84 Trojan Lane
Saltsburg, PA 15681
Phone: 724-639-3547
Fax: 724-639-0071
Directions

Saltsburg Middle-High School Guidance Office

College Information

This page is a collection of websites useful to both parents and students in college and post-high school planning.

• College Search Websites
• College Rankings Websites
• College Application Websites
• College Essays
• Athletic Information
• General Information Sites

College Search Websites

• www.collegeboard.com
  Look for “Finding the Right College"
• www.review.com
  Sponsored by Princeton Review. Look under “college”, then “search for a college”
• www.bestcollegepicks.com
  Sponsored by Peterson’s—includes excellent general search but also specific searches for visual and performing arts, culinary, nursing, etc.
• www.collegenet.com
  Excellent search engine—hotlinks right to the schools that interest you—has on-line applications--customized Internet admissions applications built for over 1500 colleges and universities. When applying to more than one program, you save redundant typing since common data automatically travels from form to form.
• www.collegeview.com
  A free online college search service with profiles of 3,500+ colleges & universities,sites, virtual tours, electronic applications, financial aid info, career planning tools, and more. Find others with similar interests in Coffee Shop.
• www.collegecrunch.org/the-college-prep-page/

A free online site with searches pertaining to college life, career planning, college degrees, school profiles, college finance and test prep.

College Ranking Websites

The counselors would advise you to take rankings “with a grain of salt.” The quality of rankings varies based on the criteria used to compile the rankings, who is doing the rankings, etc. However, with this in mind, they can provide some general comparisons of schools that are valuable.

• www.collegeconfidential.com
  Discusses the pros and cons of ranking colleges.
• College and University Rankings – www.library.uiuc.edu/edx/rankings.htm
  The University of Illinois has gathered links to a collection of sites that rate colleges with various criteria. The site also discussed the philosophical difficulties with the whole process of ranking colleges.
• Kiplinger's Best Public Universities - www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/
  Site sponsored by noted finance magazine. Sorts the schools in their survey of public colleges by overall rank, cost, quality measures or financial aid measures. Clicking on the college names after the search will take you to their Web sites. the site also has a similar search for private universities.
• U.S. News & World Report - http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/cohome.htm
  U. S. News and World Report’s yearly rankings of “America’s Best Colleges.” Includes tips on latest trends.

College Application Websites

• Apply! - http://www.princetonreview.com/college/apply/acememb.asp
  Download free software for applications to more than 500 U.S. colleges and universities. The site also includes tips that will make the admission process less stressful, and help you find financial aid.
• Black College Common Application - http://www.eduinconline.com/
  Apply to twenty historically black colleges with one application for $30.
• www.commonapp.org
  Common Application is used by over 200 colleges and universities. You can fill out common application and submit online or you can download forms. Also has most school supplements.
• College Viewbooks - http://www.collegeviewbooks.com/index.html
  Students can fill out one simple form and request up to 20 college viewbooks and applications mailed directly to their homes.
• C3 Apply - http://www.c3apply.org/
  This site sponsored by ACT has a college search feature, college applications on line, ACT's Financial Aid Estimator, and virtual college tours.

College Essay Websites

• About College Admissions - http://www.aboutcollegeadmissions.com/
  This commercial site contains helpful hints for writing effective essays required in college applications as well as free interviewing tips, info on how to choose a college and SAT prep course
• Essay Edge - http://www.essayedge.com/  
  This commercial site offers to assist students with writing essays for college applications. It also offers free access to admissions essays accepted by top colleges.
• The Essay Wizard - http://www.essaywizard.net/   
  This commercial site is rich in free information that a student should consider in writing an essay for a college application and offers suggestions and strategies, as well as suggesting other books to read.
• Ivy Edge - http://www.ivyedge.com/Resources/resources.html
  This commercial site offers to help you edit your college application essays for a fee. However, this part of their site has helpful free guides to writing essays and applying to colleges that may be downloaded for free.
• The Very Worst College Applications Essays - http://world.std.com/%7Eedit/ouch.htm
  This tongue in cheek site does have a link to the Cambridge Essay Service, a for fee site that offers help with writing college essays. Even if you don't use the service, you might find some of their suggestions helpful.

Athletic Information Websites

• Link Athletic - http://www.linkathletics.com/
  Link to over 13,000 web sites for men's and women's athletics programs at universities. Organized by sport/gender/state.
• NCAA - http://www.ncaa.org/
  This site contains much valuable information for the potential college athlete including eligibility requirements for Division 1, 2, & 3 schools.
• NCJAA - http://www.njcaa.org/
  The National Junior College Athletic Association provides opportunities for student-athletes to continue their athletic careers. The NJCAA is divided into three divisions just like the NCAA. The schools who are members of this organization are two-year community and junior colleges. After completing their eligibility, a student-athlete may choose to continue their academic and athletic career at a NCAA or NAIA school.
• NAIA - http://www.naia.org/
  The small, private colleges and universities that are members of NAIA offer most of the same opportunities as NCAA schools.
  National Christian College Athletic Association
  Find Division 1 and 2 Christian colleges for various men's and women's sports.
• Sports Center - http://www.cbsa.com/sports_center/college_athletics_web_sites.shtml
  Links to athletic resources and conference web sites.

There are many fee-based sites that offer to connect athletes and college coaches and athletic programs. Consumers need to investigate such sites thoroughly to make sure that they provide services that are commensurate with the costs or fees. For a list of some of these sites go to http://www.wisemantech.com/guidance/athleteinfo.htm

General Information Websites

• 2003 Colleges -http://www.college-scholarships.com/   
  The 2002 Colleges, Universities and Scholarships Page is designed to offer college-bound students, parents, and counselors easy access to information on colleges and universities throughout the United States, free scholarship and financial aid searches, SAT and ACT test preparation tips, and more.
• All About College - http://www.allaboutcollege.com/
  Excellent search engine for colleges, test prep, and financial aid
• American Education Services - http://www.aesmentor.org/
  Comprehensive site with information on the college selection and application process and financial aid.
• Any College - http://www.anycollege.net/
  Use this database to search for colleges by program, state, school type, sport and school name.
• Campus Program.com - http://campusprogram.com/
  This site not only searches for college programs by state, but also allows you to find colleges by specific career fields, majors, and occupations.
• Campus Safety - http://www.securityoncampus.org/
  Campus safety is a topic that should be considered by students and parents as part of the school selection process.
• Campus Tours - http://www.campustours.com/
  The Campus Tours Index provides fast and easy access to interactive tours of colleges across the United States.
• Careers and Colleges - http://www.careersandcolleges.com/
  Comprehensive, but somewhat commercial site on a variety of post secondary opportunities.
• The Center for All Collegiate Information - http://www.collegiate.net/text.html
  Mega page with links to college information sites; department sites;student, graduate and faculty sites; sports sites, and collegiate organization sites.
• Channel 4000 College Guide - http://www.channel4000.com/education/fouryear/
  Figure out which college is right for you and how to pay for it. This site is affiliated with Minnesota, but has many articles about the college application process that would benefit students in any state.
• College Board - http://www.collegeboard.com/
  Students, parents, & counselors will find a comprehensive menu of information to aid in the transition to college. Includes EXPAN - for free - college, career & financial aid database Includes SAT and AP (Advanced Placement) testing information and registration.
• College Coach - http://ccoach.vwh.net/ccoach/workshops/d/resources/
  Information on preparing quality college applications including : getting organized, online applications, the Common Application, Early Admission Programs, getting great recommendations, writing college essays, and preparing for interviews.
• College Compass - http://edonline.com/collegecompass/
  Huge site contains links to careers and majors, college selections, financial aid, scholarships, test preparation, and summer programs.
• College Confidential - http://www.collegeconfidential.com/
  Comprehensive site guides you through the entire process from researching colleges to getting in and paying for them.
• CollegeXpress - http://www.collegexpress.com/
  Search colleges by state, major and other factors. Take a virtual tour of some colleges and ask experts questions about the college admissions process.
• College is Possible - http://www.collegeispossible.org/
  This comprehensive site sponsored by a coalition of universities contains information on selecting a college, application process, and financial aid.
• College Link - http://www.collegelink.com/clnk/customize/
  Comprehensive college information site takes you from planning, exploring, applying for admission to college to scholarship and financial aid information to help you to pay for it.
• College Mom Advice - http://www.collegemomadvice.com/
  Written by moms (OK dads too) who have experienced the pursuit of the college adventure with their teenagers. Topics covered will relate to high school, getting ready for and college activities
• College News - http://www.collegenews.com/
  Free campus new wire includes text from many college newspapers in the Chicago, New York Boston, and Philadelphia areas.
• College Planning Center - http://www.plansforme.com/offtocollege/index.html
  A complete college planning and preparation site. It includes planning calendars, financial aid summary notes, downloadable application forms, and links to a product engine to customize your financial aid package.
• College Prep 101 - http://collegeprep.okstate.edu/
  This on line course is intended to provide high school students with the information they will need to decide on attending college. Included in the lessons is information to help with college preparation, selecting a college, easing the transition to college, and managing the changes in life which occur during college.
• College Profiles - http://www.collegeprofiles.com/
  Features in-depth profiles with information about academic programs, athletics, campus life, and financial aid, along with geographic search, directories for honors programs, women's colleges statistics on minority enrollment and numerous other resources for prospective college students.
• Go College - http://www.gocollege.com/
  Comprehensive commercial site has information on selecting a college and paying for it.
• Historically Black Colleges - http://www.hbcu-central.com/siteLogin.cgi
  Dedicated to providing information and services related to historically black colleges and universities, site offers students the opportunity to connect worldwide.
• Mapping Your Future - http://www.mapping-your-future.org./
  On this site you'll find information to help you plan your career, select a school & plan for your future.
• My College Guide - http://www.mycollegeguide.org/index.phtml
  This site has a college search section as well as articles about admissions, getting money for college, and doing well once you are admitted.
• My Majors - http://www.mymajors.com/
  Take a short quiz on this site and it analyzes this information and suggests six majors to think about because they match your interests and high school experience. It can also give you more information about what these majors are, what type of courses you would take to get a degree and what jobs are available to graduates with various degrees.
• My Road - http://apps.collegeboard.com/myroad/navigator.jsp?t=351&i=homepage
  Comprehensive site allows you to explore majors, find a college and research careers. A searchable database of 900+ career fields, 6000+ vocational schools, colleges, and universities and links of scholarships, sources of loans, financial aid and advice.
• Next Step - http://www.nextstepmagazine.com/
  Comprehensive new college information site.
• Peterson's Education Center - http://www.petersons.com/
  Major publisher of materials about colleges and process of selecting a college. The Education and Career Center includes consistently organized information about educational opportunities at all levels. It also gives the ability to search Peterson's databases and share info with others. On line applications for 209 universities and graduate schools - some can be transmitted electronically and some can be printed and mailed in the usual manner.
• Preparing Your Child for College - http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Prepare/
  This site produced by the US Department of Education explains the benefits of a college education and about ways to put college within reach academically and financially. Throughout their school years, students make academic and other decisions that affect whether they will be eligible to enter college.  
• The Princeton Review - http://www.princetonreview.com/
  The Princeton Review helps people find and get into the right college or other school. They have great resources to help with testing, admissions, financial aid etc.
• Schools in the USA - http://www.schoolsintheusa.com/
  Searchable data base allows visitors to locate a suitable college by program, name or location. Once a college is selected a student can request more information electronically. A parallel version of the site is especially for international students who wish to study in the US.
• Steps to College - http://www.nacac.com/p&s_steps.html
  The National Association for College Admissions Counselors (NACAC) distributes a bi-monthly newsletter with timely college advice. Articles are on many topics of interest to students and parents. New topics are highlighted. Archived topics are also readily available.
• Students.gov – http://www.students.gov/                                                                     U.S. Government - wide initiative to deliver electronic services from government agencies and organizations to post secondary students. The site has links for information on: planning and paying for your education, internships, community service, career development, and military service.
• Super College - http://www.supercollege.com/
  Comprehensive college guidance site has sections on searching for a college, admissions & tests, and scholarships.
• Tips of College Survival from Scholars on Campus - http://www.venturescholar.org/vs_tips.html
  Quotes from college students giving tips to high school students about their experiences adapting to college realities.
• U.S. Department of Education - http://www.ope.ed.gov/security/Search.asp
  Search for the college that's right for you by geographic region, state, city, type, major, or Title IV eligibility.
• U.S. News - http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/cohome.htm
  U.S. News and World Report—tools and reports to take through the steps of the college process—from choosing where to apply to the application process itself.
• What Can I Do With a Major In? - http://www.uncwil.edu/stuaff/career/Majors/
  Site from the University of North Carolina links career to the majors available on campus.
• Wired Scholar - http://www.wiredscholar.com/preparing/content/index.jsp
  Comprehensive site assists students with preparing for college, test preparation, and obtaining financial information.
• XAP - http://www.xap.com/
  Comprehensive site allows students to search for colleges, take virtual tours, apply online, get financial information and plan a career.