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Scholarship Resource Office

Fell Hall 214
Campus Box 2320
Normal, IL 61790-2320
(309) 438-2740
scholarships@IllinoisState.edu

Search Online

Use online scholarship searches to identify other local and national scholarship opportunities. Some reputable sites include:

• Sallie Mae Scholarship Search
• fastWEB
• Mach 25
• NextStudent
• Peterson’s Scholarship Search

We advise strongly against paying for any scholarship search service or information. At best, these companies give you information you could find on your own for free. At worst, they promise exclusive scholarship leads or guaranteed scholarships and they simply cannot deliver. Be sure you’re dealing with a trustworthy website or organization before revealing any personal information.

Searching for Scholarships

Your high school guidance counselors’ office is a good place to start your scholarship search. They often know about the scholarships available only to students in your school, town, or county which are typically easier to get because the applicant pool is smaller.

Many departments, programs, and schools at Illinois State award limited scholarship or tuition waiver funds. Visit your intended program’s website to learn more.

When? Search Early, Search Often, Search Yearly

Many application deadlines occur during spring for the upcoming fall semester. Begin your searches around November for scholarships for the coming school year. There are application deadlines which cycle throughout the year. If you missed a particular deadline, we recommend you keep a list and review that list yearly for those upcoming dates to apply for that and other scholarships.

High School students – We recommend you start your search for scholarships in your junior year. You can create a timeline for application deadlines to utilize during your senior year and apply on time. That way you don’t miss any scholarship opportunities. Don't forget to check out scholarship opportunities through your high school.

General Scholarships

This list contains General scholarships which are not based on major of study and is arranged according to one key criteria of the scholarship. Please refer to the application for more specific criteria.

• General
• Disability
• Ethnic/Diversity
• Graduate Student
• International Study

• Military
• Region/Residence (County)
• Religion
• Women

Teacher Scholarships

• Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Available to academically talented students and current teachers (not certified in a special education discipline) to pursue careers in any area of Special Education.  
• Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) – Available to academically talented minority students to pursue careers as teachers.

You may only receive funding from one of the above-mentioned teacher programs (IFTC, SETTW, MTI) in any given academic year.

Other State Scholarships/Grants

• Grant Program for Dependents of Police or Fire Officers – Available to the spouses or children of an Illinois police or fire officer who was killed or became at least 90 percent disabled in the line of duty.
• Grant Program for Dependents of Corrections Officers – Available to the spouses or children of a State of Illinois Department of Corrections officer who was killed or became at least 90 percent disabled in the line of duty.
• Illinois Reserve Officer's Training Corp (ROTC) Scholarship – Available to a full-time student enrolled in a Military Science course.
• Nurse Educator Scholarship Program – Available to nurses and graduate students pursuing a career in professional or practical nursing education in Illinois.