Counselor Message Board
The Counselor Message Board is updated each week.
ISAC has initiated the 2022-23 State Scholar Program
early announcement processing cycle. From this point forward, a weekly announcement of 2022-23 State Scholars will be made for students attending high schools that have chosen to participate in the early announcement process, with results reflected in the SSP system on Tuesday mornings. Further details are provided in an
October 21 e-Message.
High schools that have not already done so are encouraged to
submit sixth semester data for their high school seniors as soon as they are able – and no later than Friday, November 5, 2021 – using one of two available options: via the online process, or in batches. Further details, including an update regarding the early announcement processing cycle for 2022-23 State Scholars, can be found in an
October 21 e-Message.
If your school has been considering make the switch from paper to electronic transcripts, be sure to register for the Parchment Preview webinar that will take place at 10 a.m. (CT) on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. Further details – including a high-level description of the
ISAC Transcript Exchange and access to online registration for the webinar – are provided in an
October 20 e-Message.
Remind your college-bound students who are planning to attend college in Illinois that they can get an idea of their eligibility for the
MAP grant by using the MAP Estimator online tool. Students can access the MAP Estimator via the
Toolbox area of the
ISAC Student Portal.
An
October 14 e-Message announces that counselors at participating high schools may access their students' 2022-23 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) and Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid completion data via the
FAFSA Completion component of the GAP Access portal. A new "opt-out" box in the FAFSA Completion system allows high schools to indicate that the
FAFSA mandate waiver provision has been exercised by a parent, guardian, or the student (if at least 18 years old or emancipated). While not required, the Student Record Upload function remains available for any high school choosing to use it.
An
October 14 e-Message provides information about upcoming
PaCE Implementation Leader Training webinars. Details – including access to online registration (required) and the date/time for each webinar – is available on the
Illinois PaCE: Webinars page of this website.
An
October 13 e-Message announces that the Parchment Connect: Illinois event that had been scheduled for October 21
st at Blackburn College has been cancelled. We are considering hosting another Connect event during the spring of 2022.
ED
announces that resources are available for counselors to help students with the 2022-23 FAFSA form and the mobile app. Further details, including a full selection of FAFSA resources, can be found at the
Financial Aid Toolkit website.
Session recordings and materials from the
2021 FAFSA Symposium are now available online. Further details, including how to access the recordings, are provided in an
October 5 e-Message.
An
October 1 e-Message provides information regarding several upcoming important dates.
ED
announces that the
Federal Student Aid Estimator is now available, which helps students calculate an estimated Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and financial aid they may be eligible for. Further details are found at the
Financial Aid Toolkit website.
October is Illinois College Changes Everything (CCE) Month. Further details, including suggested ways to assist students with filing college applications and financial aid forms, are provided in a
September 29 Press Release. In addition, high schools and counselors who would like to participate in CCE Month can find information and a downloadable toolkit at the
College Changes Everything Month web page.
Encourage your returning college students who are planning to attend college in the fall of 2022 to
create an FSA ID, which is used when completing the FAFSA. Be sure to remind students to submit the 2022-23 FAFSA, which will require 2020 income information, on or after October 1, 2021.
Be sure to regularly visit the
2022-23 FAFSA Completion page (located in the
Applying for Financial Aid area of the
e-Library) for the latest information regarding the upcoming financial aid processing cycle.
View up to date information on Illinois’ Covid-19 vaccine plan and vaccination eligibility from the
College Illinois!®
