Governor Quinn Announces Assistance Workshops for Financial Aid Awareness Month

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today announced a series of free workshops statewide for parents and students in connection with Financial Aid Awareness Month during February. The workshops, conducted by experts from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), will help families navigate the college financial aid process and apply for assistance. In his 2014 State of the State Address, Governor Quinn called for increasing the amount of financial aid available to Illinois college students. Today's announcement is part of the Governor's agenda to prepare every child for success in college, career and beyond.

"Deserving students should be able to afford a college education," Governor Quinn said. "Over the next five years I have proposed that we double the number of MAP scholarships for students in need in Illinois. This, combined with Financial Aid Awareness workshops like those being held across Illinois, will help well over a hundred thousand students go to college so they are equipped to excel in the 21st century workplace. I encourage students across the state to file for aid now so they have every available resource to help get a degree."

The financial aid assistance workshops are being conducted by specially trained members of the ISACorps, which is funded in part by the College Access Challenge Grant Program from the U.S. Department of Education. The Corps' main mission is to expand ISAC's college outreach programs and services to help students with career exploration, college selection, test preparation, scholarship searches, application completion and the financial aid process. The Corps comprises recent college graduates who serve as near-peer mentors to high school students. Each of the members is assigned to a community college district in Illinois, ensuring that families and students throughout the state have access to personal assistance from college access experts.

"Illinois students who filed the FAFSA in 2013 are receiving more than $1.4 billion in state and federal aid this school year," ISAC Executive Director Eric Zarnikow said. "Even with so many students benefiting, there are still more who aspire to college but don't apply because they assume the costs will be too high. We want families and students to know that MAP and Pell grants can put college within their reach, that filing the FAFSA now will give them the best shot at receiving the most aid, and that we're here to help them through the process."

In addition to ISACorps workshops and presentations, ISAC offers help through a toll-free call center at 1-800-899-4722 (ISAC) and through a free smartphone app (B4College Alerts) available for Android devices through the Google Play Store.

The Financial Aid Awareness Month workshops will specifically help families understand and complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, the document upon which most college financial aid is based. Those attending the workshops are asked to bring records of income; investment and asset information; and Social Security, driver's license and alien registration numbers (if applicable).

The financial aid workshop dates and locations are listed below, with additional dates and sites added daily and listed at www.isac.org/calendar.

Adams County
Feb. 9: John Wood Community College, Quincy, 1 - 3 p.m.

Champaign County
Feb. 3: Unity High School, Tolono, 6 - 6 p.m.
Feb. 4: Centennial High School, Champaign, 6 - 8 p.m.
Feb. 6: Parkland College, Champaign, 6 - 9 p.m.
Feb. 13: Champaign Central High School, 6 - 8 p.m.

Cook County
Feb. 2: Rainbow PUSH Headquarters, 930 E. 50th Street, Chicago, 12:30 - 2 p.m.
Feb. 4: Wheeling High School Library, 6:30 - 7:45 p.m.
Feb. 5: Schaumburg High School, 6 - 8 p.m.
Feb. 8: Northeastern Illinois University Lech Walesa Hall, Chicago, 9 a.m. - noon.
Feb. 8: Northeastern Illinois University El Centro, Chicago, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Feb. 8: Cristo Rey High School, Chicago, 10 a.m. - noon.
Feb. 8: Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hills, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Feb. 9: Lincoln Park High School, Chicago, 9 a.m. - noon.

Crawford County
Feb. 20: Lincoln Trail College, Robinson, 4 - 7 p.m.

DeWitt County
Feb. 19: Blue Ridge High School, Farmer City, 6 - 8 p.m.

DuPage County
Feb. 6: College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, 7 - 9 p.m.

Grundy County
Feb. 5: Gardner South Wilmington High School, 6 - 8 p.m.
Feb. 14: Coal City High School, 5:30 - 8 p.m.

Kane County
Feb. 5: Waubonsee Community College Student Center Room 106, Sugar Grove, 4 - 6 p.m.
Feb. 5: Larkin High School, Elgin, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 9: Elgin Community College, noon - 3 p.m.
Feb. 9: Waubonsee Community College Rooms 164 & 175, Sugar Grove, 1 - 3 p.m.
Feb. 18: East Aurora High School, 5:30 - 7 p.m.
Feb. 26: Aurora Public Library West Branch, 6 - 7 p.m.
Feb. 27: Waubonsee Community College Room 160, Aurora, 4 - 6 p.m.

Knox County
Feb. 2: Carl Sandburg College Wilson Building, Galesburg, 1 - 4 p.m.

LaSalle County
Feb. 12: Seneca High School, 6:30 - 9 p.m.

Lee County
Feb. 19: Ashton-Franklin Center High School, 6 - 8 p.m.

Macon County
Feb. 8: Richland Community College, Decatur, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Madison County
Feb. 16: Lewis & Clark Community College, Godfrey, 1 - 3 p.m.

Marion/Clinton County
Feb. 23: Kaskaskia College, Centralia, 1 - 3 p.m.

McHenry County
Feb. 10: Huntley Public Library, 7 - 8 p.m.
Feb. 15: McHenry County College, Crystal Lake, 1 - 4 p.m.

McLean County
Feb. 8: Heartland Community College, Normal, 10 a.m. - noon.

Peoria County
Feb. 18: Peoria Public Library, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.

Piatt County
Feb. 5: Monticello High School, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Richland County
Feb. 5: Olney Central College Room 208, 5 - 6:30 p.m.

Rock Island County
Feb. 8: Black Hawk College, Moline, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

St. Clair County
Feb. 23: Southwestern Illinois College, Belleville, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Stephenson County
Feb. 7: Highland Community College, Freeport, noon - 4 p.m.
Feb. 11: Highland Community College, Freeport, 3 - 7 p.m.
Feb. 12: Lena-Winslow High School, 6 - 7 p.m.
Feb. 21: Highland Community College, Freeport, noon - 4 p.m.

Vermilion County
Feb. 5: Jamaica High School, Sidell, 6 - 8 p.m.
Feb. 23: Danville Area Community College Vermilion Hall 302, 1 - 3 p.m.

Wabash County
Feb. 11: Mt. Carmel High School, 6 - 8 p.m.

Whiteside County
Feb. 18: Sterling High School, 4 - 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 26: Sterling High School, 4 - 7:30 p.m.

Will County
Feb. 7: Joliet West High School, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 11: Joliet Central High School, 6 - 8 p.m.
Feb. 13: Lockport High School, 6 - 8 p.m.
Feb. 21: Joliet Central High School, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Feb. 28: Lockport High School, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Williamson County
Feb. 20: John A. Logan College, Carterville, 5 - 8 p.m.

Winnebago County
Feb. 2: Guilford High School, Rockford, 6 - 8 p.m.