COLLEGE INFORMATION RESOURCES

 

Research Resources

 

Guidebooks and publications - On the College Shelf in the Library:

 

Catalogs and viewbooks for many colleges. California colleges are located on the top shelf.

 

The College Finder, Steven Antonoff – Excellent book of college hunting lists

Colleges That Change Lives, Loren Pope – In-depth reviews of smaller colleges that are particularly supportive of students

College Prowler Guide California Colleges (College Prowler) (2006) – Detailed information and student reviews of many California Colleges

College Prowler Guide to New England Colleges – Detailed information and student reviews of many New England colleges.

College Prowler Guides for: Duke, Carnegie Mellon, University of North Carolina, Emory, and the University of Virginia

The Fiske Guide (2005 & 2003) – The “College Bible.” Excellent non-biased reviews of hundreds of colleges

Harvard Schmarvard Book with a list of “hidden gem” colleges at the back

The Insider’s Guide to The Colleges (2007 and 2004 editions) – Reviews of college life on many campuses

The Princeton Review Guide to the Best Colleges – Similar to the Fiske Guide

The Students’ Guide to Colleges (2006) – Student written reviews of many colleges

SparkCollege 57 Great Colleges in California Guidebook with brief reviews of 57 California Colleges

 

Other Guidebooks in the Library:

 

General circulation (call: 378.1)

America’s Best Colleges for B Students (2005) – Terrific options for B/C students

America’s Best Value Colleges (2007) – Colleges that offer good financial aid, or are low cost

Finding the College that’s Right For You, (2005) – Reviews of “hidden gem” colleges

 

Reference Shelf (call 378.1)

 

Choosing the Right College (ISI Guide), (2003)

Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities (2000)

Fiske Guide to Colleges (2003)

Kaplan’s Guide to The Best Colleges, (2003)

Peterson’s Four Year Colleges, (2003)

Peterson’s Colleges in the West (2003)


Internet Resources

 

General Information on Colleges and Universities

 

-University of California System: www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions

-California State University System: www.CSUmentor.edu

-California independent (private) colleges and universities: http://www.aiccumentor.org

- California colleges and universities: http:http://www.californiacolleges.edu

- California Community Colleges: http://www.cccco.edu

 

-College Opportunities Online: http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool/

-College Board (testing PLUS admissions and financial aid info) www.collegeboard.org

-Princeton Review (reviews of colleges) www.princetonreview.com

-Colleges that Change Lives (reviews of small independent colleges known for providing quality education): www.ctcl.com

-Online campus tours of various colleges and universities: http://www.campustours.com

 

- Programs and scholarships for students who will be the first in their family to attend college: http://www.firstinthefamily.org/resources/

 

Applying to College – Help and Advice

- Advice on applying to college for students who will be the first in their family to attend college: http://www.firstinthefamily.org/

- Advice on finding the right college and applying to college: www.AdmissionsAdvice.com

- Colleges that waive application fees if you apply online or under other special circumstances (no extra forms necessary): http://www.porcelina.net/freeapps/about.html

- List of schools that will grant fee waivers for applications if you have a fee waiver for the SAT: http://click.collegeboard.com/3881564.53521.0.14190

 

Online Applications (private colleges)

- Common Application: www.commonapp.org

- Universal College Application: www.universalcollegeapp.org

 

Financial Aid

- U.S. Department of Education Financial Aid Portal for Students.. http://studentaid.ed.gov/

- Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

- FAFSA online calculator – see how much federal financial aid your family is eligible to receive: http://www.fafsa4caster.ed.gov/

- The CSS Profile (private colleges) https://profileonline.collegeboard.com/index.jsp

- Cash For College – Excellent summary of financial aid topics and questions from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA)

http://www.nasfaa.org/subhomes/cash4college/index2.html

- Making College Affordable – guidebook to financial aid and scholarships http://www.tericollegeaccess.org/misc/afford.html

Scholarships

- US Federal Government Career Net Scholarship Search Engine

http://www.acinet.org/acinet/scholarshipsearch/ScholarshipCategory.asp?searchtype=category&nodeid=22

- College Board’s Scholarship search engine http://apps.collegeboard.com/cbsearch_ss/welcome.jsp

- Black Excel’s List of 200 Scholarships for Minorities: http://www.blackexcel.org/200-Scholarships.html

- FastWeb http://www.fastweb.com/

Extensive database of scholarship opportunities, must register to access.

- Free Scholarship Search Information Website http://freschinfo.com/

- Broke Scholar  http://scholarships.brokescholar.com/

- Go College http://www.gocollege.com/

- ScienceNet Minority Scholarship list: http://www.cse.emory.edu/sciencenet/undergrad/scholarships.html

- Scholarships for college bound high school seniors

http://scholarships.fatomei.com/college.html

- Scholarship Resource Network – Searchable database of private merit scholarships. Registration required. http://www.srnexpress.com

 

Special Interests/Needs

 

-  The top 100 colleges and universities for Hispanic students (from Hispanic Education Outlook): http://www.hispanicoutlook.com/top100_focus.htm?section=b

- Hispanic Magazine’s Ranking of the top 25 colleges for Latino Students:

http://www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2006/march/features/colleges.html

- Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute college planning resources for Latino students:

http://www.chci.org/chciyouth/

- Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) http://www.hacu.net/

-  Black Excel is a website offering information on colleges, scholarships, and the admissions process for African American students: www.blackexcell.org

- HBCU-Central is offers a searchable database of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU): http://www.hbcu-central

- The HBCU Network: http://www.hbcunetwork.com

 

Religiously-Affiliated Colleges & Universities:

 

Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (evangelical Christian colleges): http://www.ccconsortium.org

The National Catholic College Admissions Association: http://www.catholiccollegesonline.org/

Lutheran Colleges: http://www.collegevalue.org

Methodist: http://gbem.org/gbhem/colleges.html

Baptist:  http://www.baptistschools.org

Muslim Student National Association: http://www.msa-national.org 

 

Specific Majors:

 

Engineering (searchable database of engineering programs: www.tryengineering.com

Science and engineering majors: www.careercornerstone.org

Computer science: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) http://www.acm.org/education/curricula.html
The American Chemical Association's Committee on Professional Training: http://www.chemistry.org/portal/a/c/s/1/acsdisplay.html?DOC=education\cpt\programs.html
Physics: The American Institute of Physics: http://www.aip.org/statistics/trends/undergradtrends.html
The American Association of Physics Teachers' National Task Force on Undergraduate Physics http://www.aapt.org/projects/ntfup.cfm

The Environmental Science Education Directory: http://www.enviroeduation.com

Nursing: Peterson's Undergraduate Nursing Search engine: http://www.petersons.com/nursing/ug_code/ug-search.asp?sponsor=1

Pharmacy: American Association of  Colleges of Pharmacy (main accrediting agency),
http://www.aacp.org/

Creative Writing majors:
http://www.awpwriter.org/bookshelf/guide.htm
Journalism and communications: The Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications
http://www.ku.edu/~acejmc/STUDENT/PROGLIST.SHTML

Advertising: http://ocean.otr.usm.edu/%7Ew481504/wsig/stateindex.html

Business: Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) http://www.aacsb.edu/accreditation/accreditedmembers.asp

Architecture: National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) http://www.naab.org/cal_cat1724/cal_cat.htm

Psychology Department websites: http://psych.hanover.edu/Krantz/other.html

Political Science:
http://www.top20directory.com/Top/Science/Social_Sciences/Political_Science/Academic_Departments/North_America/United_States

Film & Cinema: reviews of film school programs from actual students.
http://filmmaker.com/reviews.html
Art & Performing arts (including film): Peterson’s visual/performing arts search engine:
http://www.petersons.com/vpa/vpsector.asp?path=ug.fas.visual

Computer Game Design: www.igda.org