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Illinois National Guard Grant

If you are a member of the Illinois National Guard, you may be eligible to receive the Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant. This grant can pay for eligible tuition and certain fees for undergraduate or graduate study. Benefits are limited to use only at Illinois 2- or 4-year public colleges. Your grant can be used for a maximum of the equivalent of four academic years of full-time enrollment.

For more information, contact ISAC, your National Guard unit, or Sauk Valley Community College's Office of Student Financial Assistance.

Who is Eligible?

To be a qualified applicant, you must:  

  • Be an Illinois National Guard member, defined as meeting one of these two criterion:
    • be active in the Illinois National Guard or
    • have been active in the Illinois National Guard for at least five consecutive years and had his/her studies interrupted by being called to federal active duty service for at least six months and be within 12 months after your discharge date from the Illinois National Guard. (These applicants may be eligible to receive an additional year of ING Grant Program eligibility. Eligibility under this provision is determined by the Education/Incentives Branch of the Military Personnel Office in Springfield, Illinois. Questions regarding your individual eligibility status under this provision should be directed to your chain of command, or to the Education/Incentives Branch of the Military Personnel Office at 217.761.3782.)
  • Have completed one full year of service in the Illinois National Guard
  • Be an enlisted member or an officer
  • Be enrolled at an Illinois public 2- or 4-year college
  • Not be in default on any student loan, nor owe a refund on any state or federal grant
  • Maintain an acceptable grade point average (GPA) according to the policy determined by your college
  • Submit your complete application on or before the deadline date, based on the first term for which you wish to receive funds each academic year. Deadlines for the 09-10 year will be posted when available.

How Much Does VA Pay?

This program pays eligible tuition and allowable fees. Benefits are limited to use only at Illinois public colleges or community colleges.

Students who are eligible for both NGG and IVG should contact the Veterans Representative at SVCC for assistance with choosing which benefit to use.

How Do I Apply?

The Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant application is available online as an interactive application. The online application has many benefits, including program information which is available at your fingertips, online edits which prevent errors, elimination of mailing time, and immediate confirmation that your application has been received at ISAC.

The complete application must be received by ISAC on or before the deadline date, and an application must be submitted for each academic year in which benefits are to be used. The online, interactive application collects all the information needed to determine eligibility. Additional documentation (including the Notice of Basic Eligibility [NOBE] which is used to apply for the GI Bill) is not required and, if submitted to ISAC, will not be returned to the applicant.

If you are a qualified applicant, ISAC will send you an eligibility letter, which you should provide to your college's financial aid office as soon as you receive it. (ISAC's processing time is approximately 4-6 weeks.) 

It is the applicant's responsibility to submit the complete application on or before the applicable deadline date. To receive full-year consideration, your application must be received on or before October 1 of the academic year for which you're requesting assistance. For spring- and summer-term consideration, the deadline date is March 1. For summer-term consideration only, applications must be received on or before June 15. Applications received by ISAC after these deadline dates will be processed only for subsequent terms, with June 15 as the final date of acceptance for the summer term. If you miss the application deadline for the term for which you are seeking benefits, contact your unit and/or the Department of Military Affairs Illinois (DMAIL) Education/Incentives branch at 217.761.3782 for information regarding other programs that may assist you with college expenses.

Please note: once an electronic application has been successfully submitted, a Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the completed application will display on-screen, and may be printed or saved as an electronic file for your records. If you provide an e-mail address on your application, this PDF document will also be sent to you.

Individuals who are unable to apply electronically may request a paper application from ISAC. It is the applicant's responsibility to fax the paper application, or allow enough mailing time, in order for the paper application to be received in ISAC's Deerfield office on or before the applicable deadline date.

All students using NGG benefits must submit a SVCC Veteran Educational Benefit Cover Sheet to the Office of Student Financial Assistance for each term that they wish to use benefits.

How can I Prevent Overpayments and Penalties?

An overpayment is an incorrect benefit payment that is more than the amount to which you are entitled. You must promptly notify SVCC's Certifying Official of changes affecting your benefits, to prevent or reduce overpayments.

How Can I Get More Information?

Visit the ISAC web page here.