JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

Application Procedures for the ING Grant

{ISAC Rules, Section 2730.20}

Interactive Application
Application Confirmation and Acknowledgement
Application Deadline Information
Certification

Interactive Application

The ING Grant interactive application can be accessed via the Students & Parents area or directly from the ISAC Student Portal. Students should allow at least 4 weeks for processing of the application.

To apply for an ING Grant, an applicant can sign into the Student Portal (either as a guest, or using a previously-established profile for their account). Select Program Applications & Status Checks, then select “ING Apply Here” and carefully read the instructions and eligibility requirements before selecting the “Start Application” button at the bottom of the page.

An applicant will select the branch of National Guard service, enter the required personal information, select the correct academic year (when two application years are available concurrently), make the appropriate selections from several drop-down boxes, check the certification statement to agree to the terms and conditions, edit their entries and then submit the application to ISAC.

Eligibility in one academic year does not carry over to future years, therefore, all students must apply for the ING Grant annually. Students who are unable to apply online or have questions about the process should be instructed to contact an ISAC Call Center Representative.

Application Confirmation and Acknowledgement

Once an online application is completed, the applicant has the opportunity to edit or confirm the information. The application data is transmitted to ISAC when the “Confirm” button is pressed. A Confirmation Page will display to verify that the data was successfully transmitted, providing the date and time it was received by ISAC. A link to a Portable Document Format (PDF) version of the submitted application also displays which may be printed or saved as an electronic file for the student's records. The PDF must be printed before the applicant exits their browser.

Applicants who provide an e-mail address when they apply will be sent an acknowledgement e-mail (based on the academic year for which they apply) similar to the confirmation page that displays after the application is entered. Students should allow at least 4 weeks for processing of the application. To assist you with questions received from students regarding the ING online application process, refer to the ING Grant page in the Students & Parents area of this website.

Application Deadline Information

Applicants must file an application each year, indicating the institution at which they plan to use their ING Grant benefits.

In addition, applicants must have a profile in the ISAC Student Portal in order to complete and submit the ING Grant interactive application (applicants cannot access the application as "guests"). Encourage students planning to submit an ING Grant application to create a profile in the ISAC Student Portal. Once they have a profile, applicants can return to the Student Portal to check their application status, verify the number of ING Grant eligibility units they have remaining or, if necessary, print a duplicate copy of their ING Grant eligibility notification.

Effective beginning with the 2023-24 academic year, and no later than the last scheduled day of classes for the first term for which ING Grant benefits have been requested, qualified applicants must notify the institution at which the benefits will be used regarding their eligibility.

Certification

When students submit an ING Grant application to ISAC,  their name displays on the ING Student List Eligibility: View of the institution that was indicated as the school of record on the application.  A component of the application process involves certification by the Department of Military Affairs in Illinois (DMAIL) as to the applicant’s eligibility status in the Illinois National Guard. DMAIL verifies the following eligibility items and then completes the applicable certification fields on the ING Student List Eligibility: View: 

  • verification that each National Guard member is enlisted;
  • verification that each National Guard member is on active duty status in the Illinois Army or Air National Guard;
  • verification that each National Guard member has served for at least one year in the Illinois National Guard;
  • verification of the number of years that each National Guard member has completed of active duty ING service; and
  • the date on which service or eligibility will end.

Once the certification of eligibility has been entered by the DMAIL, qualified applicants are sent a Notice of Full-Year Eligibility (may be generated based on initial eligibility determination, as the result of a change in college choice, or providing the applicant’s current status), or a Notice of Partial Eligibility indicating either the date through or the date after which they will receive benefits (may be generated based on initial eligibility determination, as the result of a change in college choice, or providing the applicant’s current status). Ineligible applicants (due to being certified as ineligible or having used the maximum number of eligibility units) will receive written notification from ISAC of their ineligibility to receive program benefits. Colleges are NOT required to collect Notice of Eligibility letters from students. Notification of a student's eligibility displays in the Certified column on the Student List Eligibility: View.

Each time an ING Grant application is submitted, the applicant’s name will be added to the ING Student List Eligibility: View,  followed by certification of eligibility by DMAIL. If a student indicates on their application that they will attend different colleges within the academic year, that student will appear on the ING Student List Eligibility: View for multiple colleges but only for the term indicated on the application (i.e., the student might appear on Institution A’s list for term one and Institution B’s list for terms two and three). The Student List Eligibility: View is a cumulative listing, designed to notify colleges of students who apply for the ING Grant throughout the academic year.  

Changes of address, name, or status with the Illinois National Guard or institution of attendance must be reported in writing to ISAC.