Obtaining college information has never been easier. Before the advent of the Internet, collecting information about colleges was time-consuming and tedious. Today, just about any information you need is just a few clicks or keystrokes away. It's easier to get college information today than ever before, you may still get lost in the maze of college information available on the Internet. That brings us back to the basic question, "How do I get information about the colleges I'm interested in attending?"
Is there a way to narrow the possibilities for college?
One of the great advances in technology is the development of Internet search engines. These applications allow you to specify the type of college in which you are interested by listing the characteristics of the school (size, location, selectivity, cost, etc.). Based on your requirements, the software searches all of the colleges in the United States (and even some abroad) and provides you with a listing of institutions that match your interests. Once you have the listing in-hand, you can begin to investigate the colleges in greater depth. A listing of some of the college information search engines appears at the end of this newsletter.
Where can I find information about financial aid?
Individual college Web sites are the best online sources of information about scholarship programs sponsored by a particular school. However, the individual college Web site probably will not provide information about the thousands of scholarships sponsored by individuals, corporations and foundations. To find out about these opportunities, you will need to use a scholarship search engine. Most of these applications will locate scholarships categorized by the scholarship's requirements. Some of the common parameters include academic achievement, your parents' employer, the type of school activities in which you have engaged, ethnicity and the location in which you reside. Once you have entered the required specifications, the search engine will return a listing of scholarships for which you may qualify. A listing of some financial aid and scholarship search engines and sites appears at the end of this newsletter.
Once I have obtained the data from the Internet, what do I do?
If you are still interested in a college after reviewing the information available on various Internet sites, you should call, email or write directly to the admissions office at that institution to let them know of your interest. At this point, you should also ask them to send you the information that they provide to prospective applicants. If you are writing, make sure to give them your full mailing address, email address and high school graduation year. Some of the college Web sites may provide a form on which you can enter this information. Once you have made your interest known, the college will place you on their mailing list and periodically send you additional pieces of correspondence.
Where do I find college information and search engines?
All of the sites listed following were active as of September 2005 and all offer free services although some do require that you register before using some of these services.
http://www.nrccua.org/student/myth.asp
Find information for parents and students on crossing the bridge between high school and college, including articles on the 25 myths about college and The Game of Life.
The "Education Search" button will take you to a search engine that will allow you to identify colleges by location, available majors, cost, size, college type (e.g. four-year colleges, etc.), sports programs or religious affiliation.
Sponsored by The College Board, this Web site provides a powerful college search engine and fact sheets for each college selected by the student for additional research.
http://www.mit.edu:8001/people/cdemello/univ.html
An index of more than 3,000 college and university websites arranged alphabetically in the U.S. and abroad.
A search engine that will allow you to identify colleges by a variety of characteristics like admission criteria, cost, location and available sports programs
http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Higher_Education/Colleges_and_Universities/
Over 6,000 entries arranged by state. Provides a quick-fact sheet for each college.
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/rankindex_brief.php
This Web site provides information on college and university rankings (see Best Colleges section).
http://mycollegeoptions.com/index.asp
Where do I find financial aid and scholarship search engines?
All of the sites listed following were active as of September 2005, and all offer free services although some do require that you register before using some of these services.
http://www.nrccua.org/resource/index.asp
Information for college-bound students and their parents, the National Research Center for College & University Admissions gives students information on meeting the cost of a college education.
FastWeb is the Internet's leading scholarship search service, helping students make the decisions that shape their lives: choosing a college, paying for college and finding jobs during and after college. FastWeb lets students create a personalized profile that can be matched against our expansive databases of colleges and scholarships. FastWeb's comprehensive college database gives students a list of schools matching their preferences and a complete profile of each school. Students can also find out about job opportunities near their home or school.
The Financial Aid button on this page will take you to a section of the Peterson's Web site that includes a variety of helpful financial aid information including a scholarship search engine and a comprehensive listing of financial aid terms and their definitions.
Sponsored by The College Board, this website provides a scholarship search engine and a variety of other valuable financial aid information.
Search engine to find scholarships by a variety of characteristics including academic qualifications, geographic region or participation in various kinds of activities
This is a comprehensive financial aid Web site that includes a scholarship search engine, calculators to compute loan repayment obligations, and other related topics.
This is the U. S. Department of Education Web site that includes all of the information related to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/student_guide/index.html
This U. S. Department of Education Web site provides the text for The Student Guide. The Student Guide is a comprehensive resource on student financial aid published by the U.S. Department of Education.