The Illinois Sheriffs’ Association plans to award more than 100 scholarships, up to $500 each, to students planning to attend an Illinois public college or university next year.

DeKalb County Sheriff Roger Scott said the scholarships will be awarded statewide to students planning to attend an Illinois institute of higher learning. Applicants are not restricted by race, age, creed, sex or the course of study pursued, Scott said.

Students are eligible to apply for the scholarship provided they will be attending an Illinois school the next year, said Donna Peterson, secretary for Sheriff Scott. Since the program began, college students already attending an Illinois school have applied for the scholarship as well as high school students, she said.

Eligible students must be permanent residents of Illinios, must plan to be enrolled as full-time undergraduates, and the awarded scholarships are to be utilized at institutions in Illinois, Scott said.

“It’s a great opportunity,” Peterson said, because schools cost so much, and students must attend them if they wish to get a better education.

Peterson said students may come to the Sheriff’s office, 150 N. Main St., Sycamore, to pick up an application form. Students do not need a certain grade point average, but they must have a letter of recommendation from either a college department chairman, a high school principal, or a counselor, Peterson said. Students’ applications are judged by a non-partisan group from a 350-word essay they must write about three different topics on student matters, she said.

The Sheriffs’ scholarship program is funded through the various programs of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association, including the Associate Membership Program, which was started in 1980, Scott said. Peterson said anyone in the community can join the Associate Membership Program, but only law officers can join the Sheriffs’ Association.