beginning in August of 2008,qualified applicants will be sent a Notice of Eligibility letter from ISAC. In the event funds are insufficient to make awards to all timely qualified applicants, ISAC will make award determinations on the basis of the dates that the completed applications were received, and award amounts may be prorated. Qualified applicants will be notified by their college of any changes to the award amount listed on the Notice of Eligibility.
  
Individuals who do not meet the criteria to be a qualified applicant will receive a Notice of Ineligibility.

If an application is incomplete, a Notice of Incomplete Application will be sent to the applicant to request the missing information. Processing cannot take place prior to the date a complete application is received in ISAC's Deerfield office.

Click here to print the Grant Program for Dependents of Police or Fire Officers application.

For the 2007-08 Academic Year (last updated on May 29, 2008):

The 2007-08 funds for this program are insufficient to pay any allowable tuition and mandatory fees for summer 2008. Consequently, ISAC is no longer accepting 2007-08 applications for this program. As indicated on the application and the Notice of Eligibility that is sent to qualified recipients, all ISAC grant programs are subject to sufficient annual appropriations by the Illinois General Assembly.

To view a listing of Illinois colleges approved to participate in this program, click on the link for the appropriate academic year:

2008-09