Some of my favorite college references

Here are a few of my favorite college planning reference books and websites organized by category.  What other references do you like and use?

Figuring out what makes a college right for you: College Match

College Majors: Book of Majors

College Guides:

·         The Princeton Review, The Best 3xx Colleges

·         Fiske Guide to Colleges

·         America’s Best Colleges for B Students

·         Colleges That Change Lives

·         Creative Colleges: A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians and Writers

·         The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Differences

·         Rugg’s Recommendations on the Colleges

College Search Sites:

·         http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

·         https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/college-search

·         http://www.collegedata.com/cs/search/college/college_search_tmpl.jhtml

·         http://www.collegexpress.com/lists/

Chance for acceptance: Naviance scattergrams from your high school

Financial Aid:

·         Financial Aid information- http://www.finaid.org/

·         FAFSA Web site - http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

·         CSS Financial Aid PROFILE - https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile

·         Federal Student Aid - http://studentaid.ed.gov/

·         Expected Family Contribution Calculator - https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator

·         Some legitimate college scholarship search sites:

• http://www.fastweb.com/college-scholarships
• https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
• www.petersons.com/college-search/scholarship-search.aspx

Net Price Calculator – on each college’s website

 

College Visits:

·         “A Pocket Guide To Choosing a College: Questions to Ask on Your College Visits” by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) - http://nsse.indiana.edu/pdf/NSSE_PocketGuide.pdf

·         On-line visit – www.youniversitytv.com

Common Application: http://www.commonapp.org/

College Essay: Conquering the College Admissions Essay on 10 Steps

Going to College Advice Guide:  The Naked Roommate: And 107 Other Issues You Might Run Into in College

Expected Pay when you Graduate: www.payscale.com

For students with Learning Differences:

·         “K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder” by Marybeth Kravets and Imy Wax.

·          Information on SAT and ACT accommodations – http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ssd and http://www.act.org/aap/disab/index.html.

·         “Questions for the Office of Disability Support” by Rana Slosberg on http://tourcollege.blogspot.com/2010/09/questions-for-office-of-disability.html.