College Resources
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College Planning
Post high school planning is an important part of deciding your future. In this section you will find useful websites to help you with your college research.
CollegeNet (www.collegenet.com) – a site for finding colleges, scholarships and financial aid, touring campuses virtually, and completing applications online, with links to related information.
College Trips & Tips (www.collegetripsandtips.com) – helps parents and students plan successful and rewarding college visits by offering curated and concise advice – saving hours of research. Get site to plan your college visits.
Campus Tours (www.CampusTours.com) – a source for virtual college tours, with interactive campus maps, videos, photographs and live cameras.
CollegeView (www.collegeview.com) – profiles of more than 3,700 colleges and universities, virtual tours of hundreds of schools, career planning tools, financial information and even advice in packing for college, and student blogs.
College Board Online (www.collegeboard.com) – a directory of services, including online SAT registration.
Kaplan Online (www.kaplan.com) – practical strategies and simulations for selecting a college, preparing for tests and negotiating financial aid packages.
Peterson’s Education & Career Center (www.petersons.com) – information on private schools, colleges and universities, graduate study, careers and jobs throughout the United States and abroad.
Princeton Review (www.review.com) – advice and tools for choosing a college, graduate school, or career with in depth information on business, law and medicine.
U.S. News online Colleges & Careers Center (www.usnews.com) – “best value” rankings of colleges and graduate programs in multiple fields, with related information on careers and financial aid.
College Cost and Financial Aid
Money is available to help you pay for college, so don’t rule out any college you like just because of its cost. Financial aid comes in different forms. Grants and scholarships, which don’t have to be re-paid; loans which generally carry a low interest rate and are repaid after you graduate or leave school; and employment, usually up to 10 to 15 hours per week. Most students receive a combination or “package” made up of all three types of aid based on “financial need”. The information below will direct you to useful resources to help you through the financial aid process.
Check out the video below that tells you about a great tool you can use to find out the “net cost” for a college you are interested in.
College Cost - Scholarship - Financial Aid Information
FAFSA4caster – The FAFSA4caster will help you understand your options for paying for college, provide some basic information and will estimate your eligibility for federal student aid. https://fafsa.ed.gov/FAFSA/app/f4cForm?execution=e1s1
College Affordability and Transparency Center (CATC) – The CATC was designed by the U.S. Department of Education to meet requirements in the Higher Education Opportunity Act ad to provide better information to student and parent consumers about college costs. It serves as a central point to several tools that allow users to compare colleges tuition and fees, net price, and other characteristics. The CATC is maintained by the Office of Post-secondary Education with support and technical assistance from the National Center of Education Statistics. http://collegecost.ed.gov/
Department of Veteran Affairs -for information on educational assistance for relatives of veterans.http://www.va.gov
Fastweb.com – a search service that matches skills, abilities, and interests to a database of more than 400,000 scholarships. www.fastweb.com
FinAid – information on financial aid and scholarship search. www.finaid.org
FinAid Award Letter Comparison Tool – helps you compare and contrast the financial aid packages from the colleges that have admitted you. In particular, it highlights differences in the cost of attending each school. http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletter.phtml
This link includes a table of colleges that have taken steps to significantly reduce or eliminate the self-help level or eliminate loans from the aid package for lower income students. http://www.finaid.org/questions/noloansforlowincome.phtml
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators – NASFAA provides professional development to financial aid administrators to help students gain access to higher education. This helpful link details all of the financial aid programs available by state to help pay for college. http://www.nasfaa.org/students/state_financial_aid_programs.aspx
New York State Financial Aid Administrator’s Association – www.nysfaaa.org
New York State Higher Education Services – The Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) is New York State’s higher education student financial aid agency. https://www.hesc.ny.gov
Forms You Need to Complete to Receive Financial Aid
Free Application For Federal Student Aid – use to submit your application. www.fafsa.gov
Federal Student Aid ID (FSA ID) – gives you access to Federal Student Aid’s online systems and can serve as your legal signature. https://fsaid.ed.gov/npas/index.htm
CSS Profile – The CSS Profile is administered by the College Scholarship Service (CSS), the financial aid division of the College Board. The CSS PROFILE is required by many private colleges and universities to determine your eligibility for non-government financial aid, such as the institution’s own grants, loans and scholarships. This profile should be completed in the fall of the 12th grade year. Please check with college or university if they require this document.
For more information please select this link:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/scholarships-and-aid/8374.html
For a list of participating CSS Profile institutions please select this link:
Conversations with Deli
Talking with Gwen Richardson about her book, 101 Scholarship Applications: What It Takes to Obtain a Debt-Free College Education.
What You Should Know About NCAA Rules and Regulations
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has several rules and regulations regarding recruiting and academic requirements. Here is some useful information for any student interested in playing a sport at the collegiate level.
Also, check out Conversations with Verdel Jones – The Student Athlete, where we discuss preparation and what colleges are looking for in a student athlete.
Recruiting Regulations
There are certain rules that college coaches need to adhere to in the recruiting process. This link provides detailed information and timelines concerning; contact, unofficial and official visits and commitments. NCAA Recruiting Regulations
Academic Worksheets
This worksheet provides assistance in monitoring your progress in meeting the NCAA initial-eligibility academic standards. NCAA Division I and Division II Worksheets
NCAA Website
Visit the NCAA website for more information: http://www.ncaa.org/
NCAA Eligibility Center
College Testing
College entrance exams are part of the college application process. A college entrance exam, either the SAT or ACT, is one way for colleges to determine the level of academic skills a student may have. However, it is not the only factor in determining if you are accepted to a specific college. Colleges view both the SAT and ACT equally, so depending on which exam a students performs best on, determines which exam to submit with your college applications. Whether you take the SAT or ACT there are several ways a student can prep for these exams.
- Prep Books
- Online
- Private Tutoring
- Classroom Instruction by Private Companies
Watch Great Conversation About Preparing for College Exams with Tom Ehlers, Owner of Method Test Prep.
SAT
- A college entrance exam
- The SAT is a reasoning test that measures how well students analyze and solve problems
- Demonstrates to colleges not only specific subject matter knowledge, but students ability to think critically
Scoring
1600 is the highest score 800 – Evidence Based Reading and Writing and 800 – Math.
Students have the option of score choice or the option to send all scores. There is also an optional Essay section.
What is a Good Score on the SAT? Students should use their scores to help measure their own college readiness. SAT scores help them find a good match with colleges, which have different levels of competitiveness and different definitions of what a “good” score is. However, the average score for the SAT is 1070 (total)
SAT Subject Test Information
The College Board, the organization that provides the SAT Subject tests and SAT exams, does an excellent job of detailing the specifics of the exam and what to expect on the SAT Subject test. The link below contains a comprehensive description of the SAT Subject test.
https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/sat-subject-tests/about
Not all colleges require SAT Subject Test. Make sure you research which schools require which exams. Select the link below to view a comprehensive list of colleges and universities that either require or recommend a SAT Subject Test.
http://www.compassprep.com/admissions_req_subjects.aspx
SAT and SAT Subject Test Registration
College Board www.collegeboard.org – 1-609-771-7600
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