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Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs

[ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | University of Illinois at Chicago | University of Illinois at Springfield | ]

President's Award Program

A Scholarship Program for Campus Diversity

Description and Eligibility

The President’s Award Program (PAP) assists the University of Illinois to enroll highly capable students who have been admitted to one of the U of I campuses and are members of historically underrepresented groups and groups that have been difficult to enroll at the University. The broad goals of the program are to ensure and enrich the diversity of the student body. The University of Illinois believes that a diverse student body enhances the quality of education for all students.

High achieving newly admitted freshmen from several underrepresented groups are considered for the PAP award. To be eligible for consideration, students must have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement. In addition, these students must have an ACT composite score of 25 or higher or a combined verbal and quantitative SAT score of 1150 or higher. A limited number of students with lower ACT composite scores may also be considered depending on their overall record of academic achievement.

Students from any of the following underrepresented groups at the University of Illinois are eligible for consideration for the PAP award:

• Students who are members of one of the underrepresented racial/ethnic groups at the University of Illinois (African American, Latino, or American Indian; Latino is based on origins from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, or Central or South America);
• Students from underrepresented Illinois counties, with underrepresented defined as counties sending an average of two or fewer students per academic year to the University of Illinois in the past five-year period;
• High achieving dependent students whose families are at or below the poverty level and are not expected to contribute to the cost of their education, as verified through FAFSA and financial aid application processes.

PAP Award Decisions
The scholarship provided by the PAP is intended to support and encourage students to select the University of Illinois for enrollment and each campus of the University makes independent decisions regarding admissions and PAP awards. All applications are made through the regular admissions review process (the application for admission serves as the application for the PAP); once admitted, eligible students receive individual review for the PAP.

Financial Aid
Effective beginning with freshman entering Fall 2012, the PAP award is $5,000 per year, available for a maximum of four years (eight semesters) regardless of need.

PAP Honors
As of fall 2012, a companion program, the PAP Honors Scholarship, was initiated for the highest achieving PAP-eligible students. PAP Honors awards of $10,000 for each of four years are distributed across the three campuses each year to approximately 200 of these highest achieving students.

Scholarship
In order to retain their PAP Scholarship, all PAP students must maintain continuous fulltime enrollment. In addition, PAP students who first enrolled in fall 2012 or later must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 at the end of each academic year. Students with a PAP Honors Scholarship must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 at the end of each year. PAP Honors students having a GPA below 2.5 at the end of any academic year but meeting the minimum for PAP (2.0) will have their scholarship award amount reduced for subsequent terms. Additional requirements may be instituted by the campuses.

Additional Information

Please direct inquiries to the campus of your choice:

Office of Admissions and Records
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
901 West Illinois Street, MC-061
Urbana, IL 61801-3028
(217) 333-0302

Office of Undergraduate Admissions
University of Illinois at Chicago
Box 5220, MC-018
Chicago, Illinois 60680-5220
(312) 996-4350

Office of Admissions
University of Illinois Springfield
One University Plaza, MS UHB 1080
Springfield, IL 62703-5407
(217) 206-4847 or Toll Free (888) 977-4847

For general policy questions only, please contact:

Marilyn Marshall
Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs
mmmurphy@uillinois.edu
(217) 333-3079