College Help Sites

The following are sites covering every aspect of the college application process. I wish that I had them available when I was searching for a college. Many of these were provided by the Yahoo insert Access in the local paper. They were taken from the October 22, 2000 issue of Access, and edited by Kaesmene Harrison, Stephanie Rottenberg and Lauren Wiley.

USNews.com: College

Thorough is the best word to describe this stellar site. It expertly covers just about every aspect of the college application process: test preparation, school selection, appliactions, admissions, financial aid, campus visits, tuition, transfers and about a hundred other things we don't have room to mention. The magazine's much-anticipated annual college ranking is available on the site, as is a school-comparison feature. Some cool tools include a college personality quiz, grade calculators, a course scheduler and a scholarship search enginge. One flaw: somewhat confusing navigation.

Wiredscholar

This outstanding site gives families the tools to tackle college tuition. Created by Sallie Me, the site has information on saving for school, choosing a college and financing your education. At the top of the homepage are checklists for important steps, such as surviving a school interview; you'll need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to see them. QuickTools include cost calculators. The paying and Financing sections offer explanations of grants, work-study programs and loans.

Collegeboard.com

Because most colleges require SAT scores, students will find this site indispensable. Nuts and bolts, such as test dates, fees and online registration, are free and up-to-date. Extra credit goes to the SAT Learning Center, which offers practice tests and tutorials. There are also sections with no-nonsense advice and tools for parents, counselors and teachers who are trying to help kids master the boards.

Review.com

Make no mistake: This site is The Princeton Review's online arm, so its core purpose is promoting the popular test-prep courses. Still, there's useful content for students who can't shell out hundreds for classes. The College section includes a school search, university rankins and financial aid information. Register for free to use tools that help you fill out college applications more quickly.

Fastweb.com

This site seems to be the popular choice of high school and college financial aid departments, with flyers strewn all over campus. I, however, have never had much luck. They seem to have many scholarships on the database, but few that match your personal eligibility requirements. Still, it never hurts to try.

Other good college help sites or comments about this site can be sent to the webmaster.

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