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 Welcome to the Counselor Zone
At your fingertips, High School Counselors/Personnel, College Admission Counselors, library and community agency staff have access to a centralized source of information concerning college planning, paying for school, and career planning information for students and their parents, as well as information concerning ISAC's programs, processes, and resources.
Counselor Message Board
The Counselor Message Board is updated each week. New messages for the week are identified by the  symbol. Items under the More section, located toward the bottom of the page, provide links to information on topics that were recently listed on this Message Board.
Online resources are available to assist your college-bound students in deciding which Illinois college to attend. Encourage your students to use the Explore Schools option of the What's Next Illinois website to locate Illinois colleges that meet the specific selection requirements they choose. Also check out the Handbook of Illinois Postsecondary Institutions and the interactive Map of Illinois Colleges (which are available for students at collegeillinois.org) to help your students narrow the search.
Mailing labels (in ZIP Code order) of 2012-13 State Scholar finalists are available from ISAC, at cost, to Illinois colleges, universities, high school counselors, and Regional Superintendents. Orders for mailing labels must be received at ISAC on or before March 30, 2012.
As a reminder, an online listing of 2012-13 State Scholars, displaying each State Scholar alphabetically by high school within the school's Illinois county, is available at collegeillinois.org. The online listing replaces the paper roster that was available to order in previous years.
Remind your college-bound seniors who plan to teach in Illinois after completing their college degree that
March 1, 2012 is the priority consideration date to apply for the 2012-13 Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship and Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) programs. Students may access the applications for each of these programs at the collegeillinois.org website.
The proposed omnibus rules and amendments for ISAC-administered programs for the 2012-13 academic year, as published in the January 13, 2012 Illinois Register, can be accessed from the e-Library's ISAC Administrative Rules page at collegeillinois.org. Also included are emergency rules for the John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program. In addition, a summary of the proposed omnibus rules and amendments may be accessed from the same page. Note that, while the Illinois Register cover and Table of Contents list proposed changes for other agencies, only information pertaining to ISAC-administered programs is included in the e-Library posting. Details regarding the public comment period (which ends on Monday,
February 27, 2012) are also included. The 2012-13 proposed omnibus rules and amendments have an anticipated effective date of July 1, 2012.
Remind your college-bound seniors that the 2012-13 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is available online, and should be completed as early as possible. Although some taxpayers may need to delay the filing of their tax returns, families in this situation should be encouraged to complete the FAFSA with estimated tax information so as not to delay its filing. Several resources are available to assist students and their families with the financial aid application process, including an Outreach Activities Calendar that lists FAFSA completion seminars and other events taking place across the State of Illinois and FAFSA on the Web Worksheets (in English and Spanish) that can help streamline the FAFSA process.
The Central Processing System (CPS) has begun processing 2012-13 FAFSA data. Details regarding the application cycle, which may be helpful as you assist students with the financial aid process, are provided within the 2012-13 FAFSA Completion section of the e-Library at collegeillinois.org.
A November 22 e-Message announces that online registration is now available for winter sessions of ISAC’s Financial Aid Certification Program. As a reminder, ISAC has integrated its professional development opportunities into a formalized annual certification series that gives professionals a detailed understanding of financial aid programs and systems. All sessions are offered at no cost to counselors, mentors, and members of the general public. Details - including locations, dates, and online registration - are available via the Financial Aid Certification Program page at collegeillinois.org.
A September 7 e-Message provides important reminders regarding the College Illinois Transcript Exchange (CITE), including the fact that the registration portal is open for high schools to sign-up to participate. In addition, participating colleges can register for "Docufide Receiver," which will allow them to access transcripts that are sent by high schools via the College Illinois Transcript Exchange.
More
2012-13 State Scholars
(announcements and sample press release)
2011-12 ISAC Administrative Rules
College Illinois!® Prepaid Tuition Program
State Legislative Update
Outreach Calendar/Events
U.S. Department of Education's Federal Aid First
Federal Student Aid's FAFSA4caster
FAFSA Completion Information
Most Recent ISAC Communiqué:
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