|
40 of the Best Web Sites
Here are 40 of the Web’s best bets for financial aid info, student loan applications, college searches and more. Happy surfing!
Financial aid
1. At Adventures in Education, www.aie.org, you’ll find news about the college experience from national publications, financial aid timelines and answers to frequently asked college-planning questions in both English and Spanish.
2. Learn the difference between grants, loans and scholarships at All Student Loan Group’s Web site, www.allstudentloan.org, where you can also calculate how much moola you’ll need for college.
3. You can find links to online college applications at American Education Services, www.aesmentor.org, search for colleges and discover your learning type.
4. Not only can you apply for student loans at Chela Financial’s site, www.loans4students.org, you can also get money management tips so that you borrow wisely.
5. Register for the SAT, answer sample test questions, confirm test dates and get requirements at the official College Board site, www.collegeboard.com.
6. Learn how to save for college—and what to do if your savings won’t cover tuition—at Educaid, www.educaid.com, where you can also apply for student loans.
7. Educational Funding Services Inc, www.efsi.net, provides a good glossary of financial aid terms on its Web site.
8. After a brief registration process, FastWeb, www.fastweb.com, will direct you to a list of scholarships for which you may be eligible. You can also opt to receive e-mail reminders when scholarship application deadlines approach.
9. Pay your bills online, estimate your college expenses with a complete online worksheet and learn about financial aid at HSBC’s Web site, www.us.hsbc.com/personal/student.
10. M&T Bank, www.mandtbank.com/personal/loans/plus.cfm, details its education loans here. The site also includes a helpful glossary of terms and is easy to navigate.
11. On student-loan lender Nellie Mae’s Web site, www.nelliemae.com, you can learn how to protect yourself from credit card debt, identity theft and more.
12. The Panhandle Plains Student Loan site, www.ppslc.com, has a nice FAQ section that answers questions like what happens if you can’t handle your student loan payments or if you withdraw from college.
13. Make sure you know what you’re doing in the financial aid realm! Download a free borrowing guide from Student Loan Xpress, www.slxpress.com.
14. Got a question about what financial aid you should be looking for? Check out Student Loan Funding’s Ask A Counselor feature at www.studentloanfunding.com.
15. The Federal Student Aid site, http://studentaid.ed.gov, is a government-run site that has detailed college-planning timelines, access to the online version of the FAFSA and all kinds of tips for borrowing money (and paying it back).
16. What are colleges really looking for in applicants? For what scholarships do you qualify? How do you evaluate acceptance letters? Find the answers at Wired Scholar, www.wiredscholar.com.
17. to 26. At these sites, you can talk to recruiters, learn about the educational benefits service people receive, read diaries from active service men and women and discover the types of jobs available.
Air Force ROTC: www.afrotc.com
Air National Guard: www.goang.com
Army National Guard: www.arng.army.mil
Army ROTC: www.armyrotc.com
Naval ROTC: www.nrotc.navy.mil
U.S. Air Force: www.airforce.com
U.S. Army: www.goarmy.com
U.S. Coast Guard: www.gocoastguard.com
U.S. Navy: www.navy.com
U.S. Marines: www.marines.com
Career prep
27. Want to talk to an adult working in the type of career you want after college? Apply to get an e-mentor (you’ll talk over e-mail instead of in person) at Net Mentors, www.netmentors.org.
28. At Ready Minds, www.readyminds.com, you can sign up for your own personal career counselor. Your counselor can help you determine your strengths, a major that will fit your interests and career ideas for after graduation.
College advice
29. Check the official ACT page, www.act.org, for registration information, tips, fees and answers to your most-asked questions.
30. Looking to go to college outside the United States? Check Brain Track, www.braintrack.com, for the contact information for more than 6,900 universities around the world.
31. If you want a feel for a campus before you visit—or a reminder of the campus you saw in a rushed tour—try Campus Tours, www.campustours.com. Here, you can search for a school and access it’s virtual tour, Web site, photographs and map.
32. You’ll find the Myths and Realities section of the College is Possible Web site, www.collegeispossible.org, helpful.
33. Need some help on the essay required for your application to college? At Essay Edge, www.essayedge.com, you can hire a Harvard-educated editor to critique your essay, suggest grammar and structure changes—and get back to you within 48 hours.
34. Check out the Latino College Expo’s scholarship (hurry—deadline is March 31!) at www.latinocollegeexpo.org. Also get details on the next Latino College Expo, held in April, where you can meet representatives from more than 100 colleges.
35. Visit with hundreds of college reps at once at a national college fair! Check out the National Association for College Admission Counseling ,www.nacac.com, for dates and locations.
36. At The Next Step Magazine’s site, www.nextSTEPmagazine.com, you can enter the Ultimate College Giveaway contest. Winners are chosen monthly for cool prizes (like MP3 players and dorm supplies), and there’s an annual drawing for a $1,500 scholarship. Don’t forget to check out the College Match Wizard, which lets you search for schools that match your criteria. Create a profile of yourself, and send it to college recruiters. You can also read about more than 100 different careers, from astronaut to financial advisor, doctor to fiction writer!
37. Peterson’s, www.petersons.com, is a portal that will lead you to SAT prep programs, financial aid and admissions essay help!
38. Saving, schmaving, right? Wrong. You need to start planning for college expenses early, and Saving For College, www.savingforcollege.com, can help you decipher your options.
39. Scholarship Experts, www.scholarshipexperts.com, charges a fee to use their search, but their database is accurate and worth it. Fill out an online survey, and they’ll match you to the scholarships for which you qualify.
40. How important are the SAT IIs? How do you choose a major? Find answers to these and more questions at Super College, www.supercollege.com.
Don’t forget—you can always reach us at www.nextSTEPmagazine.com and [email protected]. Want more college-related sites? Visit the Cool Links section. Article provided by 
|
