Resources

The following are links to a range of organizations and a list of books that provide valuable information supporting students’ educational goals and the college search process.

College-Related Websites and Blogs

• College Niche– college reviews by students
• Colleges That Change Lives
• Newslink– campus newspapers by state
• The Insider’s Guide to Everything College—support for college list research
• Unigo– college and university reviews and ratings by college students
• Youvisit—High-quality college tour videos

ACT & SAT Registration

• SAT
• ACT
• Fair Test– a list of test-optional colleges

Online Applications

• Common Application
• Coalition For Access, Affordability and Success

Financial Aid & Loans

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid  (FAFSA)
• CSS Profile
• FinAid– financial aid, college scholarships, and student loans
• Mapping Your Future– financial strategies, career options and college planning
• Massachusetts Educational Financing Authority
• Unigo $10K Scholarship

Athletics

• National College Athletic Association
• National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

General College and Post-Secondary Information

• College Board
• College Navigator– Department of Education college search engine
• UCAN (The University and College Accountability Network)– provides detailed information about many private colleges and universities and includes easy-to-access links to information on the college website
• What You Need to Know About College Admissions in 2022 Webinar—with Educational Advocates President, Joan Casey and College Consultant, Laurel Weijer
• What is a College Essay? What You Need to Know Before You Write! Webinar 
• Ready to Write Your Common App Essay? First, Understand the Prompts! Webinar
• Study Skills Checklist
• Trade Schools

Disability and Health Resource Information:

• Educational Testing Service Disability Policies
• ERIC Searchable Database On Education
• PACER– Parent Advocacy Coalition for Educational Rights
• Wrights Law– special education law and advocacy
• Applying to College for Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD Webinar—with Educational Advocates President Joan Casey and College Consultant, Ildi Szekely
• Restricted Diet College Guide
• Registering for Accommodations Checklist
• Learning Disability Advisory is an excellent source of information related to the transition to college for students with learning disability.
• Accessible College is a resource for those with medical physical and other disabilities.
• Mental Health Guide for Autistic College Students 

LGBTQ+ Resources

• Campus Pride Index
• LDND Foundation—LGBTQ Supportive Colleges
• Freedom for All Americans—Legislator Tracker Anti-Transgender Legislation 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• American Psychological Association Inclusive Language Guide
• IECA Racial Equity/Anti-Racism Resources

Books

• You may think you know the in’s and out’s of college admissions but, Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions by Jeffrey Selingo gives you the fly on the wall view of what actually happens inside the admissions office. He also challenges the notion of what makes a good college and delves into what actually determines an acceptance.
• In Where You’ll Go Is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania Frank Bruni challenges the notion of a college being a determining factor for the kind of person a student becomes way past their classroom days. The college process, which can be anxiety inducing and intense for some students and parents, can be eased by understanding what actually matters to employers and graduate schools and in post-college life in general.
• The Fiske Guide for Colleges provides detail on all aspects of campus life, from academic offerings and distribution requirements to campus culture and descriptions of the surrounding community.
• The Princeton Review’s “The Best Colleges” series is useful for its admissions selectivity information and campus student surveys.
• Profiles of American Colleges and Best Buys in College Education from Barron’s has detailed profiles, reviews and surveys of colleges and universities in the US.
• Insider’s Guide to Colleges by the Yale Daily News gives a first-hand perspective with students on campus telling you what you really want to know about their schools.
• Colleges that Change Lives by Loren Pope offers overviews of small, liberal arts schools that will change the way you think about colleges.
• From High School To College: Steps for Success For Students with Disabilities by Elizabeth Hamblet is an indispensable resource for students with learning differences or disabilities–and their parents. It is not only a tool for thinking about where to apply to college, but also how to manage once on campus with practical tips and advice from college professionals.
• K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities or AD/HD by Princeton Review provides a summary of the level of support and services offered by colleges along with admission procedures.
• Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need To Know About Getting Into College by Sally Springer, Jon Reider and Joyce Vining Morgan. This excellent book touches on most aspects of the admissions process and provides sound advice.
• The Parents We Mean to Be by Harvard’s Richard Weissbourd cautions that we are doing our children a disservice by driving them toward achievement at all costs. He touches on how the college admissions frenzy fits into this dynamic and does so with a helpful, non-judgmental tone.
• Letting Go: A Parent’s Guide to Understanding the College Years by Coburn and Treeger gives an overview of how college has changed since the parents of today’s teens were students and what college students are encountering on campus.
• You’re On Your Own (But I’m Here If You Need Me): Mentoring Your Child During the College Years, by Marjorie Savage, the director of the parent-liaison program at the University of Minnesota, provides advice to parents about letting go and how to respect a child’s independence while still providing support.
• If you have ever wondered why the boy next door with the nearly A average in all honors /advanced placement classes and the close to perfect SAT scores didn’t get into the college of his choice, you might want to read The Price of Admission, How America’s Ruling Class Buys Its Way into Elite Colleges and Who Gets Left Outside the Gate by Daniel Golden, a former Wall St. Journal reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for his series of articles on which the book is based.