ISAC Student PortalTeachers of Illinois Scholarship Program
Awarding for this program is subject to annual appropriations by the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor, as described in the below Program Details section.
You may either scroll through this page, or click on any of the following links that go directly to a specific topic:
Program Description
Eligibility
Eligibility Units
Participating Schools
How to Apply (and Obtaining the Application)
Changes to Application Data
Program Details
How Funds Are Disbursed
Processing Updates
Programs Comparison
New this 2025-26 academic year, the Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program aims to aid to those who commit to teach in underserved school districts in the state of Illinois.
Funds for this program may be used to pay up to the total cost of attendance. This scholarship may be received for a maximum equivalent of four academic years (eight semesters if 12 quarters) of full-time enrollment.
As part of the application process, you must agree to the terms and conditions that are outlined in the application’s Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note. By receiving this scholarship, you must teach in Illinois. If this teaching commitment is not fulfilled, the scholarship turns to a loan, and you must repay the entire amount plus interest.
Eligibility
To be eligible, you must:
- be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen or meet the criteria of the RISE Act
- be a resident of Illinois
- be a high school graduate or have received a State of Illinois High School Diploma
- have been enrolled in a public school district in Illinois, at any point in kindergarten through grade 12:
- that had an average of at least 70% of students who were eligible to receive free or reduced-price lunch; and
- that had a 3-year average teacher vacancy rate at or above the statewide average, excluding public school districts that had zero vacancies or in which the number of teacher vacancies in the district was at or above the statewide average number of teacher vacancies, excluding public school districts that had zero vacancies
- be enrolled or accepted for enrollment on at least a half-time basis at a qualified Illinois institution of higher education, and;
- be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a course of study, which upon completion, qualifies you as a licensed preschool, elementary, or secondary school teacher; or
- if you are already licensed to teach, be enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a course of study leading to an additional teaching endorsement or a master’s degree in an academic field in which you are teaching or plan to teach; or
- if you are not yet enrolled in an educator preparation program, have received one ore more College and Career Pathway Endorsements and commit to enrolling in a course of study leading to teacher licensure, including alternative teacher licensure, to be a preschool, elementary or secondary school teacher
- have earned a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale
- maintain satisfactory academic progress as determined by your college
- have submitted a complete and timely application
- complete the application process by:
- submitting a fully completed Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program application, which includes the three elements of the application:
- Application;
- Teaching Agreement/Promissory Note; and
- the Free Application for Federal Students Aid (FAFSA®) or (if applicable) Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid
- In order to receive priority consideration for an award, both complete applications must be received on or before the priority consideration date of February 16, 2026.
- submitting a fully completed Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program application, which includes the three elements of the application:
- be certified as meeting eligibility requirements by the college at which you will use the scholarship, and
- accepting the scholarship (if one is offered)
- sign the application’s Teaching Agreement / Promissory Note promising to fulfill the teaching commitment or repay funds received plus interest
- the teaching commitment must be fulfilled 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
- the teaching commitment must be fulfilled at an Illinois school district
- not be in default on any student loan, nor owe a refund on any state or federal grant. If you are in default, you may re-establish your eligibility
- not have previously received funds from the Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program for the equivalent of four academic years, which is the programs maximum
- not receive funds from the Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Program, or the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program during the same term(s) for which you receive funds from the Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program. Although recipients of Teachers of Illinois awards are not eligible to receive tuition assistance through the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program for the same term(s), qualified students may be eligible to participate in other scholarship programs through the Golden Apple Foundation.
Eligibility Units
Qualified applicants may receive Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program benefits for no more than eight semesters or 12 quarters.
Participating Schools
To view a listing of Illinois colleges approved to participate in this program, click on the link for the appropriate academic year:
How to Apply
In order to complete this online application, you must log into the ISAC Student Portal (if you have not already done so, you may create a profile here). For priority consideration, your complete Teachers of Illinois Scholarship application and FAFSA (or Alternative Application, if applicable) must have been received on or before February 16, 2026. You must submit both applications each year you wish to be considered for a scholarship. Because the number of scholarships awarded each year is based on limited funding, it is possible that not all applicants who meet the priority consideration deadline will receive a scholarship.
You are encouraged to submit your applications as far in advance of the priority consideration date as possible. Applicants received after that date will be given consideration for the scholarship only if funding remains available after all timely applicants have been awarded.
Even if you are not certain you will be attending college, you are strongly encouraged to submit your complete applications on or before the priority consideration date, listing all the approved Illinois college you are most likely to attend. If you then decide to attend a different college after your applications have been submitted, you must report that change to ISAC, as described below in the Changes to Application Data section.
Changes to Application Data
Only one Teachers of Illinois application/promissory note may be submitted per academic year. Consequently, if you need to change your response(s) to any item(s) and/or update any information after the application has been submitted, you will need to provide the information to ISAC. Examples of items that may need to be updated include demographic information (i.e., name, address, telephone number, etc.), your college of record and the impacted terms (full year, fall, spring or summer). These changes can be submitted to ISAC using one of the below methods, but cannot be done over the telephone.
- via e-mail to [email protected]
- via FAX to 847.831.8549
- via letter to ISAC, Program Operations, 1755 Lake Cook Road, Deerfield, IL 60015-5209
The request must include the last four digits of your Social Security number (for identification purposes) and clearly state what change(s) need to be made. These changes will not affect the application “received date”. In order to allow adequate processing time and prevent a loss of benefits, changes to your college of record should to be reported prior to the beginning of the applicable term(s).
Program Details
- The total number of scholarships awarded in a given fiscal year is contingent upon available funding.
- When appropriated funds for this program are insufficient to provide scholarships for all qualified applicants during any fiscal year, available funds will be awarded to qualified students who submit timely applications (i.e., the complete Teachers of Illinois Scholarship application and FAFSA or Alternative Application (if applicable) based on the following priority order:
- scholarships will first be awarded to renewal applicants who continue to meet all of the program’s eligibility requirements. You are considered renewal if during the previous academic year you received funds from the program for which you are currently applying;
- when at least $2,850,000, but less than $4,2000,000 is appropriated for this program in a given fiscal year, then – to the extent allowed by the amount of funding that remains – at least ten percent of the appropriated funds will be reserved for qualified bilingual applicants, with priority given to those applicants who are enrolled in an educator preparation program with a concentration in bilingual education.
- to students that demonstrate the most financial need;
- to qualified applicants enrolled at or above the junior level;
- to students with the earliest date of received complete applications (i.e./ in date-received order);
- Qualified applicants may receive Teachers of Illinois Scholarship funds only up to the amount by which their cost of attendance exceeds the amount of their Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant, if applicable
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. ISAC processes the payment request and submits the information to the State Comptroller’s Office. Dependent on the level of State of Illinois funding at the time of the request, the amount of time it takes for funds to arrive at the college can vary anywhere from a few weeks to a few months.
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.
Processing Updates
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 2025-26 Academic Year
(last updated on April 23, 2026)
The 2025-26 Teachers of Illinois application remains available.
Awarding for the 2025-26 Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program has taken place. Award notifications are being sent to all eligible applicants who submitted their application by the priority consideration date by ISAC.
The priority application consideration date for the 2025-26 academic year was February 16, 2026. Complete applications – including the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) or the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid, if applicable – received after this date will be considered for the Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program as long as funding remains after all timely complete applicants have been awarded. The date through which 2025-26 applications will be accepted is dependent upon application volume and available funding. Be sure to review the How to Apply section of this page for details regarding the application process. Please note: All ISAC scholarships are limited based on the number of eligible applicants and funding levels appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly. Therefore, you are encouraged to continue seeking additional financial aid resources to fund your educational expenses.
Programs Comparison
Our teacher education programs comparison chart provides a side-by-side view of the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship, Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois, Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW), Teachers of Illinois Scholarship, and federal TEACH Grant programs.
