Helpful Web Sites

Use these web sites for further research

If you or your student have internet access, you may use these websites as tools to find information about colleges and narrow which schools fit your student best. Through online services, your student can sign up for standardized testing, fill out college applications electronically, and file for state and federal aid. Specialized search engines can scour the web for scholarships. While most of these scholarships require additional materials to be submitted, there is a lot of money available if the student is willing to pursue them. Many of these sites require registration; however, only a few are fee based.

www.fldcu.org -The Florida Department of Education Website.

WWW.FACTS.org - Your complete tool to all Florida Schools including Financial Aid is

The American Way to Change: How National Service and Volunteers are Transforming America

http://www.waytochange.com/

From the author: After decades of incremental progress, the US is at a critical juncture in the history of national service. Across America, national service programs are changing lives, tackling tough problems, creating innovative solutions, and engaging citizens in their communities. With the recently enacted Kennedy Serve America Act, the national service movement is suddenly positioned to achieve significantly greater impact—if we can leverage its true potential and manage this important labor force of volunteers effectively. This book spells out how.

Foster Care Alumni of America: Flux - Life After Foster Care

http://www.fostercarealumni.org/FLUX

FLUX is an honest, juicy, helpful look at the emotional transition from foster care to adulthood. Examining topics like building a support system, navigating relationships with family of origin, figuring out how to parent after growing up in the system, and making decisions about love/sex/relationships, FLUX combines real-life stories with pragmatic advice. Written by more than 100 alumni of foster care, FLUX is a unique resource for people in and from foster care as well as the professionals who serve them. FLUX was made possible by a generous grant from the Andrus Family Fund. For more information (including a sample chapter) or to order your copy, visit www.FosterCareAlumni.org/FLUX

For National College Searches:
www.collegeboard.com - The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the association is composed of more than 4,500 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves over three million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges through major programs and services in college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT®, and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities, and concerns. This website is the primary resource for SAT registration and transcript documentation.

www.collegenet.com - CollegeNET, Inc. is the world’s leading ‘virtual plumber’ for higher education internet transactions. They provide for your convenience over 1500 customized Internet admissions applications built for college and university programs. When applying to more than one program you save redundant typing since common data automatically travels from form to form. The CollegeNET search engine helps you quickly find the ideal college. Narrow down by region, college sports, major, tuition, and several other criteria. Review, compare, and sort schools according to exclusive, detailed profiles. Also, their Mach25 database contains over 600,000 awards totaling over $1.6 billion. Keyword Search gives you a quick way to narrow down to a particular scholarship or group of scholarships.
embark.com Through Princeton Review, this website offers general counseling and tools ranging from college selection and SAT prep to scholarship information.

www.mycollegeguide.org - Aimed at students, this site contains articles about finding the right college for you, fitting in, and financing your college years. It is designed to guide you through the process rather than actually give you the applications and scholarship search engines like some other sites.
petersons.com Petersons offers tools for college search and selection, test preparation, and financial aid, in addition to online services for essay editing and instruction as well as resume writing.

College Applications:
www.commonapp.org - The Common Application is the recommended form of 241 selective colleges and universities for admission to their undergraduate programs. Many of these institutions use the form exclusively. All give equal consideration to the Common Application and the college’s own form. Experience with the Common Application over a period of more than 25 years has demonstrated its advantages to students, counselors, and teachers. The concept is simple: Students complete one Common Application form, photocopy it, and send the form to any of the participating colleges. The procedure simplifies the college application process and eliminates duplication of effort. To further simplify the process, you can use Common App Online to complete your forms and submit them electronically or in hardcopy. Or download PDF forms to complete onscreen or manually, then print and mail hardcopy.

Financial Aid Information/Scholarship Searches:
http://www.ed.gov/prog_info/SFA/index.html - The Office of Post Secondary Education, US Department of Education (OPE/ED) – Student Financial Assistance (SFA). The Student Guide is a comprehensive resource on student financial aid from the U.S. Department of Education. Grants, loans, and work-study are the three major forms of aid available through the Department’s Federal Student Aid office. Updated each award year, The Student Guide tells you about the programs and how to apply for them.

www.fafsa.ed.gov - The Department of Education uses the information provided on your FAFSA to determine your eligibility for aid from the Federal Student Aid (FSA) programs. Many states and schools also use the FAFSA to award aid from their programs. You must fill these out.

www.fastweb.com - Create an account with fastweb and find listing for many scholarships and their eligibility requirements.

www.finaid.org - Everything related to financial aid, from scholarships to loans, college cost calculators and any question you could have related to financing education.

www.icanmakeit.org - Everything and anything you need to know about being a teen