Outside Scholarships

Scholarships from Partner Organizations

External Scholarships

Holy Trinity partners with the following scholarship organizations, and we encourage students to explore these opportunities to help make a Catholic education affordable.

Tax Credit Scholarship
The information below has been provided by the Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs)

The State of Illinois has created a tax credit scholarship program called the “Invest in Kids Act.” This state program provides scholarships for low-income students enrolled in private schools. Scholarships will cover up to 100 percent of tuition and eligible fees. There are two new additions to the program that are in effect for the 2023-2024 application and award cycle.
 
New Priority Guidelines
Students who received a tax credit scholarship for the previous school year are first-in-line for a scholarship in the next school year, so long as they remain eligible. 
 
Students who meet the following criteria will be in Category 0:
  • Received a scholarship from a scholarship granting organization (SGO) during the previous school year
  • Submitted their application before April 1
 
Students who meet one of the following criteria and submitted their application before April 1 will be placed in Category 1:
  • Are members of a household whose previous year’s total annual income does not exceed 185% of the federal poverty level;
  • Reside within a focus district (all of Chicago meets this criteria);
  • If any student in your family received a tax credit scholarship in the previous school year.
The first-come, first-served order of students in each category will still be determined by your reservation time stamp.
 

Partial Scholarships
Schools have now been granted the ability to offer partial scholarships to families in income tiers above 185% of the federal poverty level. This still protects scholarship amounts for students in the lowest-income tier, but allows the opportunity for more students to receive tax credit scholarships. The award amounts for students in income tiers 2 and 3 will be affected by this change.

 

Application Process

The application process will be managed by Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). Holy Trinity has partnered with three SGOs in the City of Chicago and we strongly encourage families to apply to all SGOs to increase your chances of being granted a scholarship. All students wishing to receive a tax credit scholarship must apply, regardless of whether you already received a tax credit scholarship the previous school year.
 
Big Shoulders Fund SGO
Application opens at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, January 12, 2023. For more information and to find their application on January 12 please visit Big Shoulders Fund SGO’s website.
 
Your time stamp is obtained after the first page of the application, but you MUST CONTINUE on and complete all of the pages and receive the confirmation page IN ORDER TO SAVE YOUR TIME STAMP. You may take your time completing the remaining pages as long as you complete the full application at one time. Big Shoulders Fund SGO will follow-up with families via email regarding submission of documentation for income verification, etc. 
 
Empower Illinois
Reservation process opens at 6:30 p.m. with submissions beginning at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 18, 2023. For more helpful resources and to find the reservation/application on January 18 please visit the Empower Illinois SGO website.
 

Step 1: Reservation (This gets your date-time stamp for the waitlist)
Step 2: Application

After completing the reservation process you will receive an email from Empower Illinois inviting you to complete your application. Empower Illinois encourages you to complete your application as soon as possible to give yourself the best chance at receiving a scholarship.
 

HighSight SGO
Application open date To Be Determined. You must complete the reservation page in order to have your submission screened and to be invited to participate in the full application process. For more information and to find their application please visit HighSight SGO’s website.

  • Families will be required to provide the following information: name of student applicant, address, email address, current school, current grade, school you plan to attend in 2022-23, parent/guardian name, parent/guardian email, total number of residents in the household, total adjusted gross income of the household
  • If there are multiple students applying in the household, each student must submit an application.
  • After qualified donations are received, HighSight will begin requesting complete applications on a first-come, first-served basis. HighSight will then begin granting scholarships to eligible students allowing them to attend the private school of their choice, subject to the availability of funds.
 

Income Guidelines

 

 

Required Information for Application

You are strongly encouraged to have all documents scanned and ready to attach as PDF files to your application. The SGOs are encouraging families to apply via mobile device. To scan your documents to create PDF files using your smartphone, please download the Adobe Scan app.
 
Household Information
  • Parent/guardian contact information (e.g. address, city, zip, etc.), including an email address (required) along with supporting documentation for the household address (e.g., utility bill, driver’s license, etc.)
  • Number of people in your household
  • School district in which your household resides
  • Federal adjusted gross income (AGI) with a copy of your federal 1040 (first two pages) or signed verification that your family was not required to file a 1040 (signed by parent/guardian)
Student Information
  • Student name and birth date
  • Grade for the coming school year
  • Siblings for which the household will apply under the tax credit scholarship program
School Information
  • Identify the non-public school being selected by the student in the household
  • Identify whether the student is already enrolled at the selected school
If you have any questions please contact Matt Swanson, Scholarships & Financial Assistance Officer, at mswanson@holytrinity-hs.org or (773) 278-4212 ext. 3043.

Contact the Admissions Team

Thank you for your interest in Holy Trinity High School in Chicago, IL! We look forward to hearing from you.
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