RESOURCES

COLLEGE APPLICATIONS

COALITION APPLICATION An unprecedented coalition of diverse public and private colleges and universities is coming together to improve the college admission application process for all students. The Coalition is developing a free platform of online tools to streamline the experience of applying to college. The initial iteration of the platform will be available to high school freshmen, sophomores, and juniors beginning in April 2016.

COMMON APPLICATION With instant access to nearly 700 colleges and universities around the world, the Common App is the most seamless way to manage the application process.

CSU APPLICATION CSU Mentor is an application website designed to help students and their families learn about the California State University (CSU) system.

UC APPLICATION This is University of California’s application for undergraduate admission and scholarships.

UNIVERSAL APPLICATION The Universal College Application stands out because, unlike the Common App, it does not require a holistic review process. The Universal College App only requires schools to be accredited and uphold the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s guidelines.

COLLEGE LISTS GROUPED BY THEMES

CATHOLIC COLLEGES Established in 1959, the National Catholic College Admission Association is a nonprofit organization of Catholic colleges and universities committed to promoting the value of Catholic higher education and to serving students, parents and counselors. Currently, 145 Catholic colleges and universities are member institutions.

COLLEGES THAT CHANGE LIVES CTCL – The Colleges That Change Lives, Inc. (CTCL) story begins in 1996 when a book by the same name was published by retired New York Times education editor and journalist Loren Pope. Today, CTCL is regarded as a leading advocate on the subject of higher education access and college choice.

COUNCIL FOR CHRISTIAN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES is a higher education association of 180 Christian institutions around the world. The 117- member campuses in North America are all fully accredited, comprehensive colleges and universities with curricula rooted in the arts and sciences. In addition, 63 affiliate campuses from 20 countries are part of the CCCU. TheCCCU encompasses 35 Protestant denominations, as well as the Catholic church, in its membership. 

JEWISH COLLEGES Hillels at colleges, universities and in communities around the world range from those that serve thousands of Jewish students, through a full complement of leadership and resources, to those that are smaller, either led by campus professionals or students with support from an advisor.

DIVERSITY

AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND The American Indian College Fund (the College Fund) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides American Indians with student scholarships and programmatic support for the nation’s 34 accredited tribal colleges and universities located on or near Indian reservations.

THE ASIAN PACIFIC ISLANDER AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (APIACU) was launched with the purpose of addressing the complex set of social realities facing students in the underrepresented and underserved Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.  

CA– The free online tool allows prospective students, families/parents and those interested in higher education to search a data base of LGBTQ-Friendly campuses who have come out to improve the academic experience and quality of campus life.

HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES A directory of all historically black college and universities in the United States.

HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTIONS Today, HACU represents more than 470 colleges and universities committed to Hispanic higher education success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, and Spain. Although our member institutions in the U.S. represent only 10% of all higher education institutions nationwide, together they are home to more than two-thirds of all Hispanic college students. HACU is the only national educational association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs)

TRIBAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES The National Indian Education Association advances comprehensive educational opportunities for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians throughout the United States.

WOMENS COLLEGE COALITION The mission of the Women’s College Coalition is to transform the world through the education and success of women and girls. The Women’s College Coalition serves member colleges and universities in the United States and Canada by conducting collaborative research; introducing women and their families to women’s colleges through admissions advocacy programs; and bringing together women’s college leaders to collaborate and to explore the issues in higher education today.

FINANCIAL AID RESOURCES

CSS PROFILE Apply for student grants and college financial aid using one application form. CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE collects information used for financial aid decisions. (not all colleges or universities use this form, while some require the FAFSA and the CSS Financial Aid Profile).

FAFSA Electronically submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). All students interested in financial aid for college will need to complete this form.

FIN AID INFO FinAid was established in the fall of 1994 as a public service. This award-winning site has grown into the most comprehensive source of student financial aid information, advice and tools, on or off the web.

INFO ABOUT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

CAMPUS SAFETY AND SECURITY DATA TOOL maintained by the U.S. Government: helpful for evaluating schools from a safety perspective.

COLLEGEBOARD College Board provides factual information for more than 3500 schools through its Big Future portal.   

COLLEGE NAVIGATOR is a free consumer information resource provided by the U.S. Department of Education.  Easily find and explore schools based on search criteria such as: academic major, location, size, varsity athletic programs, tuition, and entrance exam scores. 

COLLEGE REALITY CHECK  provided by the Chronicle of Higher Education provides tools to compare schools on financial measures such as graduation rates, average net price, debt repayment and post-graduation earnings.

COLLEGE RESULTS ONLINE provides interactive tools to query graduation rates at four-year colleges and universities. In addition to providing college-specific graduation rates and other data (e.g. cost, financial aid), the comparison tool provides analogous information for similar colleges.

KILPLINGERS BEST COLLEGE VALUES ranks U.S. colleges and universities in three separate lists: public, private universities, and liberal arts colleges. Users can query, view and sort the schools on each list by various financial and quality measures.

OTHER IMPORTANT COLLEGE APPLICANT WEBSITES

NCAA STUDENT ELIGIBILITY Students interested in playing NCAA sports at a Division I or II school, will need to register with the NCAA Eligibility Center. The NCAA Eligibility Center works with students and their high schools to help prepare them for life as a student-athlete.

NAVIANCE/FAMILY CONNECTION Family Connection is a customizable planning portal for students and families including self-discovery assessments, goal-setting, college research tools, course planning, career exploration resources, and individual learning plans.

STUDENT PERSPECTIVES

COLLEGE CONFIDENTIAL The popular college admissions site and discussion forum is a source of school-specific gossip (whether reliable or not) and information.

COLLEGE WEEK LIVE -Live chat with hundreds of colleges and universities. Sign-up is free.

NICHE This site offers inside reviews by current students.

UNIGO “Insider” reviews, videos and photos contributed by students attending the college.  

TESTING

ACT The ACT® is the leading US college admissions test, measuring what students have learned in high school to determine academic readiness for college.

COLLEGEBOARD  SAT: All U.S. colleges accept the SAT because it is a strong predictor of college success.

COLLEGEBOARD – SAT SUBJECT TESTS:  20 tests in 5 subjects help students to demonstrate to colleges the subjects they are great at.

FAIR TEST  SAT / ACT Optional Schools. More than 850 four-year colleges and universities do not use the SAT or ACT to admit substantial numbers of bachelor-degree applicants.

KAHN ACADEMY FREE SAT PREP Practice all of the skills needed for the new SAT. It includes four official practice exams from College Board.