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• California Colleges and Universities
• Nationwide Colleges and Universities
• Financial Aid
• Five Important Factors to Consider in
Selecting a College or University
• UC & Cal State University Entrance Requirements
• UC & CSU-Approved Course Lists
Preparing for Career after College
Students should finish the list of schools they plan to apply to by fall of their Senior year. 10th & 11th grade students should begin preliminary lists of schools that interest them. Winter break, spring break and summer are great times for campus visits, research in the library and online. To plan your visits, come to the Career Center. We have helpful books, magazines and videos to use in selecting colleges and universities to visit. Speak with Mrs. Merport or your Counselor with your college and career planning questions. Please encourage students to schedule a meeting during Advisory, lunchtime, or after school.
Use the Internet to Research Colleges & Universities. Check out colleges and request applications through the Internet. The Career Center has computers for this purpose. 10th & 11th grade students should visit college and university web sites to develop a preliminary list of schools to contact for information and applications.
Some good sites to visit:
Nationwide Colleges and Universities |
www.collegeboard.com |
CollegeBoard. College search, personal organizer, sign up for SAT's, more. |
www.fastweb.com |
Fastweb. College and scholarship search, test prep tips, financial aid, tips for athletes, etc. |
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/ |
US Dept of Education. Information on school rates of admission & graduation, majors, other useful data. Enables you to build online list of schools and side by side comparisons. |
http://www.nacac.com/p&s.html |
National Association for College Admission Counseling Tips on using Internet for college search, lists of web sites. |
http://www.collegeanswer.com/index.jsp |
College Answer. A website by Sallie Mae, a provider of federal and private student loans. Information in English & Spanish on preparing for college, selecting colleges, paying for college & more. |
http://www.collegeparents.org/cpa/resource-future-college.html |
College Parents of America. Access to several college search engines, articles, college newspapers. Aimed at parents, students and college counselors. |
www.ucan-network.org |
University and College Accountability Network provides concise, user friendly information for comparing private colleges and universities. |
www.unigo.com |
Unigo.com New in 2008--website offering student reviews of colleges. |
www.collegeweeklive.com |
College Week Live. Live, online college fairs with live chat. Attendance is free. |
http://www.mymajors.com/index.html |
Mymajors.com Free online quiz to help you think about college majors. You must register to take the quiz. |
www.nchchonors.org/memberinstitution.shtml |
National Collegiate Honors Council provides a list of Honors Colleges located at larger public and private universities. The goal of the colleges is to give top students enriched resources and opportunities within the larger university setting. At many universities, this includes special housing, priority registration, extra consideration for merit scholarships and other benefits such as special opportunities for internships and research projects. Another important benefit of many programs is access to smaller classes and a stronger sense of community within the large university setting. |
www.ctcl.org/ |
Colleges that Change Lives (CTCL) schools belong to a group of 40 colleges and universities from 24 states. The schools share, according to Education writer Loren Pope, “two essential elements: a familial sense of communal enterprise that gets students heavily involved in cooperative rather than competitive learning, and a faculty of scholars devoted to helping young people develop their powers, mentors who often become their valued friends.” |
Financial Aid |
www.fastweb.com |
Free scholarship & college search, test prep tips, tips for athletes, etc. |
www.finaid.org |
Information on all types of financial aid. Helps you estimate your expected family contribution using either the federal methodology (used by most public and many private colleges) or the institutional methodology (used by some private colleges, especially on the east coast). |
www.finaid.org/questions/noloansforlowincome.phtml |
Chart on the finaid website that lists no loan policies for about 61 colleges that have eliminated loans to low income students |
http://www.projectonstudentdebt.org/pc_institution.php |
List of colleges that pledge to limit or eliminate student loans from financial aid packages; also shows cost of college after aid for various family income levels |
www.fafsa.ed.gov |
Complete the FAFSA online (all 2 & 4-year college/universities and many vocational schools award financial aid based on FAFSA analysis of need). Estimates the amount of need-based aid you may qualify for. |
www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/ |
Link to Fafsa4caster to get an early estimate of your eligibility for federal student aid. |
www.csac.ca.gov |
Information on financial aid for students attending college in California |
www.collegesearch.com/collegeboard.com/search/index.jsp |
Research financial aid offered at colleges you are interested in. Statistics on the number of students who had full need met; average indebtedness at graduation, and a full range of other aid, admission and campus life information. |
www.finaid.org/scholarships/ |
Search scholarships database to find scholarships and criteria for acceptance. Generally, scholarships are reserved for students with special qualifications such as academic, athletic or artistic talent. Awards are also available for students who are interested in particular fields of study, who are members of underrepresented groups, who live in certain areas of the country or who demonstrate financial need. (Checkout the Scholarship postings for each grade level in the Career Center and/or Advisory.) |
www.scholarshipexperts.com
www.scholarships.com |
Additional websites offering free scholarship & college search |
www.ftc.gov/scholarshipscams |
Operated by the Federal Trade Commission, this site provides information about scholarship scams and how to identify/avoid/report them. |
www.studentaid.ed.gov |
Understand how much of your assets are protected when calculating your expected family contribution. Click on “Tools and Resources” and then click on “Publications”. The table is published in an annual document entitled “The EFC Formula”. For an article on protection of the child’s assets see www.finaid.org/savings/childtaxes.phtml |
http://www.hsf.net/ |
Scholarships and advice on preparing for college for Hispanic students |
http://www.uncf.org/index.asp |
United Negro College Fund |
http://www.athleticaid.com/ |
Advice for athletes on who want to compete at the college level, NCAA requirements, scholarships, etc. |
Five Important Factors to Consider in Selecting a College or University
- LOCATION How far from home are you and your student comfortable with? How comfortable is your student with the idea of living in a dorm instead of at home?
- COST What can your family afford? Keep in mind that there is considerable financial aid available, especially from independent (private) schools. Talk to Mrs. Merport about financial aid options for your family.
- SIZE How will your student fare with very large classes in a major, impersonal public university? Will she/he do better to have closer contact with professors in a private school or community college setting?
- CHOICE OF PROGRAMS Schools with a wide variety of majors offer the most flexibility for the inevitable decision to change majors. Specialized schools (art schools, vocational schools) often offer few majors... not a problem if your student doesn't change her/his mind about what (s)he wants to pursue... but a real problem if (s)he does. 40% of college students change their majors at least once!
- STANDARDS FOR ADMISSION Public 4-year schools and popular private schools are overwhelmed with applicants! Your student should apply to schools with a range of admission difficulty, rather than apply only to the most competitive schools.
The College List - What should it include?
Start with a broad list - all the schools that the student and people (s)he respects think that (s)he should apply to. Use the criteria above to evaluate schools on his/her list. Over the summer, narrow the list to a manageable group: college applications take time to complete, and Seniors have much to do besides complete applications.
The final list should be balanced among:
"challenge" schools: 1 - 3 schools that your student dreams of attending but which are a "reach" in terms of acceptance or finances;
"good chance" schools: 2 - 4 schools where the student has a good chance of admission, at least 50-50, and is likely to receive at least some aid or can likely afford to attend without aid
"sure thing" schools: 1 - 2 schools where acceptance is almost certain.
The odds for merit-based financial aid (as opposed to need-based) are better at schools where your student is in the top 5% of the school's pool of candidates.
UC & Cal State University Entrance Requirements
The courses below comprise the minimum credits in each area. Highly selective schools require additional coursework. Courses beyond the minimum in areas related to student's interests are strongly recommended. Questions? Contact your counselor or Mrs. Merport.
· 4 years English language and literature
· 2 years Social studies: U.S. History, World History, Economics, U.S. Government
· 3 years Math: Elementary & Intermediate Algebra, Geometry, Pre-calculus, Statistics, Calculus (4 years is recommended)
· 2 years Science: laboratory science courses in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Integrated Science (3 years is recommended)
· 2 years Foreign languages: 2 years in same language or equivalent competence (3 years recommended at UC)
· 1 year Visual or Performing Arts: Music, Theatre/Drama, Art, Dance
· 1 year Advanced coursework in one of the above areas
UC & CSU-Approved Course Lists
The University of California must approve the courses that students take to meet UC entrance requirements. California State University campuses also use the UC-approved list to determine whether a course meets the CSU course requirements. Hillsdale's approved courses are listed by year on the University of California web site below. Each year's list applies only to that school year: students should check the lists for each year of their high school career at https://pathways.ucop.edu/doorways/list/
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