Research · Scholarships · October 2026
Scholarships in Illinois: the 2 state programs and what each asks for
As of October 2026: Illinois has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. None of them publishes an award figure we could read on the state's own page, so the table carries the program names and links instead.
The table holds every state-funded award we could confirm for a Illinois high school graduate going to college. It does not hold federal aid, or a scholarship that comes from one college rather than from the state.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Illinois state aid is need-based, not merit-based. None of the state programs on this table turns on a GPA or a test score. They ask about family income instead, through the FAFSA. A strong student looking for a merit award in this state will find it at a college rather than from the state.
The state's own pages are the only place these rules live. Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
What this table does not tell you. 2 of the 2 programs come back blank: Monetary Award Program (MAP), AIM HIGH Grant Program. The state's own site would not let us read the page, so we print no figure rather than a guess.
Every state scholarship in Illinois
Read the row, then open the state's own page before you count on a figure.
| Program | Merit or need | What it pays | GPA it asks for | Test score it asks for | Who qualifies | Deadline | Renewable | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monetary Award Program (MAP) | Need-based | — | — | — | — | — | — | Source |
| AIM HIGH Grant Program | Merit and need | — | — | — | — | — | — | Source |
Every row is a state-funded or state-administered award for a Illinois high school graduate going to an undergraduate program, as of October 2026. A scholarship from a single college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all left out. A blank cell means the state's own page does not state it. Dollar figures and GPA floors change every year.
How to read a state scholarship
State awards come in two shapes. A merit award asks about grades, a course list, or a test score, and it does not care what a family earns. A need-based award asks about income and assets through the FAFSA, and it does not care about grades. Some awards ask about both, and the table calls those merit and need.
The deadline column is the one families miss. For most need-based state aid the deadline is really the FAFSA deadline, and it falls months before a college asks for a decision. A merit award more often has no application at all: the state or the high school nominates the student from records it already holds.
What a family should do with this
Open the official page in the last column for the one or two programs your student plausibly qualifies for, and write down two dates: the state aid deadline and the FAFSA deadline. Those are the two that close. The Illinois pages on this table post no date, so file the FAFSA as early as you can and check the program page again in the spring.
Then look past the state. A state award is usually the smaller half of an offer. The college's own merit grid and its net price for your family income move more money than any state program on this page, and both are published.
Questions parents ask
What scholarships does Illinois offer?
Illinois has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. None of them publishes an award figure we could read on the state's own page, so the table carries the program names and links instead.
Does Illinois have a merit scholarship?
None of the state programs on this table turns on a GPA or a test score.
How do I find the rules for a Illinois scholarship?
Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
Method & sources: Programs come from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and the agency's own program pages, read in October 2026. The population is a student who graduates from a Illinois high school and enrolls as an undergraduate. A scholarship offered by one college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all out of scope. A value the agency's own page does not state is left blank rather than filled from elsewhere, and a page that could not be read drops every figure.
This brief as data: /research/scholarships-in-illinois.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: Merit scholarships by college · State scholarships in every state · High schools in Illinois · Scholarship deadlines