Early Announcement of 2026-27 State Scholars Has Begun

11/07/2025

Links in this message are to corresponding pages at the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) website (isac.org) unless otherwise noted.

First Early Announcements of 2026-27 State Scholars Completed

ISAC is pleased to announce that the 2026-27 State Scholar Program (SSP) early announcement processing cycle has begun for those high schools that have chosen to participate. Scholars whose high schools participate in the early announcement process can benefit by including this academic achievement on their college admission applications.

  • High schools for whom Scholars are named may check an individual student's status by viewing the "Selected for State Scholar" column on the "Student Results" screen within the SSP system.
  • A "Finalist" report may be generated via the SSP system. Instructions for generating this report are provided in the SSP Online Processing User Guide.

Weekly Announcement of State Scholars

From this point forward, a weekly announcement of 2026-27 State Scholars will be made for students attending high schools that have submitted sixth semester data with no unresolved discrepancies and have chosen to participate in the early announcement process. Results for these high schools will be reflected in the SSP system on Wednesday mornings.

Reminders

  • Although the October 31, 2025 deadline for the first round of early announcements has passed, ISAC will continue to accept sixth semester data until the final round of announcements has been completed (anticipated for early December).
    • Submit your students' sixth semester data as soon as possible to make sure they are included as 2026-27 State Scholars are determined throughout the fall.
  • Students with an Illinois Standard Test Score (ISTS) of 30 or higher are automatically designated as State Scholars; students with an ISTS lower than 30, but whose Weighted Selection Score (WSS) is greater than or equal to the cutoff score of 47, are also designated as State Scholars.
  • High schools choose whether to include their eligible students for consideration in the early processing cycle.
    • Checking the "Run Selection" box (located on the "State Scholar Program: Search By School: Results" screen of the SSP system) allows the high school's students to be included for consideration in the next round of 2026-27 State Scholar announcements.
    • For high schools that submit sixth semester data via an Excel spreadsheet, the "Run Selection" checkbox becomes available to check after ISAC has reviewed the file.
      • Once ISAC has reviewed the file, an email is sent to the high school's Primary Administrator (principal) and the School Contact (as listed in the SSP system's "State Scholar Program: Search by School: Results" screen) to indicate the "Run Selection" box is available to check.
      • Before checking the box, be sure to review all submitted student data for accuracy.
  • Students whose high schools submit sixth semester data, but choose not to participate in the early announcement process, will be considered for State Scholar designation when the last announcement round takes place in late fall.
  • A sample press release, which can assist schools in announcing State Scholars, will be provided at the ISAC website after final announcements have been made.
  • In past years, ISAC has mailed congratulatory letters directly to State Scholars. Unfortunately, recent changes in ACT and SAT data prevent us from obtaining mailing addresses for some students.
    • In the current processing cycle (for students entering college in 2026-27), ISAC will print and mail State Scholar congratulatory letters to participating high schools after the final round of announcements has been completed.
      • We ask schools to distribute the letters to State Scholars in a manner that works best for them.
    • Beginning with next year's cycle (for students entering college in 2027–28), ISAC will no longer print and mail congratulatory letters.
      • High schools will access student notifications through the SSP system and share them with their State Scholars.
      • Detailed instructions for accessing student notifications will be provided when this functionality becomes available.

Resources Available Online

The following resources provide additional information about the State Scholar Program, including submitting sixth semester data, participating in the early announcement process, downloading and printing Certificates of Achievement, and validating State Scholar badges:

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If you have any questions, please contact School Services by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or calling 866.247.2172.