References

ACT Staff: Getting into the Act: Official Guide to the Act Assessment This is the only book on the market with real, complete ACT tests and test-taking advice from the people who actually make the ACT Assessment. In this official guide you'll find what the ACT Assessment includes, how it's put together, what the questions are like, how the ACT is used by schools and colleges, how to register, what to bring to the test center, what to expect on exam day, and how to interpret your scores. It offers pragmatic strategies from the creators of the test. Getting into the ACT is written by ACT, with illustrative samples for the English, Mathematics, Reading, and Science Reasoning sections. The preliminary practice allows students to bone up on trouble spots, learn what to expect, gain confidence, and do their best on the big day.

Allen, Andrew: College Admissions Trade Secrets: A Top Private College Counselor Reveals the Secrets, Lies, and Tricks of the College Admissions Process In this book, a top private college counselor reveals the secrets, lies, and tricks of the college admissions process in College Admissions Trade Secrets. You see the college list published by your high school's guidance department. Many of the students with the best grades didn't get into any top colleges and still others were rejected at colleges that are ranked lower than some of the colleges to which they were accepted. This doesn't make any sense. Welcome to the world of college admissions. If you've ever wondered what that Upper East Side family gets from a private college counselor for $10,000, this is it. This book will help you make sense of those entries above and everything else in the admissions process.

Betterton, Don: Peterson's the Insider's Guide to Paying for College: Find Out How to Get More Money for College! Betterton does a very good job of trying to take each type of student and setting them up with as many financial aid avenues as possible. However, no two students have the same need and the same financial background. His many years at Princeton gives him the authority of saying in no uncertain terms "I have heard it all and here are a few options for YOU to think about." This book does a good job of trying to educate the reader on the most financial options available.

Chany, Kalman and Martz, Geoff: Paying for College Without Going Broke 2002 This book is a complete and up-to-date resource on loans, grants, and tax strategies for parents of college-bound teens. It guides you through the application process and shows ways to cut college costs. You will learn insider strategies for maximizing financial aid and minimizing college costs. You will learn to plan ahead to improve the chances of receiving financial aid, calculate aid eligibility before applying to colleges, complete the 2002–2003 financial aid forms (including FAFSA and the CSS PROFILE), negotiate with the financial aid office, learn about educational tax breaks, and handle special circumstances if you’re a single parent or an independent student.

Coburn, Karen Levin and Treeger, Madge Lawrence: Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years This book is about what it feels like for parents when their kids go off to college. The authors provide a compassionate approach, practical information, and advice about the physical and emotional processes of letting go. They discuss the college-age teen's search for identity, independence, and intimacy; give a succinct and accurate description of how college life has changed over the decades; and provide a year-by-year breakdown of what to expect. Plus, you can read about typical and not-so-typical problems including date rape, crime, eating disorders, drug and alcohol use, and sexual issues. Of special note is the focus on orientation and the freshman year, including the disorientation parents feel once the drop-off has been made.

The College Board: 10 Real SATs With free CD-ROM and diagnostic software, this is the only source of real SAT questions, making it the best-selling book of its kind. CD-ROM for Windows Included.

The College Board: Real SAT II: Subject Tests The two keys to success on standardized achievement tests are relaxation and preparation. Real SAT II: Subject Tests is authoritative and believable. Using recent actual tests in 18 subjects--writing, literature, American history, world history, mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, and 10 languages--the book evokes the look and feel of the real thing. The College Board explains exactly how each test is graded, the best strategy for each type of question, and when to take each test (some are best taken right after a class is finished, others after the material has settled a bit). Additional instructions for obtaining free tapes for the language tests and for scoring essay tests over the Internet are included, making this the most complete guide to the SAT II Subject Tests.

Cote, Elizabeth: Conquer the Cost of College: The Family Guide to Paying for College This book will teach you how to determine the real cost of college, including room and board, books, fees, transportation, and more. You will get straight information that affects your family most with examples of financial aid forms, worksheets, and important data on government loans and grants. This book will help you map out a step-by-step financial action plan to help you master the aid process and create the most effective college financial package.

Fiske, Edward: The Fiske Guide to Colleges First published 21 years ago, this annual guide to more than 300 colleges and universities has been the indispensable source of information for thousands of students and their parents. The Fiske Guide to Colleges rates each college on a scale of 1 to 5 on academics, social life and quality of life. It also describes the campus culture and lifestyle, lists each college’s strongest (and weakest) departments and provides easy-to-use statistics about SAT and ACT scores, male-female ratios, the number of applicants and the number of students receiving financial aid. This version has been fully revised and updated, and is based on new surveys of thousands of students and administrators. It includes everything you want and need to know.

Fiske, Edward and Hammond, Bruce: The Fiske Guide to Getting into the Right College A complement to The Fiske Guide to Colleges 2003, this volume takes students and parents step-by-step through the college admission process. Information on everything from interviews to standardized tests, college essays, and financing is included, along with a handy "road map" of institutions, organized into such categories as "Small College Bargains," "Most Innovative Curriculums," and "Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities." In addition, there is a selective roundup of listings by subject specialty--engineering, architecture, business, etc. It examines the pros and cons of getting into the most prestigious schools and explains the increasing selectivity students may encounter at admissions offices. College-bound students and parents will benefit from a revised discussion of the role of athletics in the admissions process, what athletes must do to win scholarships, and a discussion of alternatives to college.

Hernandez, Michele: A Is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Dartmouth College, Michele Hernandez also worked as Dartmouth's assistant director of admissions for four years. In A Is for Admissions, Hernandez describes the step-by-step process Ivy League schools use to evaluate an application. Along the way she settles some ancient debates, including the comparative importance of SATs versus high-school grades, public versus private high schools, and extracurricular activities versus part-time employment. She evaluates every possible factor affecting chances for admission, including special categories of students such as recruited athletes, minority applicants, and legacies. Hernandez reveals the precise mathematical formula used by admissions officers to rank applicants. Using her guidelines, readers can calculate their own AI (Academic Index) and--should their scores come up short--learn ways to compensate in other areas.

Intercollegiate Studies Institute (Editor): Choosing the Right College: The Whole Truth about America's Top Schools In this thoroughly revised and expanded edition of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute’s critically acclaimed college guide, 110 of the nation’s top colleges and universities are examined in essays averaging 3,000 words. No other college guide so closely examines every school’s academic, political, and social situation. Additions to this second edition include ten more essays, revised and updated coverage of every school, a new essay on liberal learning, and increased coverage of student life. Tuition, enrollment, and other important facts are included for each school.

Kaplan, Benjamin: How to Go to College Almost for Free While still in high school, Ben Kaplan won more than two dozen merit-based scholarships amounting to more than $90,000 in funds for use at any school. After graduating from Harvard magna cum laude in 2001, he self-published How to Go to College Almost for Free: The Secrets of Winning Scholarship Money, selling more than 65,000 copies out of a custom tour bus dedicated to raising awareness about scholarships. This book offers advice on how to find and win money for college, delivered in an energetic and inspiring voice with broad appeal.

Kaplan Educational Centers (Editor): Kaplan ACT with CD-ROM This book provides 4 full-length exams with complete explanations for all answers and a detailed analysis of your score. To help you prepare more effectively, ACT with CD-ROM provides you with complete workouts to build your skills in each of the four subject areas on the test -- English, Math, Reading, and Science Reasoning. Kaplan's highly effective test-taking strategies will help you test more successfully. You will receive detailed strategies for every question type on the test, plus expert advice on managing time, dealing with stress, guessing, and more.

Light, Richard: Making the Most of College: Students Speak Their Minds Light interviewed 1600 Harvard students over a ten-year period to discover how to make the most of the college experience. This valuable and practical book, is filled with advice and illuminated by real stories of students' self-doubts, failures, discoveries, and hopes. Some of the issues examined include collaborative selection of classes, talking productively with advisers, improving writing and study skills, maximizing the value of research assignments, and connecting learning inside the classroom with the rest of life.

Ordovensky, Pat: College Planning for Dummies The college search is a kind of a game, with preestablished rules and institutional expectations. To find the right college requires knowledge about how the game works. Anyone can play, however, so long as he or she has access to the relevant information. And that's where Pat Ordovensky's College Planning for Dummies comes in. There's a chapter devoted to what exists out there in higher education, explaining the options of private, public, single-sex, and religion-affiliated schools, as well as tuition-free, two-year colleges, and colleges in other countries, and another chapter on what plans and decisions you can make, way before it's time to select a school, with suggestions for 4th graders, 10th graders, and, of course, the last-minute 11th graders. There are also chapters on campus visits, interviews, how many applications to send off, and how colleges look at you, followed by bottom-line chapters on paying for college, describing all your financial aid options in clear, understandable English. It's organized so nicely that just checking out the table of contents goes a long way toward quelling the panic of an overwhelmed parent.

Pope, Loren: Looking Beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You Reaffirming the value of the small liberal arts college, Pope shows parents and students how and why to look beyond Ivy League and other well-known schools to choose the college that best suits their needs--and how to avoid the pitfalls of the college selection process.

Robinson, Adam and Katzman, John: Cracking the SAT & PSAT/NMSQT
The Princeton Review realizes that acing the SAT is very different from getting straight A's in school. The Princeton Review doesn't try to teach students everything there is to know about math and English--only the techniques they'll need to score higher on the exam. There’s a big difference. In this book, The Princeton Review teaches test takers how to think like the test makers, eliminate answer choices that look right but are planted to fool you, master the 250 most important SAT vocabulary words, and nail even the toughest sections: Analogies, Quantitative Comparison, Critical Reading, and more. This book includes 2 full-length, simulated SAT exams. Plus, The Princeton Review will show test takers how to go online and take 4 additional exams with instant score analysis. All of the sample test questions are just like the ones test takers will see on the actual SAT, and this book fully explains every solution.

GOVERNMENT WEBSITES

http://www.certicc.org Here you will find links to other major sources of information on education in California and materials to assist parents and students prepare for college. College: Making It Happen is a program designed to communicate to families the importance of early academic and financial planning in order for middle school adolescents to have choices after high school graduation. It is designed for families of sixth to ninth grade students, although the materials and presentations are applicable for parents and students in other grades as well. The three components are a 30-minute videotape in English and Spanish; an informational packet in English and Spanish consisting of materials designed to support families and educators; and events that provide families and students with the opportunity to hear presentations from representatives of all higher sectors in the state.

AFFORDABLE COLLEGES ONLINE

Affordable Colleges Online is an organization dedicated to providing free higher education tools and information for current and future college students and their families. Their mission is to provide education tools and guides to the public at no cost to students and families across the country. The organization works closely with experts, both in the higher education industry and in academia. Here are a few examples of the unique and expert-driven materials:

http://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/spotlight/ - A series of guidebooks for veterans, students with disabilities, Hispanic students, and more in our College Spotlight section

http://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/financial-aid/financial-aid-for-online-colleges/ - An in-depth financial aid section with articles, guides and videos

http://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/online-colleges-guide/- An expert-driven, 20-page guide to online learning success

EXPLORING COLLEGE WEBSITES

AccreditedSchoolsOnline.org

Ensuring future students find fully-accredited programs is critical to ensure credit transferability, financial aid eligibility, and post-graduation job placement success. This organizations provides an advanced search tool to help students locate these not-for-profit programs, as well as a comprehensive guidebook on accreditation.

A little about the features of these resources:
Search fully-accredited, not-for-profit colleges
Filter by school type, tuition, size, duration (2 year, 4 year), and competition level
Double click for details on student populations, test scores, acceptance rates, and campus safety
Map by city and state

In addition, the College Accreditation Guidebook contains critical information for understanding accreditation holistically, including the benefits of accreditation, types, process, online college accreditation, outcomes, and a glossary of terms for those who are not experts in the field.

Their mission is to get these no-cost public resources into the hands of future students and families.
Homepage: www.accreditedschoolsonline.org
Accreditation Guide: www.accreditedschoolsonline.org/college-accreditation-guide/

http://www.campustours.com Virtual tours have become an essential component of college websites, providing prospective students with the opportunity to learn about a college prior to a campus visit, or to reacquaint themselves with particular institutions after a visit. The virtual tour has become an established piece of the college recruitment effort, and essentially provides the modern day equivalent to the printed college viewbook. Over 800 colleges have found new ways to incorporate guides and dialogue into their tours and have reinvented the campus tour online. Combining diverse tour elements like panoramic images, video, audio and animation, universities are creating online expeditions that more closely approximate the real campus walking tour. Student testimonials, audio snippets from real college tour guides, and case studies of current and former students help make the experience more personal, and allow applicants to explore the tour at their own pace. Embedded links from each tour stop to school departments and organizations allow further investigation of potential majors, various athletic programs and student social opportunities.

http://www.collegeplan.org The College Planning Website provides students and families with information on college selection, admission, financial aid, and scholarships. College Planning Early is for elementary and middle school students. College Planning Now is for high school and college students. The site includes "Getting Ready for College Early: A Handbook for Parents of Students in the Middle and Junior High School Years."

http://www.csumentor.edu CSUMentor is an online resource designed to help students and their families learn about the CSU system, select a CSU campus to attend, apply for admission, and plan to finance higher education. Students can take virtual tours and apply for admission online to all CSU campuses (Cal Maritime, Cal Poly Pomona, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, CSU Bakersfield, CSU Channel Islands, CSU Chico, CSU Dominguez Hills, CSU Fresno, CSU Fullerton, CSU Hayward, CSU Long Beach, CSU Los Angeles, CSU Monterey Bay, CSU Northridge, CSU Sacramento, CSU San Bernardino, CSU San Marcos, CSU Stanislaus, Humboldt State University, San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Sonoma State University.

http://www.educationindex.com The Education Index is an annotated guide to the best education-related sites on the Web. They're sorted by subject and lifestage, so a visitor can find information quickly and easily. Instead of just providing a list of links, they've reviewed the sites and summarized what is on them. The Education Index is a service of Hobsons, an international college and career publisher. Hobsons creates a link between education and commerce by providing information on education and job opportunities to students, teachers, advisers, and parents across the world. Their products and services guide students from the age of 14 through high school and college into the world of work, professional education, and training.

http://www.mappingyourfuture.org Mapping Your Future is a one-stop website sponsored by financial aid professionals for parents and students with information on financial strategies, career options, and college planning. Information is geared to middle school, high school, college, and adult students, as well as educators and parents. The entire site can also be accessed in Spanish.

http://www.nacacnet.org The National Association for College Admission Counseling is an organization of 7900 professionals around the world dedicated to serving students as they make choices about pursuing postsecondary education. This website contains information about NACAC College Fairs, an online newsletter, a college calendar, publications for students, web resources for the college-bound, a statement of students' rights and responsibilities, and information for parents about independent college counselors and other non-school counseling services.

http://www.petersons.com This website helps connect individuals, educational institutions, and corporations through its books, websites, online products, and admissions services. It has information about colleges and universities, career schools, graduate programs, distance learning, executive training, private secondary schools, summer opportunities, study abroad, financial aid, test preparation, and career exploration. Students can take online practice tests for the SAT. Its financial aid database of nearly $5 billion worth of scholarships, grants, and prizes, is fully searchable on the Web and available in printed guides.

TEST PREPARATION

http://www.act.org Act, Inc. is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides more than a hundred assessment, research, information, and program management services in the broad areas of educational planning, career planning, and workforce development. At this site, you can register for the ACT, take a practice exam, identify colleges that meet your needs, apply to colleges online, and estimate what your family is expected to contribute toward your college costs.

http://www.collegeboard.org The College Board is a national nonprofit membership association whose mission is to prepare, inspire, and connect students to college and opportunity. This website has information on Planning for College, Taking the Tests, Finding the Right College, Getting into College, and Paying for College. At this website, students can register for the SAT, complete the CSS/Profile, and apply to over 500 colleges. Students can practice for the PSAT or SAT and families can find numerous links to other educational websites.

http://www.kaplan.com Kaplan, Inc. is one of the nation's premier providers of educational and career services for individuals, schools and businesses. This is a one-stop resource for test preparation (PSAT, SAT, SAT II, ACT), admissions, state testing, and career information. At this site, students can sign up for courses and services, purchase books and software, locate free events, and sign up for an online subscription.

http://www.review.com The Princeton Review helps millions of students each year navigate standardized tests and the college admissions process through its courses, books, software, and website. At this site, you can search for a major, find and apply to the right college, complete a profile, calculate costs, and sign up for test preparation classes for the PSAT, SAT, SAT II, and the ACT. This site also has up-to-date news items about college and pages of good advice.

http://testprepreview.com You will find much information about most tests online at official websites, containing test dates, the types of questions, how long the test will take, and most other questions concerning the details of the test. At this site, you will find many resources and information about the test preparation process. There are many tips for academic success, information on all college study skills, and free practice tests.

http://www.studyguidezone.com/sattest.htm This free guide provides you with the professional instruction you require for understanding the traditional SAT test. Covered are all aspects of the test and preparation procedures that you will require throughout the process. Upon completion of this guide and the practice questions, you’ll have the confidence and knowledge you need for maximizing your performance on your SAT.

FINANCIAL AID

http://www.collegeanswer.com CollegeAnswer is a one-stop website for a student wondering where to go to college and how to get there, or for a parent trying to unravel the mystery of the college and financial aid application process. You'll find pointers on the entire college process from preparation to getting loans. CollegeAnswer also has interactive tools that enable you to analyze the affordability of schools and compare financial aid award letters. Sallie Mae is the nation's leader in higher education finance. For more than 26 years Sallie Mae has been active in the student loan business and currently serves five million borrowers, services $53 billion in student loans and partners with 5,000 colleges, universities and higher education learning centers.

http://www.edfund.com Edfund is a nonprofit corporation founded by the California Student Aid Commission on January 1, 1997 as a 501(c)(3) public benefit corporation pursuant to legislation authorizing the Commission to establish a nonprofit auxiliary to administer all activities associated with its participation in the federal student loan program. This website helps families demystify the financial aid process. There are numerous links to educational websites and financial aid professionals.

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/fsa/index.html The 1998 Reauthorization of the Higher Education Programs established a Performance-Based Organization to administer the Federal Student Aid programs at the U.S. Department of Education. This webpage will keep you abreast of changes to the organization and progress in reinventing these important programs, which provide more than $60 billion of financial aid a year to college students. This website helps families plan for college, find the right post-secondary institution, pay for college, and take advantage of financial resources. There are many links to other educational websites and to financial planning professionals.

http://www.finaid.com FinAid was established in the fall of 1994 as a public service. This award-winning site has grown into the most comprehensive annotated collection of information about student financial aid on the web. Access to FinAid is free for all users and there is no charge to link to the site. FinAid has a stellar reputation in the educational community and is comprehensive, informative, objective, and the first stop on the Web for students looking for ways to finance their education. FinAid focuses on loans, scholarships, and military aid.

http://www.scholarshare.com This is the website of the Golden State ScholarShare College Savings Trust where families can learn more about California's state and federally tax-free 529 college savings program and the Governor's Scholarship Program. ScholarShare is now completely state and federally tax-free. California's Governor signed two new laws on May 8th that eliminated state taxation on withdrawals from 529 savings accounts. The change conforms state tax law to a federal law that made 529 college savings funds federally tax-free as of January 1, 2002. California public high school students who received notification may be eligible for a $1,000 Governor's Scholars Award for exams taken in the 2000 and 2001 school year. Students eligible for a Governor's Scholars Award who also earned qualifying scores on certain math and science examinations may also be eligible for an additional $2,500 Governor's Distinguished Mathematics and Science Scholars Award. Scholarship awards are invested in the Golden State ScholarShare Trust, California's college savings program until used to pay for qualified higher education expenses.

http://www.scholarshiphelp.org The goal of this website is to educate students about scholarship access and the necessary requirements for achieving maximum financial aid. In addition, this site provides free information to help students avoid scholarship scam artists and misleading authors who promise "secrets" to what is essentially free public information.

https://www.fastweb.com/ Search for scholarships for college students with our free matching service for scholarships. Also learn about financial aid and student loan options to find money.

https://www.goingmerry.com/ Get matched with college scholarships instantly and apply online with a common app for students and tools for counselors and providers.