ISAC Helps Spanish-Speaking Families Apply for Financial Aid

DEERFIELD – Because families with limited English proficiency often do not have sufficient access to information about the college financial aid process and available programs, their students, who may qualify for financial aid, often apply late or do not apply at all.  Recognizing this obstacle in college planning for Spanish-speaking families, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is presenting a training event for college financial aid administrators, high school guidance counselors, and educational loan lenders, focused on preparing a financial aid workshop in Spanish. 

The training workshop, to be presented in Spanish, will be held on Tuesday, January 11, 2005.  Interested financial aid professionals can call ISAC toll-free at 800-899-4722 for more information and to register for the workshop. The workshop will offer a ready-to-use Power Point presentation in Spanish and a review of ISAC’s resources available in Spanish.

Understanding the significance of the Spanish language for thousands of Illinois families, ISAC has translated many of its educational services to Spanish in order to provide these students and families assistance in learning about and applying for student aid.  Several publications describing financial aid and ISAC’s programs are available in Spanish, including a checklist for selecting a college and applying for financial aid.  Both the College Zone Web site (collegezone.com), the comprehensive resource for college information, and the College Illinois! Web site (collegeillinois.com), the state’s 529 Prepaid Tuition program, feature Web sites in Spanish.  Finally, Spanish-speaking College Zone counselors are available by telephone to help students and families plan, find, apply, and pay for a college education.  The College Zone counselors are available by calling toll-free at 800-899-4722.

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.