Helpful Resources
There are many factors, and myths, that affect the college planning and selection process including location, rankings, name (or no name school), costs and debt, not to mention, field of study, post graduate goals and more. Below are some helpful resources with relevant information on topics related to making a college choice today.
Jump Start Your Success
- College Research
- Photos of Colleges Visited
- Applications
- Articles & Links
- Student Blogs
- Testing
- NCAA
- Financial Aid & Scholarships
- Transfer Students
- Summer & Gap Year Programs
- College Board College Search
- College Scorecard – U.S. Dept. of Education Search Tool
- Colleges of Distinction
Books & Articles:
- Fiske Guide to Colleges by Edward Fiske and Bruce Hammond
- The Best 380 Colleges by the Princeton Review
- Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges by Loren Pope
Here are photos from some of the schools I have visited. NOTE: I am not a great photographer but I am working on it!!
Click on a photo to expand and view the gallery.
BIOLA UNIVERSITY – CA
CLAREMONT MCKENNA – CA
GRAND CANYON UNIVERSITY – AZ
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT – CA 
UC BERKELEY
UC SANTA BARBARA
UC SANTA CRUZ
- More Coming Soon
College Admissions:
- The Invisible Force Behind College Admissions – Forbes/Investing – July 30, 2014
College Costs:
- Money Management for College Students – Ignite Spot Accounting
- How to spend from a 529 college plan – Fidelity Viewpoints – February 23, 2016
- Weighing Price and Value When Picking a College – Wall Street Journal July 16, 2009
Majors & Careers:
- Career Clusters and Holland Codes
- Holland Code Quiz
- ONet Interest Profiler
- College Board – Majors & Careers
Writing Essays:
- How to Conquer the Admissions Essay – The New York Times – August 2, 2017
Parenting Topics:
- Letting Go: A Parents’ Guide to Understanding the College Years by Karen Levin Coburn and Madge Lawrence Treeger
- Test Optional Schools – FairTest
- ACT.org
- College Board – SAT, SAT Subject Tests, AP Exams
Financial Aid:
- Parent Assets on FAFSA
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
- College Board – CSS Profile Presentation
- CSS Financial Aid Profile App
- Federal Student Aid Information
- California Student Aid Commission
Scholarships:
Books & Articles:
- Secrets of a Financial Aid Pro – by Jodi Okun
- Paying for College Without Going Broke by Kalman Chany
- Transferring to another college can be bumpy…. The Washington Post – February 2016
- Transfer Students: 8 Things You Need to Know – U.S. News & World Report – November 2010
Links:
- Transfer Planning Checklist – NACAC