College Planning: On-line Resources
2006-12-04
A Review by D.E. Herrod, B.Ed.E, M.Div.
The internet provides many resource for parents and students to use in planning for college. The amount of information available can be overwhelming. There are several resources I have used when helping students. The purpose of this article is to provide a quick overview of a few of them.
Federal
Student Aid
Federal student aid has grown beyond the financial aid packets that I remember using as a college student. The Student Aid site provides comprehensive resources for college planning, not just financial aid information. The Planner Timeline is a useful tool that provides a detailed list of steps students and parents should take each year between 8th and 12th grades.
CollegeBoard.com
CollegeBoard is responsible for SAT,
PSAT, AP and CLEP tests. Their site provides detailed information about other resources for students and parents. The AP section has a listing of all 37 AP courses and the requirements for each. Both the parent
and student sections contain information for homeschoolers. Some information appears to be repeated in both sections. The College Matchmaker allows students to search for schools according to their needs and interests.
FastWeb
FastWeb is a free service that provides information about scholarships, schools and jobs. The Scholarship search allows users to search for scholarships and receive notifications via email about scholarship opportunities. Other features include College Tools a college search, a ca lender/planner and other resources.
ACT
The ACT student website offers ACT test information, registration and test prep materials. There is a charge for the on-line Prep program and for the Real-ACT Prep Guide. Free materials include sample tests, test description, test taking tips and Preparing
for the ACT. The website also provides information about PLAN and EXPLORE
tests. The PLAN test is for 10th graders and is similar to the PSAT. It is designed to help students prepare for the ACT. However, there is not a scholarship program affiliated with it. The EXPLORE test is a tool designed for 8th and 9th graders to help with planning for high school, college and career choices.
Like the other sites mentioned in this review, ACT also provides tools for college planning and financial aid. The Parent section provides information about college and career planning, a newsletter and a list of resources. One advantage the ACT website has over CollegeBoard.com is the emphasis on career planning and not just college planning.
|
