College Board is a fantastic website for students in high school, college, and their parents. It's a one-stop shop for everything college:
- SAT, AP, and CLEP registration and test locations
- College search and comparison
- Tuition, books, fees, and room and board information
- Major and career information
- Savings plans
- College applications
- Scholarship search
2. www.fafsa.ed.gov
This will be, without a doubt, one of the most important websites you will ever visit as a debt-free college student. This is the OFFICIAL WEBSITE of the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Here, you will fill out the FAFSA, submit it by the March 2nd deadline, and check the status of your aid.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Again, this is the FAFSA's official and ONLY website. There are some harmful websites that will request credit card information for access to the form! The FAFSA is always--and forever will be--FREE!
3. www.finaid.org
Anything you ever wanted to know about financial aid can be found on FinAid, including:
- US Federal Government Aid
- US State Government Aid
- Scholarships
- State and Government Grants
- Financial aid checklist
4. www.fastweb.com
FastWeb boasts the largest and most efficient internet database for finding college scholarships. On this website, you can:
- Search for scholarships by category, deadline date, and more
- Fill out the survey for personal scholarship recommendations
- Apply for scholarships
- Communicate with other students on discussion forums
5. www.collegeconfidential.com
I love College Confidential! The website provides discussion forums for specific schools, so if you're in question about anything from studying abroad to dorm living, College Confidential users will have the answers! Be sure to check out:
- CampusVibe
- SuperMatch College Search
- Ask the Dean
For my California students:
1. www.assist.org/
ASSIST is a California transfer student's best friend. If you are transferring to a California State University or a University of California, this website will provide all the tools you need to make the smoothest, most efficient transition. Many California Community College (CCC) classes are recognized and articulated as lower division requirements for majors--the more you know ahead of time, the fewer lower-division classes you'll need upon transferring.
For example, let's say a student from American River College is planning to transfer to California State University, Sacramento and will major in Psychology. According to ASSIST, there are three classes she can take at American River that count toward her major in Psychology at CSU Sacramento. That will eliminate three lower-division classes and bring her closer to her degree!
2. www.csac.ca.gov/
This is the official website for the California Student Aid Commission and for Cal Grants. I will talk about Cal Grants in greater detail later, but this website is your source for applying and checking the status of your Cal Grants.
