College Planning Resources for College-Bound Teens

College Planning Resources for College-Bound Teens

Here's where you'll find the key college-planning resources you need to master... for college choice, college majors/minors, financial aid issues, college applications, and everything else college-related!

Quintessential Careers College Planning Resources

Critical college planning and college admissions articles and tutorials written especially for college-bound teens:

See all of our Teen College, Career, and Job-Related Articles.

Have questions about the college lingo or other terminology? Check out our High School College-Bound and College Planning Glossary of Terms.

And don't forget to review some of the great book recommendations we have in our Teen Career, College, and Job Books section of Quintessential Careers.

Empowering College Success Site

MyCollegeSuccessStory.com -- designed to empower college students to study better and achieve greater academic and career success by providing free academic success articles, stories, and resources -- from the folks at EmpoweringSites.com

Other College Planning Resources & Tools

ACT, Inc. -- the official site of one of the major college admission tests, offering sample questions, test-taking strategies, and the ability to register for the test online. Also includes advice about choosing a college and applying for financial aid. Free.

Adventures in Education (AIE) -- an interactive site that offers information and services to help finance an education, select a college, and plan a career. Sponsored by the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation.

All About College -- a great collection of college-related links and resources, including a comprehensive directory of college and university homepages from around the world, testing resources, financial aid resources, research tools, and a college chat area.

American School Search -- where college-bound students can search more 7,000 colleges with student body figures, financial aid information, degree program listings, enrollment requirements, loan information, location details, and a link to the school's Website. You can search for college and universities by name, state, degree program. No cost.

AnyCollege.com -- a great resource for prospective college students involved in the college search process, where students can find colleges and universities that match their criteria using a user-friendly search engine. Search criteria include programs offered, state, school type, sports, and college name. Includes more than 5,400 U.S. colleges. Also includes other college-related resources. Free.

Apply4Admissions.com -- a comprehensive resource for students interested in receiving admissions and financial aid application forms from schools, colleges, and universities throughout the U.S. and the world -- using just one application request. Includes both undergraduate and graduate schools. Also has a searchable database of colleges, financial aid guides, and scholarship searches. Free.

ApplyMate -- a free Web app that helps students and job-seekers track school and job applications -- a great tool for anyone juggling multiple applications, and multiple due dates, criteria, and priorities. Unlike a static excel sheet, the site provides users with suggested application fields to track, email reminders, and calendar syncing. No cost to users.

Bschool.com -- the purpose of the site is to offer another source of information to assist future students in selecting the business education program that best suits your needs and personality. Includes information about the best business schools, financial aid, application aid, and more. Free to job-seekers.

CampusExplorer -- an extremely cool tool for high school students planning to continue your education, where you can search for schools by major, location, and degree (4-year colleges, 2-year schools, and vocational programs) and find detailed information about the school, students, costs, admissions, and academics. No cost.

CampusProgram.com -- a comprehensive career development site for college students, with resources from helping you find a program of study, to choosing a major, and to finding employment after graduation. This site is basically a big collection of links for college students -- in one useful location. Free to job-seekers.

CampusSplash -- a network of Websites that contain news, reviews, and applications for college life, dorm living, and college admissions. Interesting resource for both high school and current college students. No cost to students.

CampusTours -- a truly great resource for getting information about U.S. colleges. This site includes virtual campus tours, college webcams, and QuickTime VR tours, movies, and pictures.

CareerExplorer.net -- where teens can view career descriptions, choose a career, find a school, and get answers to financial aid, career placement, and career education questions. Free.

Careers & Colleges -- the Website of a quarterly publication that deals with the key issues facing teens -- full of college information and resources for those continuing your education -- and lots of information about jobs and careers for those thinking about your job prospects. Also includes a chat area where you can talk with other teens.

CareerLaunch -- from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, a very useful career and college site, with resources and links to help teens with self-assessment, summer opportunities, college search, career development, and more. No cost.

CollegeAtlas.org -- a non-commercial site helping aspiring students make better, more informed choices by providing you with relevant, reliable and up-to-date information about college and higher education opportunities. Includes articles and tools for finding and choosing a college. No cost.

College Board Online -- contains a great careers section dealing with helping you choose a career. Also includes information about colleges and financial aid.

The CollegeBound Network -- an interactive guide to college life for aspiring college-bound students that offers teens insight and access to real people who can guide them through their college and career choices. Includes the College Bound Magazine, as well as a host of other Websites, including CollegeSurfing.com, StudentRewards.com, Go-Girl.com, and TheFledgling.com. Free.

CollegeConfidential.com -- a great resource of college search and admissions and financial aid resources for students and parents. Includes a large selection of articles and other resources designed to help make the college admissions process easy and accessible to everyone. Free.

CollegeData -- created for college-bound high school students and your families, this site helps you conduct a college search, qualify for college admission, find financial aid and apply for a student loan. No cost.

College Grazing -- offers 13 interactive self-discovery surveys for college-bound students that provide immediate feedback to give your college planning focus and insight. Also includes a complete application essay writing guide and other tools and resources that you will need for a successful college search. No cost to students.

College Navigator -- a great tool for college-bound students, provinding a direct link to more than 9,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. From the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education. You can search based on location, program, or degree offerings. Free.

CollegeNet -- provides an interesting search engine that helps college-bound students find their "ideal college." Searches for colleges can be narrowed by region, sports programs, majors, tuition, and several other factors. Also includes the "Mach25" financial aid search engine, as well as "Applyweb," where you can submit your application to hundreds of colleges online.

College Planning -- provides students and your families with information on college selection, admission, financial aid, and scholarships. Includes sections for college planning for high school students, elementary and middle school students, and adults returning to college.

CollegeProwler -- where college-bound students can find insider comments and reviews of colleges and universities across the U.S. -- with comments written by actual college students and recent grads. Company's aim is to be most accurate, complete, and honest resource on colleges and universities across the United States. Parts of sites are free; guidebooks fee-based.

CollegeQuest -- free membership offers you in-depth profiles of every undergraduate institution accredited in the U.S.; specially designed tools to help you manage the college admissions and financial aid process; the ability to apply online; Peterson's database of more than 800,000 scholarships and awards; and much more.

CollegeSource -- Quickly find the schools that match your requirements -- for free. You can search by tuition, enrollment, affiliation, major programs of study and other criteria. Includes free information about more than 10,000 colleges and universities, including links to the schools' Websites and college catalogs. Also includes a subscription fee-based service that features more 10,000 college catalogs in complete cover-to-cover, original page format -- for 2-year, 4-year, graduate, and professional colleges and universities.

College Sports Scholarships -- College athletic recruiting information from a father-son team that navigated the system. The site has various articles and tool related to how to contact college coaches and apply for a sports scholarship.

CollegeSurfing.com -- allows visitors to research, find, and request information from more than 900 educational institutions and 3,500 campuses offering thousands of degree and certificate programs. Also includes a nice collection of articles related to college and career. No cost.

College Toolkit -- dedicated to helping college-bound students find and apply for scholarships and learn about the college admissions process. Students can search through a database of more than 4,000 colleges, and explore 900 careers. It is one of the most comprehensive sites for life after high school. No cost to students.

CollegeView College Search -- a free online college search service with profiles of more than 3,500 colleges and universities, virtual tours, electronic applications, financial aid information, career planning tools, and more. Great career exploration resources.

Cyber Guidance Office -- a virtual high school guidance office created by Bob Turba, Chairman of Guidance Services at Stanton College Preparatory School. This is simply a wonderful collection of links and resources for high school students and their families, focusing on colleges, scholarship and financial aid, and career information.

EdRef -- a directory of more than 7,000 U.S. colleges and trade schools, where you can find schools by name, by size of minority population, and by athletic scholarships. Information includes admissions requirements, tuition expenses, and more. No cost.

Education Planner -- a one-stop college planning site that offers three main types of resources. First, a section on planning for college (and a career). Second, choosing a college (including selecting, applying, and deciding which to attend). Third, paying for college. From American Education Services (AES). Free.

EDUFAX -- provides a wide collection of information, resources, and links (as well as fee-based individual consulting) for college-bound students at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

EssayEdge -- with more than 100 free sample college and graduate school application essays and pages and pages of essay writing tips, this site is the Net's largest resource for admissions essay consulting and editing. EssayEdge's professional Harvard-educated editors have helped thousands of satisfied customers gain entrance into their first choice school.

Get Recruited -- which allows all students to be recruited (for free) by colleges, universities, graduate schools, and professional schools. Students simply need to complete a brief online questionnaire, which is then sent to colleges and universities around the U.S. Schools that determine matches with you will then contact you via email or postal mail with more information. Free.

hotcoursesUSA -- provides a wealth of information for students who are looking for colleges or graduate programs in the U.S. You can compare your choice of colleges as well as read independent students reviews. The site's mission is to produce guides that make it easy for people to find the right school, college, or university. No cost.

Jackson Vocational Interest Survey (JVIS) -- based on years of research, the JVIS accurately measures your interests, showing how they relate to the worlds of college study and work, and mapping out your route to an interesting career. A great tool for teens searching for career direction.

Mapping Your Future -- information designed to help you plan your career, select a school, and pay for your education. From the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation.

MatchCollege -- provides information on more than 6,000 technical certification programs, vocational schools, junior/community colleges, and 4-year universities -- public and private. Information includes things like majors, housing, financial aid, admissions, athletics and more. No cost.

MyChances.net -- a really interesting college-planning site for college-bound students. By signing-up for a no-cost account, you can keep track of your college applications and compare your stats to those of other college applicants. It's also a great resource for discovering new colleges that match your qualifications that you didn't know about. No cost to students.

My College Guide -- where college-bound students can search for colleges that meet your criteria (such as location, cost, freshman class size, school type) -- or browse the alphabetical listings, get critical advice from the Admissions Guru, read interesting articles about college life, and more. Free to students.

myFootpath.com -- a college search and college admissions site that includes a vast library of free articles related to the college admissions process, as well as an "ask the counselor" feature where students and parents can submit questions. Also sell their "Inside Admissions" reports for a select group of colleges.

MyMajors.com -- a nice tool for high school and college students trying to identify potential college majors. This site asks you about your interests and experiences, analyzes the information, and then suggests six college majors for you to think about. While this tool should not be your only source of deciding on a major, it's a neat tool that can help jump-start your planning process. Free.

My Future -- for job-seekers, resume and cover letter advice, as well as advice about other career possibilities. For current college students, advice on funding your college education.

NextStepU Magazine -- a complete source of information for teens! Great original articles and information, as well as links, to key issues related to teens, including (but not limited to) college preparation and profiles, college matching, and paying for college.

Peterson's Education & Career Center -- an excellent collection of resources for college students and grads, including resources on: graduate study, careers and jobs, summer programs, studying abroad, financing an education, and much more.

Preparing Your Child for College -- a detailed resource book available online (and in downloadable form) that covers the basics: general questions about college, preparing for college, choosing a college, financing a college education, and more. (See also, "Getting Ready for College Early.")

Private Colleges & Universities -- both a magazine and a Website, its mission is to provide college-bound students with helpful information about the college admissions process. Includes some great articles about common situations college-bound students face, including boosting test scores, choosing colleges, finding financial aid, and much more. A great resource for high school students.

SchoolsIntheUSA.com -- a career and college prep resource that helps students to explore various career paths (about 1,000) and research almost 2,000 4-year colleges (by name, location, field of study, certificate program, size, cost, and more). A very content-rich site.

The Student Center -- a place for teens that is designed for teens by teens. Includes TeenNet Magazine -- an online magazine written and published by teens, "Cool Chat" -- a place for teens to chat, and "Ystar" -- an email discussion list for active youth under age 26.

StudentEdge -- a tool from Peterson's (a leader in educational resources), providing college and career planning resources for college-bound high-school students. Students can search for colleges, find scholarship money, get help in preparing for college entrance exams, and explore career interests. Registration is required to use services. No cost to students.

StudentMentor -- a great non-profit organization that matches college and graduate students seeking career or academic advice with volunteer mentors nationwide. Mentors are working professionals, retirees, and older students across every industry and profession. Excellent networking opportunity. No cost to students.

StudentsReview.com -- a great site for students seeking information about undergraduate and graduate colleges and universities, where you can read the uncensored reviews of current students and alumni (about 20,000 in total) of about 4,500 institutions. Also includes other useful college-bound resources and information. Free.

Studyabroad.com -- a comprehensive online directory of study abroad and international education. Includes college undergraduate semester, year-long and summer programs, intensive language and experiential programs plus high school and graduate study abroad.

Study Programs International (SPI) -- offers foreign language immersion programs for high school students in San Sebastian, Santander, Tarrogona, and Costa Rica. Students are enrolled in a university or accredited language school and earn college credit by attending classes. SPI programs also help prepare students to perform well on the AP/IB Spanish exams.

Vocational Schools Guide -- an emerging guide for students who are considering attending a vocational school, trade school, or community college in the U.S. or Canada. Students can search for programs by state or by degree program. Free to students.

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