All-Purpose Information Sites*

College Board – This comprehensive user-friendly site has links to information on colleges, tests, applications, and financial aid.

College Confidential – This site dispenses application advice, and answers individual questions about admissions with great specificity.

College View – This website combines a data base of 3300 colleges with engaging multimedia tours.

Peterson's – This site provides access to a data base with extensive information about thousands of colleges as well as links to other education and career information.

Princeton Review –This site provides detailed information about colleges.

U.S. Department of Education College Navigator –This site includes a wealth of information and search possibilities.

Colleges of Distinction features schools that are (1) nationally recognized for excellence, (2) strongly focused on teaching undergraduates, (3) active campuses with many opportunities for personal development, and (4) highly valued by graduate schools and employers for their outstanding preparation. Note that colleges pay for inclusion in this group.

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is designed to obtain information from scores of colleges and universities nationwide about student participation in programs and activities that institutions provide for their learning and personal development.

Education Conservancy is a non-profit organization committed to improving college admission processes for students, colleges and high schools.

Colleges by Program is an index to many of the schools, colleges, and departments within a university, by program offered -- from aerospace engineering to women's studies.

Colleges That Change Lives is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and support of a student-centered college search process, and the 40 featured colleges embody this philosophy.

College Prowler offers advice from students on how to get good grades, stay safe, make money, meet people, and have fun at over 233 colleges (keep grain of salt handy).

My College Guide has wide-ranging Q and A's and catchy graphics to assist in the college search.

Testing Sites

ACT – This site provides information about ACT testing, test preparation, financial aid procedures, and more.

The College Board – This site provides information about testing (SATI, SATII, and AP), test preparation, financial aid procedures, and more.

Princeton Review and Kaplan – These sites provide information about testing (ACT, SATI, SATII, and AP), test preparation strategies and resources, financial aid procedures, and more.

Fair Test works to end the misuses and flaws of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, teachers and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally beneficial.

Applications

Common Application – This useful site allows you to fill out a Common Application online and to access participating colleges’ web sites, admissions statistics, and supplementary application forms.

University of California – This is the central website for information about applying to the University of California. Get application instructions and forms to fill out online or to download and mail. www.csumentor.edu is the site for the California State University system.

University of Washington – This is the central website for information about applying to the University of Washington. You can fill out the application online, or download it and send it by mail. There is also a link to the UW Honors Program.

Virtual Tours

Collegiate Choice Videos – From this site you can order videos (and DVDs) of walking tours of hundreds of colleges and universities around the world.

E-Campus Tours – A complete college planning site featuring panoramic views of many colleges and universities

Campus Tours – This site allows you to get an idea of what a campus looks like through virtual tours, webcams, campus maps, and college videos, movies, and pictures.

Youniversity – This emerging site features short and action-packed videos from colleges around the country.

Specialized Sites

Student Athletes is a site with a wealth of information about D3 sports programs.

Preparing Your High School Art Portfolio provides guidance for students creating an art portfolio for college admissions

Online High School Art Portfolios is a tool that allows students to post their portfolios online, search for art programs, and communicate with other young artists.

Gap Year Programs is a guide to travel, internship, conservation, service, and other programs for students wanting to defer college for a year.

International Student Exchange Program provides news, information, and resources about being an international student and preparing for a study abroad experience

Students with Learning Disabilities is the world's leading web site on learning disabilities and ADHD, serving more than 200,000 parents, teachers, and other professionals each month.

Online College Accreditation is an important place to start if you are looking for an online college experience. Most mainstream jobs and employers today require people who have been trained through accredited programs, so make sure you know what you are signing up for!    (Thanks to Ashley M. for this new source!)

Financial Aid

Peterson's maintains a data bank of hundreds of thousands of awards.

The College Board has a big database of scholarships and lots of information about financial aid. This is also home to the CSC PROFILE, which must be filled out for some selective colleges

Fastweb has information on over $1 billion dollars in scholarships.

FinAid features all there is to know about financial aid.

College Plan is a Seattle-based, nonprofit organization, assisting people seeking educational opportunities.

Sallie Mae offers comprehensive information and resources to assist students, parents and guidance professionals with the financial aid process.

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is the form you fill out to qualify for federal money administered by the Department of Education.

Northwest Education Loan Association (NELA) is a not-for-profit guaranty agency that works in partnership with schools, banks and other lending institutions to help students continue their education. The site has lots of information about scholarships and financial aid.