Juniors and Seniors! Use the following Web resources to help you with your most important research project yet--your college decision.
Remember, you are not alone. While you can cover much ground on the Web, you'll definitely want to visit your guidance counselor for advice and help with the application process . And make it a family project. You'll want to involve your parents early on!
Choosing | Planning | Deciding | Applying | Funding
Choosing a Career and a Major
Career Advice
For many students the college choice is closely tied to your career choice. The following sites will help you explore careers and majors.
What Can I do With this Major? http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors/
Career Browser http://cbweb9p.collegeboard.org/career/bin/career.pl
Career Explorer http://careerexplorer.net/descriptions.asp
Career Exploration Links (U. Berkeley) http://www.uhs.berkeley.edu/Students/CareerLibrary/Links/occup.cfm
Getting Ready for College Early http://www.ed.gov/pubs/GettingReadyCollegeEarly/
Princeton Review Choosing a Major http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/articles/majors/choosemajor.asp
Career Inventories
Take an inventory of your strengths and weakness to discover compatability
<back>Princeton Review Career Quiz http://www.princetonreview.com/cte/quiz/default.asp?menuID=0&careers=0
Career Explorer Assessment http://careerexplorer.net/aptitude.asp
Career Key http://www.ncsu.edu/careerkey/
Career Zone: Assess Yourself http://www.nycareerzone.org/text/assessment/index.jsp
Kiersey Temperament Sorter: http://www.advisorteam.com/user/ktsintro1.asp
Match Your Skills to Careers http://www.iseek.org/sv/Frame?pg=12403
MOIS Occupational Information System Self-Assessment Career Survey http://mois.org/
Monster.com Tools and Quizzes http://content.monster.com/tools/
Occupational Outlook Handbook http://www.bls.gov/oco/
About.com Career Choices http://www.careerplanning.about.com/library/blcareers.htm
Bureau of Labor Statistics Career Information http://stats.bls.gov/k12/html/edu_over.htm
Exploring Occupations http://www.umanitoba.ca/counselling/careers.html
Iseek: Internet System for Education and Employment Knowledge http://www.iseek.org/
Military Careers Online http://www.militarycareers.com/
Military Opportunities http://www.myfuture.com/t2_milops.html
Selective Service Registration http://www.sss.gov/
US Coast Guard http://www.uscg.mil/
US Army http://www.goarmy.com/
Army ROTC http://www.goarmy.com/rotcFindSchools.do
US Marine Corps http://www.usmc.mil/
US Air Force http://www.airforce.com/
US Naval Academy http://www.nadn.navy.mil/
US Air Force Academy http://www.usafa.af.mil/
Staying Focused
Keep on Schedule
Use these planning tools to make sure you don't miss important opportunities and deadlines.
US News College Planning Guide http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/cohome.htm
US News College Planning Calendar http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/planner/planner_brief.php
US News Forums http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/misc/experts.htm
College Plan http://collegeplan.org/
Mapping Your Future http://mapping-your-future.org/
College Planning for LD Students http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content3/college.planning.LD.html
Choosing a School
Interactive Search Tools
If you don't have a clue about which schools best meet your needs, in terms of academics, selectivity, diversity, environment, costs, distance, etc, start with an interactive search.
College Board Matchmaker http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp
American Educational Services: Get Ready for College
Princeton Review Advanced School Search http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/advsearch/match.asp
US News College Search http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/tools/brief/cosearch_advanced_brief.php
Peterson's http://www.petersons.com/ugchannel/code/searches/srchCrit1.asp
Collegeboard.com Side by Side Comparison
http://apps.collegeboard.com/search/sidebyside.jsp
Ranking the Schools
If you value the opinions of experts, check out how your schools stack up.
College and University Rankings http://www.library.uiuc.edu/edx/rankings.htm
Princeton Review : Best 361 Rankings http://www.princetonreview.com/college/research/rankings/rankings.asp
Campus Newspapers
Get the Scoop on campus climate as reported by studentsYahoo's links to College Newspapers: http://dir.yahoo.com/News_and_Media/College_and_University/Newspapers/
College News Online: http://www.collegenews.com/
Special Interests
For some students the college choice may be tied to religious, racial, or social interests.
<back>Black Collegian Online http://www.black-collegian.com/
Disability-Friendly Colleges http://www.newmobility.com/review_article.cfm?id=122&action=browse
Military Guides Online http://www.militaryguides.acenet.edu/
Historically Black Colleges: http://www.smart.net/~pope/hbcu/hbculist.htm
SAT/ACT Optional Schools http://fairtest.org/optional.htm
Online http://www.ncaa.org/
NCAA Guide for the College-Bound Student-Athlete http://www.ncaa.org/library/general/cbsa/2004-05/2004-05_cbsa.pdf
Resources for College Bound Athletes (an annotated list of free and fee-based services) http://www3.dist214.k12.il.us/guidance/athleteinfo.htm
NAII (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) http://www.naia.org/
Athletic Scholarships http://collegeapps.about.com/cs/athletic/index.htm
US News College Sports Programs http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/sports/sportsindex.htm
Virtual Tours, The Multimedia Experience
Take a tour of the campus of your choice. Many include cams, video, photos, and maps
Campus Tours.com http://www.CampusTours.com/
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Two Year and Technical Schools
Michigan Community Colleges and Technical Schools http://www.50states.com/cc/michigan.htm
Vocational Information Center: Exploring the World of Work http://www.geocities.com/soarcatb
Washtenaw Community College http://www.wccnet.edu/
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Applying
Directories
These gateway sites provide easy access to the home pages of all the universities, where you can get tons of background information, download applications, even apply online.
Google University Search (Search within the pages of a university's site) http://www.google.com/options/universities.html
Yahoo! Colleges and Universities http://dir.yahoo.com/Education/Higher_Education/Colleges_and_Universities/By_Region/U_S__States/
All About College http://www.allaboutcollege.com/
Braintrack University Index (links to colleges and universities worldwide) http://www.braintrack.com/
Essay Help
Your essay is a critical component of your application. It offers you an opportunity to make your personal voice heard, to separate yourself from thousands of other applicants.
Three Steps to a College Essay? http://www.collegeboard.com/article/0,3868,5-26-0-9405,00.html
Essay Edge Admissions Essay 101 http://www.essayedge.com/
EssayEdge (samples to start you thinking) http://www.essayedge.com/college/essayadvice/samples/
College Essay Tips http://www.carleton.edu/admissions/essay/index.html
Purdue Business Writing Resources http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/index.html
Resume Writing for High School Students http://www.sccis.org/main/resume/afterschool1.htm
Resumes http://7-12educators.about.com/msub103resume.htm
Resume Lesson Plan http://desktoppub.about.com/library/weekly/aa0828c1.htm?once=true&
Resumes and Cover Letters http://www.mnworkforcecenter.org/cjs/cjs_site/resume.htm
Riley Guide: Resumes and Cover Letters http://www.rileyguide.com/letters.html
Learn-A-Test www.mel.org
From the Michigan Electronic Library, this awesome site allows users to practice a variety of tests from the ACT and SAT to the GRE
American College Testing Service www.act.org
Funding
Free Application for Federal Student Aid http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
College Boards PROFILE OnLine http://profileonline.collegeboard.com/index.jsp
About.com Financial Aid http://collegeapps.about.com/cs/financialaid/index.htm
All About College Financial Aid http://www.allaboutcollege.com/netguide/financial-aid.htm
College is Possible http://www.collegeispossible.org/
College Board Paying for College http://www.collegeboard.com/paying/
Fastaid http://www.fastaid.com/
FinAid! Financial Aid Information Page http://www.finaid.org
Michigan Higher Education Assistance Authority http://www.mde.state.mi.us
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administration http://www.nasfaa.org
Student Guide: Financial Aid http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/student_guide/index.html
Student Guide & Funding Your Education http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/PPI/HOPE/index.html
Wired Scholar.com http://www.wiredscholar.com
Scholarships
Financial Aid eligibility estimator http://www.finaid.org/finaid/calculators/estimate.html
MI-CASHE Scholarship search service ($5 charge) http://www.mde.state.mi.us
Federal Scholarship search http://www.fastweb.com
FREE service to find scholarships
FAFSA on the Web (start 1/1/06) http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
Sallie Mae http://www.salliemae.com
General information, aid estimator and scholarship search