Online College Resources
www.ChristianCollegesNow.com is a hub for researching online and on-campus Christian colleges, seminaries, and military friendly schools. You can request free information and apply online to as many schools as you desire. The site also features tips and advice for financial planning, choosing a major, etc.
For Seniors: FAFSA: Why You Need It
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid could be the most important document you fill out during the entire college search. Learn how to get started.
Need help with the FAFSA? Here is a very useful website for financial aid and the FAFSA. UCSB’s Seven Easy Steps to the FAFSA: A Student’s Guide to the Free Application for the Federal Student Aid was used last year by more than 200 institutes of higher education, and can be used by any students who desire to use it.
For Seniors and Juniors: Financial Aid 101
Simply knowing the types of financial aid that are available to students can go a long way toward helping you understand your options. Here’s a quick overview.
For Seniors and Juniors: A Quick Guide to Merit Aid Scholarships
Merit aid is money given to students by colleges and states based on achievements, and it could be your ticket to thousands of dollars in money for college. In total, there is more than $11 billion in merit aid scholarships available from colleges. Learn about merit aid and how you can take advantage of these scholarships.
Find Merit Scholarships with MeritAid.com
Students should find some comfort knowing that there is $11 billion in merit-based scholarships for all types of achievers on MeritAid.com. This free resource matches students with merit scholarship opportunities from colleges across the country. To get matched with scholarships, students can create a free profile, or they can log in to the site using their existing Cappex login and password.
For information on free National Christian College Fairs happening in your area
in October go to www.naccap.org
Books:
College Countdown, The Parent’s and student’s Survival Kit for the College Admissions Process by Jill F. VonGruben. Extremely informative book. It lays out college preparation step-by-step and year by year. Includes worksteets, student profiles, checklists, websites, and more. It can be found at Borders next to the SAT Prep books.
Directory of College Degrees
http://degreedirectory.orgA directory of college degree programs and career education.
How To Survive…
Test Preparation Advice and Services
Finding the right college out of thousnds of colleges and universities in America doesn’t have to be difficult.
www.collegeboard.org Website for SAT I, SAT II, AP, and PSAT test information. Note: the PSAT is taken in the fall of Junior year. It is the only way to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. If your child usually performs extremely well in testing you may want to investigate the PSAT prep books, CD-Roms or courses to help them do better.
www.collegeboard.com Online applications and test dates for SAT.
www.act.org Website for ACT test information and preparation
www.ets.org Educational Testing Services – offers mini on-line tests for practice
www.princetonreview.com Princeton Review Best Colleges
www.testprep.com Stanford Testing Systems offers free online services and software for sale
www.gocollege.com Go College’s website offers different versions of SAT and ACT online for practice
www.kaplan.com Kaplan’s website offers test prep software for sale
www.learningco.com The Learning Company offers test prep software for sale
www.usnews.com/usnews/nycu/work/wocciss.html Campbell Interest and Skill Survey. This is an assessment tool that people use to learn about the career that’s best suited for their specific skills and interests. The CISS consists of 320 questions and takes about an hour to complete. In about three weeks you receive a report that matches interests with career options. There is a charge involved, however, I felt it was worth it. If your child is a bit uncertain about his or her interests at this time, or has weak skills, you may want to wait to take this next year. They are only sophomores after all.
Choosing a University
Once you find universities that you are interested in, go directly to their websites and request information. Most will send you preliminary information about their school including brochures, costs, admission requirements, etc.
www.adventuresineducation. org go to “Selecting a School: A Guided Tour”
www.schoolcounselor.org American School Counselors Association
www.ed.gov Think College , US Department of Education (USDE Financial Aid Info.)
www.collegeanswer.com The Planning for College Distinction
www.collegenet.com CollegeNet (Free Scholarship Search Service)
www.nacac.com Crash Course in College Admissions by the National Association for College Admission Counselors
www.collegeedge.com College Edge
www.utexas.edu/world.univ US Universities and Community Colleges
www.petersons.com Peterson’s
www.ipl.org/teen Internet Public Library
www.collegeview.com College View Search (Also has info re: paying fore college)
www.kaplan.com College Zone
www.web.fie.com/web/mol Minority On-line Information System (MOLIS)
www.pathfinder.com/money/ Money Magazine’s College Guide (College Ranking)
www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/home.htm US News & World Report (College Ranking)
Scholarship Information
Note: There are some scholarships available to Sophomores and Juniors. Don’t wait until your Senior year to start looking for money.
www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/scholarhsip/index.html Federal Trade Commission Scholarship Scams
www.finaid.org/scholarships/scams.html FinAid’s Scam Alert
www.csac.ca.gov California Student Aid Commission – CalGrant
www.fafsa.ed.gov Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA – online) – Complete in January of Senior Year. Federal aid dollars are awarded on a first-come first-served basis. Must be completed each year while in college.
www.nasfaa.org National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
www.fastweb.com Financial Aid Search Through the WEB – Tons of scholarships available. Register your interests, activities, clubs, nationality, etc. They email you on a regular basis with potential scholarships. Most are for Seniors but many are available to younger students. (A free service)
www.ed.gov Department of Education
www.collegeboard.org College Board has information on financial aid including an estimator for your Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
www.srnexpress.com SRN Express is a scholarship search engine
www.wgoh.com Wintergreen/Orchard House Scholarship Finder
www.cashe.com CASHE is an independent scholarship search used by many universities.
www.salliemae.com Jallie Mac Loan Repayment Calculator
www.researchresearch.com Life Scholarship Info
www.collegequest.com Peterson’s Free Scholarship Search Service
www.Srechinfo.com Fresch! Free Scholarship Search Service
www.gmsp.org The Gates Millennium Scholars
www.hsf.net Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholarship Information
www.ehci.org The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
International Student Information
www.edupass.org International Student Information
www.IEFA.org International Student Information
www.IEFC.com International Student Information
Sports Websites
www.ncaa.org National Collegiate Athletic Association
www.njcaa.org National Junior College Athletic Association
www.nacda.com National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics
www.nsr-inc.com National Scouting Report
www.nrc.pair.com National Recruiting Center
www.athletes.com Athletic Scholarship Information Search Techniques
www.asep.com American Sport Education Program
Applications and Essay Writing
(These sites provide information with applications and assistance on writing essays)
http://apply.collegeEdge.com/ The Common Application used at almost 200 US colleges
http://nassp.org National Association of Secondary School Principals sponsors the Common Application and offers a the each years’ new downloadable version in August.
www.collegelink.com Collegelink Apply – Online applications
www.collegnet.com/aw CollegeNET – online applications
www.petersons.com Peterson’s list with links to hundreds of schools’ Web pages online applications
www.icpae.indiana.edu/inofseries/is-15.html Writing the College Admission Essay
www.review.com Princeton Review
www.petersons.com/ugrad/applications.html Application Essay from Peterson
www.columbia.edu.acis/bartleby/strunk Elements of Style by Columbia University
www.petersons.com Application Essay from Peterson
“By attending Western, I have become more dedicated to following my dreams. I have had so many people encourage me to keep doing what I love and to pursue music. The teachers have also helped me become more dedicated to my work ethic. They have prepared me for college and have helped me to get into a great school. The chapels and Bible classes have helped me grow in my relationship with God in ways that are unimaginable.”