Education

Generally, 90% of college bound seniors or their parents used the Internet in their search for the right school. Collegeview.com, embark.com and usnews.com are three websites that can be accessed to find lists of colleges, based on your input requirements.

The following web addresses provide helpful college information: --www.collegeboard.com is the College Boards site with advice and explanations and SAT review questions --www.collegeview.com --www.features.yahoo.com/college/search. html --www.aol.com - keyword "college prep" ---www.embark.com is Embark.coms --www.mycollege.org is Fishnets College guide --cnsearch.collegenet.com --nces.edgov/ipeds/cool/search.asp is Cool's web college resource. --www.collegequest.com is provided by Peterson's College --www.myessay.com provides tools to help write the application essay. --www.searchedu.com is dedicated to university sites and various things scholastic.

Here are some sites you should look at for financial aid information: --www.collegeboard.org..then access Fund Finder. It includes a 3,000 source database. --www.ed.gov/studentaid has an online application for federal student aid. --www.fastaid.com is a searchable scholarship database including 650,000 private awards. --www.collegenet.com has 3 sites for lists and scholarships. --www.salliemae.com maintains 3600 listings of private sector awards. --www.finaid.com answers questions about financial aid and includes financial loan calculators. --www.ed.gov/finaid.html is the Department of Education's site that provides major publications on student aid, including the latest edition of the "Student Guide". --www.finaid.org includes a comprehensive, alphabetical index of all financial aid resources on the web.

Every college institution requires an application to be filed out, which usually includes an essay. Many colleges accept the "Common Application". That means that one application with basic biographical and academic information and an essay can be used for multiple colleges. You may obtain a copy of the common application from your High School guidance counselor. You may also go to www.collegequest.com to get a copy of the Common Application or even apply on online to more than 1,200 colleges using a single application. You should verify if your desired college or university accepts the Common Application.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA form)is an application to apply for federal student grants, work-study money, and loans. This application is also used to apply for most state and some private aid. The required information comes from your estimated or current year's federal tax return. After you send your FAFSA form in, you should receive a student aid report (SAR) within four weeks. If you do not, call the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 800/4-FEDAID (800/433-3243), 800/730-8913 or 319/337-5665, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. EST to check on the status of your application. You can also check your status on the web at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov

"Early Action" means that a student who is accepted at a university has until the regular admission deadline (usually by May 1st) to decide whether or not to attend. This is different from "Early Decision", where a student declares a first-choice college and requests that the college decide on his or her acceptance early in the application process (November - January). If accepted, the student agrees to enroll. It is a legally binding agreement between the student and the college.

As opposed to "Early Action" or "Early Decision", Regular Admission is the most common option offered to students. In this instance, a deadline is set for applications and all notifications are sent out at the same time thereafter.

This is when the college accepts students who meet the academic requirements on a first-come, first-served basis until the freshman class is filled. After a application is received, a response is generally sent out in two to three weeks.

The Profile Report is a need-based analysis report. Many four-year private colleges and public universities require this report to be filed in addition to the FAFSA application. This form is mainly used by private schools to differentiate need among financial aid applicants. The Profile registration is a one page form available on the WEB through the College Board at www.collegeboard.org or at your High School guidance counselor's office.