ISAC Student PortalMonetary Award Program (MAP)
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.
Program News
(last updated August 3, 2026)
2026-27 Program Funding
2026-27 Recompute Formula
Suspension of 2026-27 Award Announcements
2026-27 Start-Up Implementation
2026-27 File Layout Specifications
2026-27 Award Announcements
2026-27 Start-Up Formula
Additional MAP References
2026-27
Program Funding
The 2027 fiscal year (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027) appropriation for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) is $721,566,200.
Recompute Formula
At its June 25, 2026 meeting, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission approved a recompute formula this is the same as the 2026-27 start-up formula.
The approved 2026-27 recompute formula is outlined in Table Three of Agenda Item 5 from the June 25 meeting, as well as on the 2026-27 MAP Formula page.
Also available within this MAP section is information regarding calculating a term award for both semester and quarter schools, guidance for rounding, and access to information about MAP electronic processing.
Because the recompute formula mirrors the start-up formula, no changes are required in the MAP system and daily processing of ISIR data continues as usual.
Suspension of Award Announcements
ISAC is suspending the announcement of 2026-27 MAP award announcements for all students whose initial 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) is received by the FAFSA Processing System (FPS), after Thursday, April 23, 2026. This page will be updated when the suspension of MAP award announcements are reflected on the appropriate screens and reports of the MAP system, as well as in the MAP Eligibility File Extraction (anticipated late April).
Operational information can be found in the April 20 e-Message and on the Suspension of MAP Award Announcements page.
Start-Up Implementation
The 2026-27 FAFSA is now available. The 2026-27 Alternative Application was closed July 30, 2026 and no additional applications will be accepted for the 2026-27 school year.
An October 17 e-Message announces that the 2026-27 MAP processing cycle has begun and eligibility information is available. 2026-27 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) and Alternative Application Student Records received by ISAC through (including) Thursday, October 16, 2025 have been processed, and results are available for colleges to access via the MAP system. Daily processing of 2026-27 ISIR and eligibility status information has commenced.
The date by which returning MAP recipients are to submit their 2026-27 FAFSA or 2026-27 Alternative Application in order to receive priority access to appropriated funds is March 1, 2026 (through and including). Returning recipients are students who received MAP funds during the previous academic year (i.e., for 2026-27, students who received 2025-26 MAP funds). All MAP eligibility requirements must continue to be met. As a reminder, a returning applicant's failure to complete the FAFSA or Alternative Application by the announced priority date does not disqualify any applicant from receiving a grant if sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that date. MAP dollars are awarded equitably to qualified applicants, based on the formula, regardless of their returning status. ISAC is obligated by legislative action to set and announce a priority date, but that date is not a deadline date for FAFSA completion.
File Layout Specifications
The 2026-27 MAP 160-Byte File Layout Specifications document is available via the Electronic Tools page within the e-Library. The file specifications are pertinent to schools that utilize the file extraction features of the MAP system or send MAP payment requests to ISAC via File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
Award Announcements
Colleges are required to announce MAP awards to eligible students enrolled at their institutions. Refer to the MAP Award Announcements area for details regarding college requirements, including the 2026-27 Required School-Issued Award Notification Language.
The Required School-Issued Award Notification Language has been updated for the 2026-27 year.
Start-Up Formula
On September 18, 2025, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission approved the 2026-27 (FY27) MAP start-up formula, which follows the FY26 recompute formula. See the 2026-27 MAP Formula page for specific details.
More information – including the 2026-27 Start-up Hand Calculation Forms and information about related file layout specifications – will be posted at this website as it becomes available.
Additional MAP References
To access general information about the MAP program, click on one of the links in the right-hand menu. To access the page within the MAP section that addresses the topics listed below, click on the topic.
