Student Assistance Commission Announces State Fair Activities

Join in ISAC’s college video campaign and meet College Illinois!® mascots, too

Springfield, Ill.—The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) announced its activity schedule for the Illinois State Fair at the state fairgrounds in Springfield, August 14-23.  The ISAC booth is located in the Governor’s Tent and is scheduled to be staffed from 9:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. each day.

The newly-formed Illinois Student Assistance Corps and ISAC staff will be on hand to share college financing tips and information on state programs for students each day in addition to offering on-site computer access to interact with the commission’s Web sites, collegezone.com, idapp.com and collegeillinois.com.  Users will also be able to “test drive” the all-new whatsnextillinois.org, beginning next week.

Youngsters can receive a KnowHow2GoIllinois balloon just for stopping by, and special opportunities exist to meet the College Illinois® 529 Prepaid Tuition mascots, Rex and Tony, during scheduled times next week.  Parents will have the opportunity to speak with a College Illinois! representative as well.

Additionally, fair-goers will have the opportunity to share their thoughts on several topics as part of an online video diary: what they want to be when they grow up, why they want to go to college, the importance of financial aid in paying for a college education, and how the College Illinois! 529 Prepaid Tuition helped make college affordable.

A complete schedule of ISAC’s Illinois State Fair services and activities is listed below:

Illinois Student Assistance Corps Counselors	Daily
Online access to CollegeIllinois.com	Daily
Online access to IDAPP.com	Daily
Online Access to CollegeZone.com	Daily
Online Access to WhatsNextIllinois.org	Mon., August 17 – Sun., August 23
College Illinois! 529 Prepaid Tuition Advisor	Tue., August 18 – Fri., August 21
Video Diary (11 a.m-Noon, 2 p.m.-3 p.m., 4 p.m.-5 p.m.)	Mon., August 17 – Fri., August 21
College Illinois! Mascot (1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m.)	Mon, Aug. 17; Wed., Aug 19; Fri., Aug. 21
College Illinois! 529 Prepaid Tuition presentation (Noon, 6 p.m.)	Wed., Aug 19; Thu., Aug. 20; Fri., Aug. 21

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission provides students of all ages and backgrounds with the resources and support to obtain financial aid for higher education. A state agency, ISAC has paved the path to post-secondary education with innovative programs for over 50 years. Last year alone, ISAC continued its mission to make college accessible and affordable for Illinois students by issuing 186,000 grants and scholarships totaling nearly $431 million. 

The Commission provides educational funding with student loans, as a loan guarantor and via numerous public programs such as the Monetary Award Program (MAP), the Illinois Veteran Grant and College Illinois!®, the Commission’s groundbreaking 529 prepaid college tuition program. Students and families have free access to a wealth of financial aid and college planning information at ISAC’s family of websites available at http://www.knowhow2goillinois.org/ .

About ISAC
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is the State’s centralized provider of financial assistance aimed at helping students and families access postsecondary education and/or training. Each year, the Commission awards an estimated $400 million in scholarship and grant aid to nearly 185,000 qualified students, and also provides an additional $740 million to borrowers through its student loan programs. The agency offers credit-based alternative loans, a 529 prepaid tuition program known as College Illinois!, and a broad array of outreach and informational services to ensure that families have access to the information they need to pay for a college education. More information is available by calling toll-free 800.899.ISAC (4722) or visiting the agency’s Web site at www.collegezone.com.