Illinois Commitment Means Some Students Will Qualify For Free College Tuition

The Foellinger Auditorium (pictured) is located on campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign where qualifying Illinois residents will now have the opportunity to receive free tuition. Photo Credit: Herbert J. Brant
The Foellinger Auditorium (pictured) is located on campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign where qualifying Illinois residents will now have the opportunity to receive free tuition. Photo Credit: Herbert J. Brant

Illinois Commitment Means Some Students Will Qualify For Free College Tuition

BY KATHERINE NEWMAN

A public forum was recently held at Kenwood Academy, 5015 S. Blackstone Ave., to discuss the recently announced Illinois Commitment financial aid package that will allow qualifying Illinois students to receive free tuition to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The forum was hosted by the Chicago Pre-College Science

and Engineering program and Dr. Kevin Pitts, vice provost of undergraduate education for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, led the discussion.

Overall, Illinois Commitment is a new financial aid package for Illinois residents who have been accepted to attend the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The package is for students who are admitted as new freshmen or transfer students, are under the age of 24, and whose total family income is $61,000 or less.

Through this program, qualifying students will receive scholarships and grants to cover their full cost of tuition and campus fees for up to four years for new freshmen or three years for transfer students.

“This will be a game changer for a number of families across the state to let them know that yes you can afford an Illinois education,” said Robert J. Jones, chancellor of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Over the last decade, college tuition rates across the country have been on the rise and this is not the first effort by the University of Illinois to alleviate some of the financial pressure that comes with getting a post-secondary education. In January of 2018, the University of Illinois Board of Trustees voted to freeze tuition for in-state freshman for the fourth straight year which extended to the universities campuses in Chicago, Springfield, and Urbana-Champaign.

“Students that do well in school and want to get a great education should have an opportunity to go to college,” said Lovie Smith, head coach for the University of Illinois’ football program.

To be considered for the Illinois Commitment financial aid package, students will still need to apply for admission to the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign and complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as they normally would.

The Illinois Commitment financial aid package does not cover room and board, fees related to certain courses, summer classes, winter classes, books, or study abroad programs but students may apply for other scholarships or grants to cover those costs on top of applying the Illinois Commitment package to their tuition and campus fees.

“With this program, students will be able to come and focus on their academics and that’s what we want,” said Gioconda Guerra Pérez, assistant vice chancellor for diversity and academic inclusive excellence at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

For more information on the Illinois Commitment financial aid package, visit www.illinois.edu.

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