High School Data Collection and Processing Has Begun

05/18/2026

Links in this message go to the Counselors area at isac.org unless otherwise noted.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: Effective with the data collection cycle beginning May 18, 2026, the sixth semester data collection process will support both the State Scholar Program (SSP) and the One Click College Admit (OCCA) program. For this reason, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is now referring to this process as the "High School Data Collection" process.

ISAC is now accepting SSP and OCCA data for Illinois students who will be college freshmen during the 2027-28 academic year. The information needed for both programs will be collected on one data collection template – there will not be separate templates for SSP and OCCA data collection.

Use these links to go to a specific section:

ISAC Accepting Sixth Semester Data
First Awarding
Reminder Regarding SSP Congratulatory Letters and Certificates of Achievement
Watch for Further Updates

ISAC Accepting Sixth Semester Data

Sixth semester, defined as the third semester prior to graduation, is typically the end of a student's junior year (excluding summer term). This data must be submitted via the SSP//OCCA system in the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal.

New for the 2027-28 High School Data Collection processing cycle, unweighted grade point average (GPA) and student directory information will need to be collected for all high school juniors to fulfill the requirements of the OCCA program. A full list of mandatory and optional student-level fields can be found on the High School Data Collection Guidance for SSP and OCCA page.

High schools are encouraged to submit complete and accurate data as early as possible to support both SSP processing and OCCA matching activities. All data must be submitted no later than July 1, 2026.

The following procedures remain in effect for this year's SSP processing cycle:

  1. if a school ranks, unweighted rankings should be provided;
  2. if a school does not rank, unweighted GPAs must be provided;
  3. weighted rankings and GPAs cannot be accepted; and,
  4. schools are required to submit data for the entire class and to include any applicable disqualification codes.

High schools must complete the following process when submitting the required sixth semester data:

Batch Upload (via Excel Spreadsheets) – AVAILABLE NOW

  • ISAC provides an Excel spreadsheet template for you to submit your students' sixth semester data. The required template is available by selecting the "Guidelines and Samples" tab from the State Scholar and One Click Admit: File Upload screen in the SSP/OCCA system. Only data files using the official ISAC template should be used for submissions.
  • When the Excel spreadsheet is ready to submit, log in to the GAP Access portal to access the SSP/OCCA system, and then follow the on-screen prompts to upload your file to ISAC.
  • Once the file has been uploaded, the file validation process will begin.
    • The validation process will take several minutes. Be sure to monitor the upload, and click the "Refresh" button to confirm the file has validated.
    • After validation has completed, the file will have one of two statuses: "Validated" (no errors); or, "Validation Errors Found" (with errors).
      • If the file status is "Validated," no further action is required.
      • If the file status is "Validation Errors Found," the errors must be corrected before any students on the file can be considered for State Scholar designation. Instructions for correcting errors are provided in the User Guide for High School Programs.
    • Note that file validation is different from data processing. Validation simply verifies that all records in the file are complete (no missing fields) and formatted correctly. You will be notified later in the year when the data processing cycle, during which State Scholars are named, begins.

NEW for 2027-28 file uploads: If you need to update previously-submitted information, corrections must be made in your school's master student data file (i.e., the file you initially submitted to ISAC). Update the applicable student records in the master file and then reupload the entire corrected master file via the GAP Access portal. Do not upload a file containing only the corrected student records, as this will overwrite the existing data in the system.

SSP Updates – ANTICIPATED FOR EARLY- TO MID-SEPTEMBER

  • Please note that selection of State Scholars will not be finalized immediately at the close of data collection on July 1, 2026. Schools may have additional opportunities to make corrections to SSP-related data, before the selection process begins and while ISAC staff review submitted data after receipt of ACT/SAT test scores. Communications will be sent to high schools in fall 2026 to provide an overview of this and other SSP processes and updates.

First Awarding

In previous years, ISAC referred to the first selection of State Scholars as an "Early Announcement"; however, this terminology did not accurately reflect SSP processing. State Scholar candidates are reviewed on a rolling basis beginning early in the fall academic term (anticipated for early- to mid-September), and multiple selection runs are conducted throughout the fall to name additional Scholars. Beginning this year, ISAC will refer to the initial selection of Scholars as the "First Awarding" and will provide updates for subsequent selection runs in numerical order as they are completed.

A follow-up e-Message will be sent once the "First Awarding" of 2027-28 State Scholars has been scheduled.

Reminder Regarding SSP Congratulatory Letters and Certificates of Achievement

Please note: ISAC does not print State Scholar congratulatory letters or Certificates of Achievement – all high schools will need to print these documents for their State Scholars.

Watch for Further Updates

Watch for additional updates regarding State Scholar processing, OCCA-related activities, availability of the online option to provide/review individual records, and scheduling of early announcement rounds via ISAC's standard communication channels (i.e., the Counselor Message Board, the State Scholar Program News section, and ISAC's e-Messaging service). Processing updates will also be communicated via a yellow highlighted box that appears on the "State Scholar Program: Search By School: Results" screen.

You are receiving this message because you registered for ISAC's e-Messaging service through one or more subscription groups for Counselors.

If you have any questions, please contact School Services by sending an email to [email protected] or calling 866.247.2172.