Resources
General Information on the Application Process
The College Admissions Mystique, by Bill Mayher
College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step, by Robin Mamlet & Christine Vandevelde
The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price, by Lynn O’Shaughnessy
Colleges Unranked: Affirming Educational Values in College Admission, edited by Lloyd Thacker
Crazy U: One Dad’s Crash Course in Getting His Kid into College, by Andrew Ferguson
Fiske Guide to Getting Into the Right College, by Edward Fiske
Fiske What to do When for College, by Edward Fiske
I’m Going to College—Not You!: Surviving the College Search with Your Child, ed. Jennifer Delahunty
Letting Go: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding the College Years, by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger
The Thinking Student’s Guide to College: 75 Tips for Getting a Better Education, by Andrew Roberts
Where You Go is Not Who You’ll Be, by Frank Bruni
Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions, by Jeff Selingo
bigfuture – by the College Board: This website provides an excellent college search engine as well as a variety of planning tools.
College Board – The central web site for the PSATs, SATs, SAT Subject Tests, and APs; also provides a great deal of information about planning for, finding, applying to, and paying for college.
College Data – Resources include articles, a college match tool, college profiles, and a scholarship finder.
College Kickstart – Bridges the gap between “colleges I’m thinking about” and “colleges I’m applying to” and streamlines the process for both students and counselors.
College Navigator – Provides a search engine, planning resources, and financial aid information.
College Results Online – Allows students to compare graduation rates at schools around the country.
Peterson’s – Information on getting started, college searching, financial aid, and testing.
Princeton Review – Information on schools, testing, and financial aid; includes a school match calculator.
Unigo – Rankings and reviews of colleges. As always, review the unedited content with a skeptical eye.
US News & World Report – The value of the rankings is up for debate, but this site has a great deal of interesting education news.
Wisemantech – A giant array of links compiled by a retired college guidance director and counselor.
University of Chicago’s “The Uncommon Blog,” https://blogs.uchicago.edu/collegeadmissions/
Tufts University’s “Inside Admissions,” https://admissions.tufts.edu/blogs/inside-admissions/
University of Virginia’s “Notes from Peabody,” https://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/
Looking for Colleges
The Best 376 Colleges, by Princeton Review
The College Finder, by Steven Antonoff
Colleges that Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges, by Lauren Pope
Cool Colleges for the Hyper-Intelligent, Self-Directed, Late-Blooming, and Just Plain Different, by Donald Asher
Creative Colleges: A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians, and Writers, by Elaina Loveland
The Fiske Guide to Colleges, by Edward Fiske
The Hidden Ivies, by Howard Greene and Mathew W. Greene
The Insider’s Guide to Colleges, by the Yale Daily News Staff
Looking Beyond the Ivy League, by Loren Pope
The Public Ivies, by Howard Greene and Mathew W. Greene
NSSE Pocket Guide to Choosing a College
College Maps Offers wall maps of US colleges & universities
Macleans Magazine about Canadian education and information about applying to Canadian schools.
Big Future College Board’s search tool
College Data College Data’s search tool
Colleges Ranked by Number of Degrees by Major Provides a searchable site that shows how many degrees are awarded annually in each major by institution
College Scorecard – The College Scorecard is an online tool, created by the United States government, for consumers to compare the cost and value of higher education
Financial Aid
The Ultimate Scholarship Book: Billions of Dollars in Scholarships, Grants and Prizes by Gen and Kelly Tanabe
FastWeb College Gold: The Step-by-Step Guide to Paying for College, by Mark Kantrowitz
FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid
Department of Education Federal Aid Information: Broad information on applying for aid, including details on how to fill out the FAFSA
CSS Profile: Financial aid service of the College Board; required by many colleges and universities
MHEC: Maryland Higher Education Commission’s information on state financial assistance programs
https://myintuition.org/: Estimator for financial aid awards at several highly selective private colleges
FinAid: General information on financial aid and scholarships
Fastweb: Free scholarship clearinghouse
Fastaid: Free scholarship clearinghouse
Scholarship Scams: The Federal Trade Commission’s overview of scholarship scams
Central Scholarship Bureau: Information about no-interest loans and scholarships for Maryland residents
I’m First: Scholarships for students of limited financial resources, underrepresented minorities, and whose parents did not go to college
Sallie Mae Loan Repayment Calculator
Access Applied: Helping families find schools they can afford
Gap Year
Lonely Planet’s The Big Trip: Your Ultimate Guide to Gap Years and Overseas Adventures, by Joe Bindloss, Charlotte Hindle, and Andrew Nystrom
Planning Your Gap Year: Hundreds of Opportunities for Employment, Study, Volunteer Work and Independent Travel, by Nick Vandome
Taking a Gap Year, by Susan Griffith
Taking Time Off, by Colin Hall and Ron Lieber
Travel Planning Gap Year travel planning guide
Gap Year Directories. Each of the following websites allows students and parents to research gap year ideas, travel, jobs, organizations, and internships.
