Illinois National Guard Grant - Western Illinois University

Veterans & Military Personnel

Illinois National Guard Grant (ING)

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 (i.e., registration, graduation, general activity, matriculation and term fees) for undergraduate or graduate study. Benefits are limited to use only at Illinois 2- or 4-year public colleges as follows:

If you have completed less than ten years of active duty ING service, your grant can be used for a maximum of the equivalent of four academic years of full-time enrollment.
Once you have completed ten years or more of active duty ING service, your grant can be used for a maximum of the equivalent of six academic years of full-time enrollment (note that the six-year maximum eligibility is cumulative, and includes benefits received when you had less than ten years of service).

For more information check out the following links:

http://www.wiu.edu/student_services/veterans/resourceGuide/IllinoisNationalGuardGrant.php

https://www.isac.org/isac-gift-assistance-programs/pdf/ING-Addtl-Imprt-Info.pdf

https://www.isac.org/students/during-college/types-of-financial-aid/grants/ing-grant-program.html

Key Features

Members of Illinois Army National Guard or the Illinois Air National Guard may be eligible to receive ING Grant. Grant pays for eligible tuition and certain fees, for undergraduate and graduate study, at Illinois public colleges and universities. Can be used for maximum of the equivalent of FOUR academic years at full-time enrollment. Grant can be used in conjunction with Montgomery GI Bill.

Eligibility for ING Grant

Must be Illinois National Guard member, defined as meeting one of two criteria:

Be active in Illinois National Guard
Have been active in Illinois National Guard for at least 5 consecutive years and have been called to federal active duty for at least 6 months and be within 12 month period immediately following applicant’s discharge from Illinois National Guard.
Have completed ONE FULL YEAR of service in Illinois National Guard (1 year anniversary of contract date, which may be different from beginning of IADT).
Be enrolled in Illinois public two- or four-year college
Not be in default on education loan or, if in default, have reinstated eligibility in accordance with ISAC rules
Not owe refund on state or federal grant
File complete application EACH ACADEMIC YEAR, indicating college to be attended. (Can reach application through link on our website; make sure academic year is correct.)
Meet applicable deadline for term in which he/she is applying
Notify ISAC in writing of name, address or college choice changes as they occur.
To maintain eligibility, student must maintain acceptable GPA according to college policy.

Application for ING Grant

Locate on our website wiu.edu/veterans, under Quick Links in right column: ING
Click on College Illinois link to reach website: https://portal.isac.org/web/guest/ing
After reaching College Illinois page: read over and click agree on certification statement to enter application, then fill that out.

This must be renewed EACH YEAR.

Ensure correct academic year is available on application.
If not, wait until the new year application is ready (for example, for the 2013-2014 academic year, application not ready until early June.)
If a student comes in for assistance and the new year application is not up yet, be sure to remind him/her to apply for that when the current year is online.

*To establish if one year has been met for eligibility: ASK STUDENT WHAT ANNIVERSARY DATE IS. This is the contract date, may be different from the date they started IADT. Also, if anniversary date of contract is after the start of the term, may still be able to apply for ING grant. (If an applicant becomes eligible during a term, the benefits will be prorated for that portion of the term for which the applicant is eligible, provided the application is submitted by the applicable deadline for that term. Costs are prorated on the basis of the colleges scheduled days of instruction minus the college’s scheduled holidays and examination periods.* per ISAC website)

*Using IVG and ING together: Assessment of eligibility unit usage is based on enrolled hours per term, not the dollar amount paid by the benefits. This means that the number of eligibility units charged will be the same for each program, even though the dollar amount of benefits received from each program may be different (for example, if benefits from the IVG and ING Grant programs are used for full-time enrollment, 12 eligibility units will be charged to each program). (Source: Collegezone.com)

*Using IVG and MAP together: All IVG benefits must be used before MAP is used. Student cannot refuse IVG in favor of MAP.

Also, when looking for eligibility, make sure student was a resident of Illinois upon entering National Guard and is one upon return?