Resources

There are thousands of resources available for every aspect of the college search and sifting through all of them can be overwhelming. I’ve included my favorite resources on this page. There will certainly be some that I’ve missed but I hope you find these helpful.

Test Prep

Hallelujah test optional! Though a big relief for students, test optional can cause some consternation. Should you take the test in the first place? If you take the test, should you submit the score? At which schools will the score help and at which schools might it hurt? Most schools implemented a test optional policy when Covid struck and students couldn’t take the test. Some schools like the Unversity of California and California State Schools went completely test blind and won’t even consider a test score in the admissions process. Other schools, like MIT and the University of Georgia still require a test score to apply. The good news is that students now have options in terms of testing. It really depends on which schools are on your list.

Kahn Academy has an excellent free program. They have partnered with the College Board.
Visit Khan Academy

The ACT Academy online is also a good free program for ACT prep.
Visit ACT Academy

Test prep books are also a great option and relatively inexpensive. All of the books include at least three practice tests and answer explanations as well as test-taking strategies.

One on one tutors are extremely effective for the most part, though they can be very pricey. Many families believe they are worth the return on investment.

Financial Aid

Knowing what you will pay for college is a crucial piece of the puzzle. Every family should look at the net price calculator on each school’s website before their student falls in love with the school. Some of the calculators are more accurate than others (the College Board Calculators tend to be a bit better) but they will all give you at least a ballpark idea of what you will pay.

FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It not only gives students access to Federal Aid but is required by most colleges for institutional aid. It is a relatively straight forward financial form unless you have unusual financial circumstances. It opens October 1st and it’s best to get it in to schools as soon as possible. The FAFSA site has many resources and instructions for filling out the FAFSA.
Visit Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)

The CSS Profile (The College Scholarship Service Profile) is a financial form separate from the FAFSA that is used by highly selective private schools to assess a family’s need for non-federal financial aid. It is administered by The College Board and is much more in depth than the FAFSA in terms of financial questions. Happily, it takes into consideration family medical expenses and the cost of school for younger children. Unhappily, it also takes into account home value. I like the GoingMerry guide to filling out the CSS Profile.
Visit GoingMerry

Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid at finaid.org covers all things financial aid. There is scholarship information, calculators to help you estimate what you will pay, instructions on filling out financial forms, and information on all of the different types of loans available and military programs.
Visit the Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid

Scholarships

I recommend that students start locally for scholarships. Town Council scholarships and scholarships specific to each high school, though still very competitive, give students a better chance when they apply. Because the bigger national scholarships are more competitive, it’s best to look for a scholarship that is specifically tailored to your background or circumstances.

In San Diego, The San Diego Foundation is a fantastic resource for local scholarships.
Visit The San Diego Foundation

If you apply for a national scholarship, go for one that is as specific to you as possible. The following are good national scholarship sites:

Fastweb

Unigo

Cappex

College Search Websites and Online Resources

There are many online resources that will give a very strong picture of each college. Students can hear from other students on what it is like to go to school at each particular college, they can compare and contrast different schools and find out about social and academic cultures.

The first stop can always be Google for any college search. In 2018 Google added a college search feature aimed to help students see information like pricing, graduation rates, size and acceptance rate immediately upon entering the name of the school in the search engine.

Big Future is The College Board’s college search tool. It allows students to search by location, major, size and many other factors.
Visit Big Future

The College Navigator helps student find colleges by net price, graduation rates, student loan default information, and it has a comparison tool.
Visit The College Navigator

Tuition Fit is a relatively new site that allows students to enter their financial aid packages anonymously and allows other students to see what a financial aid package from a particular school might look like.
Visit Tuition Fit

College Confidential is a fun site that’s loaded with statistical information about colleges. It also includes critiques from students (ranging from “best school ever” to “this school sucks”).
Visit College Confidential

PrepScholar is a great site for checking admissions criteria and is usually the first site to pop up on a Google search of “How hard is it to get into school X?”
Visit PrepScholar

Niche has all sorts of good information on each college. It also will give you lists of “the best schools for engineering majors” or “the best schools for business majors.”
Visit Niche

Books

There is an entire library of books covering every aspect of the admissions process. Click below for a few of my favorites.

See the LIst