College & Career Preparation
Peoria Public School District 150: Peoria Public School District 150 link is geared toward college preparatory pathways while still attending high school. This link is for College & Career Preparation. There are several places to go on this site in order to find a career path for yourself, as well as, a college path to help you achieve your goals.
CareerLink16.com: Career Link operates the Illinois workNet Center of Peoria and seven affiliate locations in Pekin, Canton, Normal, Eureka, Havana, Wyoming and Henry. Moreover, as partner in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Career Link works in cooperation with 17 other WIOA organizations to help people get back to work and develop a skilled workforce for tomorrow.
Career Search / Federal Student Aid: What do you want to do for a living? Take time to explore career options before you begin your program of study at college or career school. A good understanding of your estimated earnings is key to determining reasonable student loan amounts. Learn about assessing the net price of a school in which you’re interested. A lower net price means less borrowing on your part!
College Preparation Checklist / Federal Student Aid: Why go to college? A higher education introduces students to new people and new experiences and usually leads to a higher salary and lower chance of unemployment. This checklist will tell you how to get ready for college—and how the government will help you pay for it.
Education Planner.org: Whether you are a student, parent or counselor, making decisions about colleges and careers can seem overwhelming, especially when you are young. If you are feeling unprepared, know that you are not alone. We’re here to help.
Education – Training – Career
Below you will find links to local colleges, universities and training centers course catalogs and information about the schools. You can discover and explore different career paths, the classes required for the career and about the school itself.
College/University Website Course Catalog
School/Training Website
ICC Professional Development PDI Home Page
Institute (PDI)
Federal Student Aid
FSA ID: The first thing you need to do is sign up for a FSA ID. This is your electronic signature & can take time for needed verification so this is a critical first step to accomplish.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA): This site is your one-stop shop to sign up for free financial aid & student loans. Filing this free application is the imperative first step to receiving any education funding. You will even need to file this in order to receive some grants like Peoria Promise funding for tuition reimbursement. You will need to complete all the steps & file before the deadlines to ensure funding is available & will have to reapply before the beginning of each school year.
Federal Student Aid Site: Federal Student Aid site is designed to tell you about anything you have previously or are currently receiving in federal student aid. This walks you through the process of where to go & how to apply for all of the federal student aid options
Student Loans: This is the Federal Student Aid student loans website. This is where you will go to complete all needed counseling & apply for any type of student loan. This site compares different student loan options for you & contains video tutorials on how to complete each step of the process.
Scholarships
Peoria Promise: Peoria Promise is a tuition reimbursement program available for qualified students. This site walks you through everything you need to know & how to apply for funding. This is a 100% donor supported organization that uses Federal Student Aid guidelines to disburse funding to qualified students.
ICC Admissions & Financial Aid Assistance: Illinois Central College (ICC) Admissions & Financial Aid Assistance site has a walk through with video tutorials on everything from applying for admission to ICC to how to apply for financial aid.
ICC Scholarships: ICC gives out hundreds of scholarships each year & this is a direct link to all of these opportunities.
East Peoria Community High School Local Scholarships: East Peoria Community High School contains a list of local college scholarships available for local East Peoria Community High School students.
Human Rights Campaign LGBTQ Student Scholarships Database: LGBTQ Student Scholarship Database is from the Human Rights Campaign Website & is a comprehensive list of scholarships available just for LGBTQ students.
Acorn Equality Fund Scholarships and Grants: Acorn Equality Fund (AEF) is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. We provide scholarships and organization grants to LGBT persons, organizations, and allies to impact lives in a positive fashion. The 2017 scholarships range from $1,000 to $5,000, with up to $35,000 being awarded. To be eligible, applicants must retain permanent residence in the AEF service area of downstate Illinois (all Illinois counties except Cook, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will) and attend any accredited, post-secondary educational institution.
Applications for 2018 will be available in May 2017.
Acorn Equality Scholarship Application: a link to the .pdf application for Acorn Equality Local Scholarships and Grants.
