College Zone - Printable Version - Student Zone - 8th-12th Grade

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Program Description
Eligibility
Approved High Schools
Selection and Notification Process
Processing Updates

The State Scholar Program recognizes students attending approved high schools (typically, Illinois public high schools; see the Approved High Schools section on this page for further details) for outstanding academic achievement. State scholar designation provides honorary recognition with no monetary award. Approximately the top ten percent of graduates from approved high schools are announced as State Scholars each year.

Eligibility

To be eligible, you must:

Be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen
Be a resident of Illinois
Attend an approved high school
Take the ACT, SAT or Prairie State Achievement Exam between September 1 and June 30 (by the end of the third semester before high school graduation*)
Perform in the top one-half of your high school class at the end of the third semester prior to graduation*, and/or score in the 95th percentile on the ACT, SAT or Prairie State Achievement Exam
Graduate from high school during the academic year in which you were selected as a State Scholar

*(typically the end of your junior year in high school) Approved High Schools

Students attending Illinois public high schools, who meet all eligibility requirements, will be considered for the State Scholar Program.

In addition, students who are Illinois residents attending other high schools (located in Illinois, or elsewhere) with standards of instruction that are substantially equivalent to an Illinois public high school (as determined by the State Superintendent of Education) may also be considered. If such students list Illinois as their state of residence on the ACT and/or SAT assessment tests, they will receive a letter instructing them to work with the high school to provide ISAC with the necessary information. Students who do not list Illinois as their state of residence, but believe they may qualify for this program, should contact an ISAC College Zone Counselor to discuss their situation.

Department of Defense (DOD) High Schools are an example of other schools whose Illinois resident students may be considered for the State Scholar Program, because the State Superintendent of Education has determined that the standards of instruction at DOD schools are substantially equivalent to an Illinois public high school.

Selection and Notification Process

There is no application to complete for the State Scholar Program; standardized test scores and performance-based academic data reported by your high school are used to determine if you are eligible
ISAC receives your ACT, SAT and/or Prairie State Achievement Exam scores from each test's service, provided that you indicate Illinois residency and take the exam during the required timeframe
Your high school counselor submits information to ISAC for the selection process
Your high school then receives a Certificate of Achievement for each State Scholar at that school
If you are named a State Scholar, you will receive a congratulatory letter from ISAC

Processing Updates

Note that ISAC routinely updates this section as new information becomes available. Be sure to check back periodically for the current processing status.

For the 2009-10 Academic Year (last updated December 1, 2009):

During November 2009, qualified Illinois high school students were designated as 2010-11 State Scholars. Congratulatory letters from ISAC have been mailed to Scholars, and a Certificate of Achievement for each Scholar has been mailed to high schools. Typically, the Certificates are presented to Scholars during a high school honors ceremony, but they may be distributed based on the preferences of each high school.

A listing of all 2010-11 State Scholars - displayed alphabetically by high school, within each school's county - may be accessed via the "State Scholar Announcements" option that is located in the right margin of this page.