Helpful Resources

For current articles on colleges, majors, financial aid, higher education and other topics related to your college search, please subscribe to my free monthly Newsletter .

• BigFuture - College Board's new college search and resource website
• Cappex - college and scholarship search website
  
• CCAA - organization of Catholic colleges and universities
• College Confidential - college searches and online discussions
• College Data - resource for college search, research and scholarship information
• College Navigator  - Federal site that provides college facts and figures
• College Newspapers - website that provides links to many campus papers (great for journalism majors!)
• College Portrait  - voluntary system of accountability & comparison for over 300 public universities
• The College Tour - free streaming channel with current, in-depth college tours
• College Xpress - an insider's guide to college searches
  
• Colleges that Change Lives - guides to 44 unique schools
  
• Colleges of Distinction - nationally recognized list of colleges 
• Colorado Department of Higher Education - college information for Colorado students and families  
• College Results Online - graduation rates for most four-year college or universities 
• College Scorecard - U.S. Dept. of Education college search tool highlighting salary outcomes and affordability 
• ECampus Tours  - video college tours
• Fair Test - colleges not requiring SAT or ACT
  
• USA Gap Year Fairs - outlines regional fairs & gap year programs
• Go See Campus  - college trip planner
• Guiding Bright Minds - source for support and guidance for LD students and families
• IPEDS (Integrated Post Secondary Education System)  - Government data on all colleges and universities
• My College Options - college search by majors
• National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) - independent survey alternative to rankings , Download their Pocket Guide to Choosing a College
• Niche - college reviews by students
• Peterson's - comprehensive college guide
• TeenLife - lists thousands of teen-centered academic and experiential learning opportunities
• Unigo - college reviews and details
• USNews Rankings - While I'm not a fan of rankings, many families still want to check them out!
• YOUniversity TV - video tours of colleges and careers
• YouVisit - virtual college tours of 600+ colleges

• Fiske Guide to Colleges  by Edward B. Fiske
  
• Princeton Review The Best 388 Colleges
• Colleges That Change Lives  by Loren Pope & Hilary Masel Oswald
• College Match  by Steven R. Antonoff, PhD
• America's Best Colleges for B Students  by Tamra B. Orr
• Creative Colleges:  A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians and Writers by Elaina Loveland
• Paying for College Without Going Broke by Kalman Chany
• The College Solution:  A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price by Lynn O'Shaughnessy
• Letting Go: A Parent's Guide to Understanding the College Years by Karen L. Coburn and Madge L.Treeger

• ACT  information, registration and scores
• SAT  information, registration and scores
  
• Applerouth offers online tutoring and test prep services for all major standardized tests
• Arborbridge offers online personalized tutoring and test prep services
• Compass Education Group offers local 1-on-1 test prep and tutoring
• Mindfish offers local group and 1-on-1 ACT, SAT and academic tutoring
• Moser Educational Services offers local ACT, SAT and academic 1-on-1 tutoring

• Fill out the FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid, to submit after October 1.  This official site is a free service. 
• College in Colorado College Opportunity Fund provides a stipend funding for up to 145 credit hours for eligible Colorado students attending a participating Colorado public college or university.  Sign up now!
• CSS (College Scholarship Service) Profile is a financial aid profile required by a subset of selective colleges to be submitted after October 1. 
• College Affordability and Transparency Center -  U.S. Department of Education’s site providing information on costs for each college, as well as net price calculator access.
• CollegeBoard features EFC and College Cost Calculators.
• FinAid explains various financial aid programs available and includes a "SmartStudent" Guide to Financial Aid including calculators
• Mapping Your Future - “Managing Your Money” menu option will provide access to “Calculators.” The Student loan debt/salary wizard tool helps estimate earnings required to pay off student loan debt.
• Federal Student Aid -  offers free information from the US Dept. of Education on preparing for and funding education beyond high school.
• Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) allows students who are residents of certain Western states to request a reduced tuition rate of 150% of resident tuition at participating college programs outside of their home state.

• Cappex - scholarship overview and search assistance
• College Answer - SallieMae college funding and scholarship information
• College.Net - free online scholarship search 
• Denver Scholarship Foundation - Scholarship Directory links to a wide variety of scholarships.
  
• Fastweb - website for scholarship search and financial aid advice
• Going Merry- free scholarship search and application platform
• Scholarships - free online scholarship search
• Unigo- college reviews and scholarship search
• Please note:  Do NOT pay for online scholarship services.  Most are happy to take your money with little or no results.  

• Common Application - college application and supplements accepted by over 900 member institutions.  (The newest version is now available, but essay prompts may not yet be updated.)
  
• Universal Application - college application and supplements accepted by a select group of colleges
• Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success - new portfolio-based application used by nearly 100 colleges
• ZeeMee - phone app that creates a profile used to supplement the college application to over 200 colleges
• AXS Companion- Oregon State University's free online guide to walk you through the Common Application

• NCAA Eligibility Center - Explore this site to learn more about the NCAA, its athletics divisions, its sports and other information about collegiate athletics.
  
• NAIA Eligibility Center for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 300 member schools.
• beRecruited - connect with over 25,000 coaches in 31 sports
• Scholarship Stats - odds of playing college sports and athletic scholarship sources

• Educate to Career provides occupations and salary outcomes by college and major
• Glassdoor provides an inside look at potential jobs and employers
  
• My Colorado Journey- college and career resources for Colorado residents
• MyMajors provides searches and articles on majors and careers
• Occupational Outlook Handbook  helps you research potential salary ranges by occupation and region
• O*NET offers a career exploration and job analysis tool
• PayScale provides a survey and salary report as well as tips to help you accomplish your career goals
• Roadtrip Nation  provides interviews with hundreds of professionals to help you "Define Your Road in Life"
• Salary.com  provides articles on majors, jobs and earning potential
• Study.com offers videos on thousands of subjects including majors and careers
• TryEngineering  provides helpful insights and articles about engineering careers