JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

State Scholar Program

Program News

(Last updated November 22, 2022)

GAP Access Two-Factor Authentication
2023-24 State Scholar Processing
    Processing Announcements
    Certificates of Achievement
College Entrance Exams for 2024-25 State Scholars

GAP Access Two-Factor Authentication

A two-factor authentication process was implemented to improve security for accessing the Gift Assistance Programs on the GAP Access portal. The process requires the use of a one-time verification code, obtained through an application, in conjunction with a user ID and password, when logging in to the portal.

Two-factor authentication is required for both School User and Administrator accounts every time a user logs in. If the setup process has not yet been completed by the high school, refer to the GAP Access Two-Factor Authentication User Guide for instructions.

2023-24

State Scholar Processing

ISAC has announced 2023-24 State Scholars. Further details are provided in a November 22 e-Message.

Processing Announcements

  • Individual congratulatory letters have been sent to Scholars.
  • High schools may generate the "Finalists" report by following the instructions provided on pages 14-15 of the SSP Online Processing User Guide.
    • An individual student's status can be checked by viewing the “Selected for State Scholar” column on the “Student Results” screen within the SSP system.
  • Refer to the State Scholar Finalists page for information about corrections, Illinois State Scholar Badges and submitting an appeal.
    • The deadline for 2023-24 State Scholar appeals is Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
  • A sample press release, which can assist schools in announcing State Scholars, is also available via the State Scholar Finalists area.

Certificates of Achievement

  • Instructions for downloading and printing Certificates of Achievement are provided in the SSP Online Processing User Guide.
  • Schools that participated in the early announcement process but did not choose to download and print their own certificates are mailed printed Certificates of Achievement from ISAC.
  • High schools that downloaded their own certificates will not receive the ISAC-printed Certificates of Achievements.

2024-25

College Entrance Exams

Eligibility for the State Scholar Program is based, in part, on a student's highest qualifying ACT or SAT score. High school juniors who are potential candidates will need to take one of the accepted exams during the specified timeframe to be considered for State Scholar designation, even though Illinois' public institutions are now prohibited from requiring the submission of student test scores as part of the admissions process.

For current high school juniors, only exams taken between August 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 qualify for consideration in the State Scholar announcements that will be made during their senior year (i.e., high school juniors, who will be college freshmen during the 2024-25 academic year, will be named Scholars during the fall of 2023).