Apply for this scholarship
DCFS Scholarship Program and Tuition and Fee Waiver
Offered independently by Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
About this scholarship
Illinois waives tuition and mandatory fees at state public universities and community colleges for youth who were in DCFS care, and pays a monthly living stipend alongside the waiver. Applications are accepted once a year.
Who can apply
The department must hold or have held court-ordered legal guardianship of the applicant, or the applicant must have aged out of DCFS care at 18 or older, or DCFS must have had guardianship immediately before an adoption or guardianship was finalized.
Every scholarship in this directory is exclusively for current or former foster youth. Read the sponsor’s own eligibility rules before you start — they decide who qualifies.
How to submit your application
- 1. Check the deadline. No fixed deadline published — check the sponsor's site.
- 2. Gather your documents. Use the checklist to the side so you are not scrambling at the last minute.
- 3. Open the sponsor’s application. The button below takes you straight to Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Your application is submitted there, directly to them.
- 4. Save your confirmation. Keep the confirmation email or reference number, and follow up with the sponsor if you do not hear back.
Amount and deadline not published. The sponsor's page gives an application window of January through March rather than a fixed date, so we could not confirm the figures. Contact their financial aid or program office to confirm the timing before you apply.
Start your application on Illinois Department of Children and Family Services’s siteOpens the sponsor’s own application. Thank a Teacher does not receive applications and never collects or stores any of your information.