Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program

Program News

(last updated September 11, 2024)

2024-25 Program Funding
2024-25 Payment
2024-25 Application, Certification and Award Determination
2023-24 Reconciliation – Due to ISAC Notifications

2024-25

Program Funding

The 2025 fiscal year (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025) appropriation for the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program is $10,750,000.

Payment

As announced in a September 11 e-Message, 2024-25 Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program first-term payment requests can be completed online and submitted electronically to ISAC via the Golden Apple system. In order to be considered timely, first-term payment requests must be submitted on or before Tuesday, December 31, 2024.

Submitting payment requests is a two-step process, which involves generating the request (either individually or in a batch) and then submitting the request.

Payment results display on the Golden Apple Student Detail: Payment screen the day after payment requests are processed. In addition, a Payment Result Summary and Invoice Detail Report can be viewed or printed by selecting the Report tab in the Golden Apple system the day after a payment request has been processed. The report includes Payment Results, Payment Exceptions and Invoice Detail about the payment claim. The Payment Results/Exceptions report should be reviewed the day after submitting payment requests to see which requests, if any, did not process as expected.

The disbursement of funds is processed by the State Comptroller's Office. Refer to the State Comptroller's Website page for information on how to track payment.

For more information, refer to the following resources on ISAC's website:

• Golden Apple Payment
• Golden Apple Electronic Processing
• Golden Apple User Guide

Application, Certification and Award Determination

As announced in a September 11 e-Message, colleges may view a listing of their institution's potential 2024-25 Golden Apple Scholars via the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen within the Golden Apple system.

The Application, Certification and Award Determination functions for the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program are performed by the Golden Apple Foundation. Once a student has been certified as eligible by the Golden Apple Foundation, their award will immediately appear on the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen.

Reminder

All users need a valid GAP Access ID and password to access the Golden Apple system. ISAC relies on a designated Primary Administrator (usually, the financial aid director) at each institution to authorize users and provide them with the appropriate level of access for each ISAC program, including Golden Apple. Further details may be found in the GAP Access User Guides, and questions may be directed to ISAC's School Services Department.

2023-24

Reconciliation – Due to ISAC Notifications

Notifications detailing the outstanding amount that must be refunded to ISAC for 2023-24 Golden Apple awards were e-mailed to financial aid directors in early August. Review the information in the notification and return the appropriate amount – along with a completed Gift Assistance Programs Refund Check Form – no later than September 30, 2024.

Details about returning funds to ISAC and the payment offset and reconciliation process are provided in the Refunds and Unpaid Claims section of the Processes area.