Keys to Success at City Colleges

• A Student Portal is your single most important gateway to completing college enrollment tasks, accessing college staff, and connecting with student services. The portal lets you register for classes, access your financial aid and scholarships, review important messages from your college, and schedule appointments with different offices.
• To set up and access your portal, go to my.ccc.edu and use the specific student ID or portal activation instructions sent from your college.

CCC Student Portal Overview:

• (This assumes you have already applied for financial aid – if not,  please visit the Funding Options page to learn about how to apply for FAFSA and the Illinois Alternative Application if you are not eligible for FAFSA.)
• Financial Aid is money to help pay for college or career school. Grants, work-study, loans, and scholarships are all types of financial aid, and it is important that you regularly review your financial aid status and any tasks and deadlines associated with your aid.  This will help you ensure you have a sustainable plan to pay for college. 
• There are two primary ways to check your Financial Aid status:
  1. Check your financial aid on your student portal (see ‘Set up Your Student Portal)
  2. Contact the Financial Aid Office at your college and set up an appointment with a Financial Aid advisor. Plan to meet with a Financial Aid advisor before you start school, and at least once each semester. The advisor can guide you through FAFSA renewal, changes in your financial situation and provide access to scholarships specific to your needs. 

• FAFSA Verification: Check to see if there are additional document requests. Here’s a screenshot walkthrough of how to submit these financial documents in order to complete your financial aid application. Find your local ISACorps Mentor today for any advice or assistance to complete FAFSA verification.– The Illinois Student Assistance Corps is a talented group of recent college graduates who are trained to serve as near peer mentors to high school students. These mentors have specifically been trained on FAFSA and verification. Search for your ISACorps Mentor by zip code!

1. Financial Aid Award Letter: After you have applied for financial aid at studentaid.gov and your college has received your FAFSA information, you will receive a financial aid award letter from the college(s) you were accepted to. This letter explains the financial aid package – grants, loans, and scholarships – that the college is offering you to help pay for college, as well as the money you may owe (or gap) beyond what is offered. 
2. Analyze Your Financial Aid Award Letter.

• Calculate and review your remaining costs after applying loans and gift aid
• Carefully evaluate the loans being offered by identifying total loans per year, loans for the degree, and monthly payments
• Compare schools by financial aid packages to rank your options by cost and other factors that are important to you. Use this cost comparison tool from ISAC to conduct a side-by-side comparison.
• This analysis will help you decide if you want to appeal your Financial Aid Award Letter. For example, your top choice institution may be out of reach financially given the current aid package offered – and you could appeal to the college to ask for more aid.

Watch this video to understand why you would want to appeal your award letter and how to do it. 

Advocate for yourself and appeal your Financial Aid Award Letter if:

• Your financial circumstances have changed
• Your top choice school is not giving you as much aid as another institution, or;
• You do not think the aid package offered will enable you to attend that school. 

Swift Student is a free resource that provides letter templates and help in writing your financial aid appeal letter.

You may be asked to ‘accept’ or ‘reject’ each part of the offered package in your Student Portal. You are not obligated to accept any or all of the aid offered, but you must accept portions of the aid for them to be applied to your account. 

1. Entrance Loan Counseling is a required process for receiving your federal student loans. This helps student borrowers better understand the responsibilities that you will be taking on with this federal loan. Watch this video for instructions on how to access and complete this process.
2. The Master Promissory Note is a required  legal document in which you promise to repay your federal loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees. It is a contract between you and the U.S. Department of Education that explains the terms and conditions of your loan(s). Watch this video for instructions on how to access and complete this process.
3. A Payment Plan is an agreement between you and your college for you to pay your tuition in installments instead of all at once. Often, this plan will split your college bills into equal monthly payments.  ALERT! CCCs will not allow you to register for classes until you establish a payment plan. If you don’t have a payment plan or method established within 3 days of registering for classes, your classes will be dropped. If you get a warning notification, don’t assume that it doesn’t apply to you. Make sure you contact your advisor and speak with the financial aid office immediately. Here’s the link to CCC Virtual Student Services.

• The good news is there is no enrollment deposit required for the City Colleges of Chicago. You can secure your spot by completing your placement tests, verifying your financial aid and attending orientation.

• The placement test is mandatory for all 1st-year students attending City Colleges of Chicago. Find info at the Testing Center page including strategies to prepare for the tests. All placement tests must be completed prior to course registration. Some campuses at CCCs require that placement tests be completed at least a week prior to attending student orientation.
• Placement tests are important because they also determine the level of your course placement. Sometimes these tests can place in you an advanced level course. And sometimes, the tests determine if you will be placed in zero-credit remedial or developmental courses. 
  1. A developmental or remedial course is a zero credit “pre-college” level course that you do not earn credit for, but still typically uses up your financial aid the way a credit-bearing course would
  2. A co-requisite or hybrid course often does allow you to earn some college credit, and this is the  preferred choice if you have the option!
• Helpful links 
  1. Here are instructions for how to access CCC Placement Tests
  2. CCC Guide for the ALEKS Math Placement Test.
  3. CCC Guide for the Reading to Write Placement Test
  4. Here is CCC’s guidance on what scores will place you into a credit-bearing course and what score will require a co-requisite. 
  5. Studying for College Placement Tests

• By state law, colleges require you to provide proof of immunity to certain diseases/illnesses. To do this, you must provide your immunization records (and sometimes other health information) to the college recordkeeping or health office. 
• For City Colleges of Chicago, there are no specific immunization requirements for first-year students, however specific programs (education, healtcare, etc.) may eventually require students to provide updated immunization records.
• How to get your Immunization Records? 
  1. Ask your parents or caregivers if they have records of your childhood immunizations.
  2. Call your doctor’s office.
  3. Check with your high school or prior school/childcare provider.
  4. If you cannot locate your immunization records, visit the Illinois Immunization Registry Exchange or find the corresponding state agency for the state in which you were vaccinated.
• COVID-19 Vaccines 
  1. City Colleges of Chicago is requiring all in-person students and employees, regardless of their vaccination status, to get tested for COVID every week through February 25^th.
  2. City Colleges has partnered with Northshore Clinical Labs to administer RT-PCR tests across our campuses (schedule below).
  3. After February 25^th, in-person students and employees who have not shown proof they are “up to date” on their COVID-19 vaccinations must continue to get tested for COVID every week. Failure to test any week will result in discipline.

• New Student Orientation is a required step for enrollment at the CCCs. It’s a chance for students to learn how things work at their new school and meet other students as well as faculty and staff members. 
• Orientation is important because you receive information about course registration, your student ID card, getting course materials and books, social events and support, and more. 
• Register to attend Orientation by following these Navigate app instructions.
• As of right now CCCs are still planning for virtual student orientations but these plans might change as the city opens back up.
• Helpful links
  1. CCC Getting Started in Navigate Instructions for registering for Student Orientation 
  2. CCC New Student Orientation Checklist
  3. Harold Washington New Student Orientation Flyer
  4. Truman New Student Orientation Page
  5. Richard J. Daley New Student Orientation Page
  6. Wilbur Wright College New Student Orientation
  7. Olive Harvey New Student Orientation Registration Page
  8. Kennedy King New Student Orientation Registration Page
  9. “What to Expect at College Freshman Orientation,” from Get Schooled
  10. “8 Tips to Prepare for Freshman Orientation,” from CollegeData.com

• All first-year CIty College students will meet with an admissions counselor and register for classes at the end of the orientation process. Be aware that classes fill up, so if you complete orientation as soon as you are able to you will have a better selection of classes and class times to consider.
• Registering for classes is key to being able to save yourself a spot in your required courses and know what books and materials you need to be able to show up on Day 1!

• Review classes on Brightspace before the first day of class. Professors often post their syllabus, a welcome email, and some initial instructions for course materials, textbooks, and class codes you might need. 
• To access Brightspace you will need to login to your student access account. All of your class information will be on Brightspace. For constant updates on new content being uploaded and deadlines for your classwork, you can download the Brightspace app on IPhone and Android. It is called Brightspace Pulse and is completely free to use!
• All students enrolled at a CCC can borrow a Windows laptop free of charge for the entire semester on a first-come, first served basis. This program is available during the fall, spring, and summer semesters, but not during semester breaks.

• Schedule regular appointments with your Academic Advisor
• Schedule regular appointments with your Financial Aid Advisor
• Check out the Resources section of this site to work out your Day 1 Logistics: transportation, logistics, supplies (laptops, course materials, etc), wifi, moving plans.
• Update your High School Counselor on your college plans and make this update in Naviance. Go to our Staff Directory in “Who’s in my corner?” and filter by high school to find your counselor’s information.
• Identify your campus contact – your go-to person at your college who can answer your questions (maybe the Admissions Officer or Postsecondary Navigator who has been reaching out to you!)
• Build your support system by finding the departments, programs, and support services that will help you succeed. These include:
  1. The tutoring center
  2. The advising center
  3. The wellness center
  4. Clubs and networks for those with shared identities, interests, or circumstances
  5. Apply to OneMillionDegrees (OMD). OMD Scholars receive financial support in the form of last-dollar scholarships and performance-based stipends to support you through your time at CCCs and cover travel expenses, books and supplies, and even technology. OMD also provides personal support through a coach, academic tutoring, and career support.