ISAC Student PortalTeachers of Illinois Scholarship Program Overview
NOTICE: 2026-27 Alternative Application
As of July 24, 2026, a federal district court ruled that undocumented students are no longer eligible to receive state financial assistance for the 2026-2027 school year. For this reason, the 2026-27 Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid is no longer available. Students that do not complete the 2026-27 FAFSA and would have completed the 2026-27 Alternative Application will not be able to be considered for this program.
The eligibility criteria for the 2027-28 Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid will be changing. This application is scheduled to be released on October 1, 2026. Please visit isac.org/AlternativeApp for more information.
The Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program encourages academically talented students to pursue careers as teachers at eligible Illinois public preschool, elementary and secondary schools.
Students may qualify for up to $7,500 per year. The scholarship may be received for a maximum of 8 semesters or 12 quarters of assistance.
A student must sign an agreement promising to begin teaching within one year at an Illinois school district:
- that has a 3-year average teacher vacancy rate above the state average, or;
- where the number of teacher vacancies in the district over the past three years is higher than that of the state
Recipients must teach one year for each year of scholarship assistance received and shall teach on a continuous basis for the required period of time.
If the teaching obligation is not fulfilled, the scholarship converts to a loan at a 5% interest rate and the entire amount received, prorated to the fraction of the teaching obligation not completed, must be repaid.
