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   

Converting UTMA/UGMA to 529: Learn more about whether you should convert a UTMA to 529



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



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 LaborFind 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

Mapping What Matters - Your Student and Desired Outcomes

Student Outcomes

Student Outcomes: https://www.chronicle.com/article/student-outcomes#id=table_total_1_all_all_all   

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.
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