Counselor Message Board
The Counselor Message Board is updated each week.
In order to perform necessary maintenance, several ISAC websites will be unavailable from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, June 23, 2013. Further details are provided in a
June 19 e-Message.
Remind your college-bound students and their families, who are seeking ways to finance higher education, that they should beware of scams (including attempts at identity theft or fraud). Information about financial aid scams is available at the
Scholarship and Financial Aid Scams page of the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Information website. Suspected identity theft or fraud can be reported by calling the federal Office of Inspector General hotline at 800.MISUSED (647.8733). A
MISUSED web resource is also available. In addition, families may wish to review a document from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) entitled “
Don’t Get Scammed on Your Way to College!”
A
recent article from The New York Times reports that retailers are promoting their "back-to-school" campaigns earlier than ever, in an effort to get families to start thinking now about making purchases for the school year that will begin next fall. Because there is uncertainty regarding what the economic future may bring, companies hope to entice customers to spend their money now.
A
May 29 e-Message provides information regarding several upcoming important dates which may be of interest to both counselors and college-bound students
A
May 22 e-Message announces that ISAC is accepting sixth semester data from high schools, which will be used to determine
State Scholar Program (SSP) eligibility for students who will be college freshmen during the 2014-15 academic year. The message provides information regarding the available methods of submitting data to ISAC, including a new electronic option that utilizes the Parchment Exchange system. In order to facilitate timely processing, high schools are encouraged to submit their school-generated sixth semester data on or before Monday, September 30, 2013.
Registration is now open for the
College Changes Everything conference, which will be held on July 11, 2013, at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Further details are provided in a
May 21 e-Message.
October has been designated as
Illinois College Application Month 2013. Details, including how to register your high school for an event, are provided in an
April 30 e-Message.
B4College Alerts is a new smartphone app, currently available for Android-powered phones, developed by ISAC to provide timely and personalized alerts to college-bound students. Two types of alerts are offered: FAFSA Completion and ISACorps Events. Your students can learn more about the app, view an informational video, and/or download the app (via either Google Play™ or QR code) at the
B4College Alerts page of this website.
The
Impact of Sequestration on the Federal Student Aid Programs page at
Federal Student Aid’s StudentAid.gov provides families with general information on how “across-the-board” federal budget cuts (known as the sequester) will impact federal student aid programs. As a reminder, the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 stipulates that the sequester is to take effect if Congress failed to enact legislation to reduce the federal deficit. The required budget cuts took effect as of March 1, 2013.
Prepaid Tuition 
Twitter
Facebook