Resources
Financial Resources
Calculator
Savings/Investment Programs
529 Plans - Highlights:
- Investments grow tax deferred
- Withdraws are tax free when used for higher education expenses at any accredited college or university worldwide.
- Tax code changes (2018) allow plans to be used to pay for private K-12 private education
- Many States provide some form of income tax benefit
Financial Aid
Understand your Expected Family Contribution (EFC):
- Federal method vs. Institutional method
- College Board has a free estimator
- Your EFC is the amount for One Year of College for your student
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) -
Video: How to Create a FSA ID - need this to do the application, both parent and student!
College Costs
Understand the actual cost of college for your student and use a Net Price Calculator (NPC) to determine your bottom-line amount for individual schools. Every school is to provide a calculator on their website - be cautious on their accuracy.
College Data - # of students who receive merit scholarships per school
US Dept of Education Database (IPEDS) - provides
trends and stats on costs
Student Loans
https://studentaid.gov/publicservice
https://www.pgpresents.com/FreeResources.html
http://www.privatestudentloans.guru/
Scholarships & Grants
Scholarships.com - Find Scholarships
National Association of College and University Business Officers - provides studies, including institution grant recipient
numbers)
Unigo - Find Scholarships
Fastweb - Find Scholarships
Fatomei - Crazy list of scholarships
SallieMae - Find Scholarships
US Dept of Labor- Find Scholarships
Cappex - provides data on institutional scholarships
For school specific Scholarship & Grants go
to their site and search
Athletics - see below
Financial Aid/Award Letters
How to interpret:
TuitionFit- compare tool for like students and same colleges
Student Athletes
College Athletics
Scholarship Stats - Statistics on Student Athlete Probabilities
List of Schools with athletics and their NCAA Division (D I, D II, D III)
Mapping What Matters - Your Student and Desired Outcomes
Student Outcomes
College Completion (Chronicles of Higher
Education): https://www.chronicle.com/article/student-outcomes#id=table_total_1_all_all_all
Gladwell NYT Story on U.S. News' College
rankings: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/02/14/the-order-of-things
Purdue/Gallup Study: Measuring What Matters: https://www.gallup.com/services/185924/gallup-purdue-index-2020-report.aspx
Gallup - future happiness is less dependent on
school attended
Job Intelligence (great for Major/State/School
average salary): https://www.jobsearchintelligence.com/etc/counselors-majors/
Graduation Rates & Earnings Data
College Results: http://collegeresults.org/
- Lots of all around good data here too
Payscale ROI: https://www.payscale.com/college-salary-report
Educate to Career: https://www.educatetocareer.org/
https://www.jobsearchintelligence.com/etc/counselors-majors/
Dept of Ed - Fields of Study data/schools: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
List Building
Trends in Cost of Colleges: https://research.collegeboard.org/trends
College Transitions Data: https://www.collegetransitions.com/dataverse/
Great Resource Many Topics
College Navigator: https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
- Good database for a lot of schools
Colleges That Change Lives: Colleges That Change Lives –
Changing Lives. One Student At A Time. (ctcl.org)
National Survey of Student Engagement: Evidence-Based
Improvement in Higher Education: Indiana University
College Confidential (Opinions & Forums): Admissions
| College Search | College Confidential
College Professor Ratings/Opinions: https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/
College Communities Rankings/Opinions: https://www.niche.com/?ref=colleges
Testing & Resume Building
TESTING
Compass: Resource
Center - Compass Education Group (compassprep.com) - Great
document on Standardized Testing
SAT (College Board): College Board -
SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools
PSAT: The
PSAT/NMSQT – SAT Suite | College Board
AP, Advanced Placement Program: Get Ahead
with AP – AP Students | College Board
ACT, American College Testing: The ACT Test for Students | ACT
FAIRTEST: https://fairtest.org/university/optional
Online Testing Resources
Kahn Academy: Khan Academy |
Free Online Courses, Lessons & Practice
Find Standardized Scores
SAT
and ACT Policies and Score Ranges for Popular Colleges and Universities -
Compass Education Group (compassprep.com)
College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools
> Type school name, click on applying link/profile
Resume Building, Recommendation Letters, and
Essay Writing
Student Resume Templates:
Develop a resumé and update it frequently. Your student's list of extracurricular activities, awards, accomplishments, and
work experience will be available when completing college applications.
Article on Big Future - How to get a great letter of recommendation (give them your resume)
Journal Daily
John Hopkins Essays That Worked -
Applications & Admissions
Scholarship Application Dates: https://www.collegekickstart.com/blog/item/keeping-vigil-on-2021-22-merit-scholarship-deadlines
Common Application: Apply to college
with Common App | Your future starts here
Finding Colleges Late: National
Association for College Admissions Counseling (NACAC): National
Association for College Admission Counseling- College Openings Update
(nacacnet.org)
Other Resources
Liberal Arts Colleges
Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges: Members – COPLAC
US News Rankings: 2022
Best National Liberal Arts Colleges | US News Rankings
Regional Universities List: Best
Regional Universities in America | US News Best Colleges
Honors Colleges
Best Honors
Programs and Honors Programs (collegetransitions.com)
Top
Honors Colleges (collegetransitions.com)
Study Abroad
Study
Abroad Volunteer Abroad, Intern Abroad Teach Abroad Degrees Abroad
Discover
Meaningful Programs Abroad | Read Reviews, Go Overseas
Books
https://www.amazon.com/Where-You-Not-Who-Youll/dp/1455532681
College Consultants
HECA: https://www.hecaonline.org/
ICEA: https://www.iecaonline.com/
AICCP:
Disclaimer
The
resource list is not comprehensive and in no way do we endorse or
guarantee the information or results from anything listed above.