 Money-saving information on how to cope with the rising costs of
college will be available at a booth in Campus Town operated by the
Illinois Student Assistance Commission. The agency will also use the
occasion to launch the statewide KnowHow2Go campaign, which works to
help students prepare for college.
The ISAC booth in Campus Town will be open daily Aug. 10-19, from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Games and prizes will be available as well.
As the cost of getting a college education continues to soar,
more college graduates face crushing debt on graduation day. To help
students avoid such debt, ISAC offers a wide range of scholarships,
grants and low-interest loans, as well as College Illinois, a
successful prepaid tuition program.
Visitors to the ISAC booth may talk to financial aid experts
about the Monetary Award Program, which has helped hundreds of
thousands of Illinois students attend college. A MAP recipient may
receive as much as $4,968 per year to pay for tuition and fees,
depending on financial need. Another ISAC program -- the Silas
Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access grant -- awards up to $500 to
freshmen students. Interested in a career in teaching or forensic
science? Visit the ISAC booth to learn how you can receive these
types of grants to further your education.
Parents and grandparents will be interested in the popular
College Illinois prepaid tuition program, which enables participants
to lock in the cost of tuition and fees today, protecting against
future tuition inflation. With excellent tax advantages and easy
terms, it's no wonder that more than 50,000 Illinois families have
joined the program.
Need help completing the free application for federal student
aid, known as FAFSA? Want to take a "virtual tour" of Illinois
college campuses? Looking for free counseling on career options and
how to choose the right school? The ISAC booth will offer access to
www.collegezone.com, the
agency's online site, which provides valuable advice to students,
parents and counselors.
The Illinois State Fair is also the launch site for the statewide
KnowHow2Go campaign. KnowHow2Go
is a free, grass-roots initiative that helps young people,
particularly low-income students and those who are the first in
their families to pursue higher education, navigate the complex
process of preparing for college.
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 "We want students in middle school or even younger to start
preparing for college academically, and we want their families to
start preparing financially," said Andy Davis, ISAC executive
director. "The Know How2Go campaign plants the seed early that
college is an achievable goal, but one that requires some planning.
That's why ISAC will be spreading the word about this exciting
initiative at the summer's hottest event: the Illinois State Fair."
The KnowHow2GO campaign encourages young people to actively
pursue postsecondary education by reaching out to them, their
parents and other adult influencers in their communities. The
not-for-profit group is sponsored nationally by the American Council
on Education, Lumina Foundation for Education and the Ad Council,
which is running a public service announcement campaign about it.
Visitors to the ISAC booth will be offered a free demonstration
of this innovative tool. To find out more, visit
www.knowhow2go.org or call
1-800-899-4722.
"Celebrate and Educate" is the theme of this year's Illinois
State Fair. In Campus Town -- site of the ISAC booth -- Illinois
higher education is celebrated daily by showcasing a different
college or university. The schedule of schools is as follows: Aug.
10, Robert Morris College; Aug. 11, Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale; Aug. 13, Illinois College in Jacksonville; Aug. 14,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Aug. 15, Community
College Day; Aug. 16, Eureka College; Aug. 17, University of
Illinois at Springfield; Aug. 18, Lincoln Land Community College;
and Aug. 19, MacMurray College.
Created in 1957, ISAC is the state's central provider of college
aid. The agency oversees the successful Monetary Award Program, as
well as the Illinois Veteran Grant program and service-related
programs to encourage more students to pursue careers in teaching or
nursing. Last year, ISAC issued 185,000 grants and scholarships
totaling $400 million. Its 529 prepaid tuition program, College
Illinois, has allowed Illinois families to prepay more than $1
billion in tuition and fees.
[Text from
Illinois Student Assistance
Commission news release received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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