Welcome to the Chicago Scholars Lifeline Emergency Fund. Scholars can apply once per semester (January-June/July-December) for support with unexpected emergencies that threaten their ability to stay enrolled.
Our emergency fund is exclusive to students who are a part of the Chicago Scholars program. Scholars must be currently enrolled, undergraduate students. Scholars who have graduated or are enrolled in graduate school are not eligible to apply.
Eligible expenses under the allowable funding cap:- Rent
- Utilities
- Groceries and toiletries
- Past due tuition balances (causing financial hold, preventing class registration)
- Certain medical expenses, including:
- Prescription medications
- Glasses
- Counseling co-pays
- Emergency transportation to/from campus
- Laptop repair or replacement
Due to limited funding, we are unable to support the following expenses:
- Textbooks
- Credit card bills
- Large hospital or medical bills (these can be arranged through payment plans)
- Tuition for the current or upcoming semester
After submitting your application, we will be in touch within 3-5 business days. If your application is extremely urgent or time sensitive, please reach out to The College Success Team. Approved requests approximately take 7-10 business days to process funds.
The next page of the application will ask basic information regrading your situation and the option to upload relevant documentation (lease, bills, etc.). If you have questions before completing the application, or want support as you're filing it out, contact the College Success team at collegesuccess@chicagoscholars.org or schedule time during our
office hours.