College Prep Handbook
· Comparing college characteristics
“Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of a true education.”
-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Consider the following questions to help narrow your choices
1. How far from home do I want to be...a days drive or flying only?
2. In what areas of the country would I like to attend college?
3. What kind of weather do I prefer?
4. Do I want to attend college in a city or a small college town?
5. What size college appeals most?
small: under 1,000 students, moderate: 1,000-3,000 students,
medium: 3,000-8,000 students, large: 8,000-20,000
very large: over 20,000
6. What academic areas am I considering as a college major?
7. Do I prefer a single-sex or coed college?
8. Do I want a public or private institution?
9. Do I want a Christian College and Christian environment?
10. Does fraternity or sorority life interest me?
11. Do I want a liberal arts or pre-professional curriculum?
12. What extra-curricular activities are available? What am I looking for in
a “social environment”? How much diversity am I comfortable with?
13. Do I want to participate in an athletic program?
14. Do I want a strong creative arts program?
15. Do I want a rigorous or less demanding academic environment? Do I
want to consider an honors program?
16. Do I prefer small classes (around 25 students) with more contact with
professors or large lecture formats (500 plus students)? Am I willing
to seek out professors with large classes when I need help? Under
which environment will I learn best?
17. Am I looking for a college with access to research opportunities?
18. Do I want a structured academic framework (i.e. core curriculum) or one
that allows for independent programs/projects with no requirements?
19. Do my career goals require specialized facilities?
20. Is the availability of internships or cooperative education programs
(alternating work and school) important?
21. Do I want a school that has a strong study abroad program?
22. What is my family able to afford and is financial aid a consideration?
23. Will I need to work part time while attending college?
*****try to prioritize before you begin your search
College alumni
College students and faculty
High school counselors, administrators and teachers
College visitations/group tours/open houses
College fairs
College representatives/recruiters/admissions officers
College guides (independent sources)
The internet
Publications/guidebooks/videos/course catalogs (published by the college)
Parents
College Guides, Editorials, Rankings
A Parents Guide to College Admission-Kaplan.
America’s Best Colleges: U.S. News & World Report.
Barron's Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges.
Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges.
Christian Parent and Student Guide to Choosing a College.
College Handbook (info. on over 3200 colleges)-includes a CD ROM.
College Majors Handbook.
Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope.
Colleges That Encourage Character Development by John Templeton.
Essays That Will Get You Into College.
Fiske Guide to Colleges: Essays on 300+ "of the best and most interesting colleges in the nation."
Fiske Guide to Getting into the Right College.
Looking Beyond the Ivy League by Loren Pope.
Making College Count.
Making It Into A Top College.
Occupational Outlook Handbook: U.S. Dept. of Labor provides accurate
and up-to-date details on all major jobs in the U.S.
100 Successful College Application Essays.
Peterson's Christian Colleges and Universities.
Peterson's Competitive Colleges: Statistical guide to selective colleges.
Peterson's Four-Year Colleges: Information on all U.S. accredited four- year colleges-also includes a CD ROM with internet links.
Peterson’s Game Plan for Getting into College.
Princeton Review: Guide to College Majors.
The College Scholarship Book (outside Mrs. Davis’ office)
U.S. News Ultimate College Directory
Extensive information on 1,400 colleges.
**Most of these publications are available in the library or
counseling office.
Recommended Internet Sources
General information and searches
ACT: (information and registration for the ACT) www.act.org
Links to virtually all colleges, test prep,
Career and College information: www.careersandcolleges.com
Christian Colleges: www.cccu.org
Christian Connector: www.christianconnector.com
College Board: www.collegeboard.com
(one of the most comprehensive sites-useful information about
campus visits, interviews, scholarships, financial aid, and SAT
registration)
College Catalogs: www.cgf.org
College Express: www.collegexpress.com (excellent site)
College NET: www.collegenet.com
(Enormous database; college search engine-click on “scholarship
search” for 600,000 awards totaling $1.6 billion)
College View: www.collegeview.com
(interactive presentations-one of the most detailed search engines on
the Net-includes religious affiliations, athletics, fields of study and
essay tips)
College Zine: www.kaplan.com
(extensive, also advice on interviews and admission)
Community College Web: www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/cc/
Get recruited by colleges and universities: www.get-recuited.com
Go college: www.gocollege.com (searches, scholarships ACT/SAT practice)
Google: www.google.com (currently one of the best search sites)
Mapping your future: www.mapping-your-future.org (financial
trategies, career options and college planning)
National Association of College Admission Counselors: www.nacac.com
(visit with college rep’s)
National Association of Christian Counselors: www.NACCAP.org
Online College Fair: www.onlinecollegefair.com
Peterson’s College Quest: www.collegequest.com or www.petersons.com
(free registration required to access-800,000 funding options-search
for scholarships, loans and other financial aid options)
Princeton Review: www.princetonreview.com or www.review.com
(good search engine with a wide array of variables-take a free SATfor
ACT practice test, then get tips from the experts at Princeton Review)
U.S. News College and Careers Center: www.usnews.com
(rankings, advice from counselors and financial aid experts, college
links-generates a list of recommended colleges based on student’s
response to several questions)
U.S. Dept. of Educ. & other federal agencies: www.students.gov
(info. on financial aid, career development, educational planning,
consumer protection)
Yahoo: www.yahoo.com
(numerous resources-alphabetical listing of college web sites)
Financial Aid/Scholarship searches
FAFSA on the Web (federal financial aid form): www.fafsa.ed.gov/
FastWEB: www.fastweb.com
(database on over 400,000 scholarships, grants, loans, financial aid-set up a mailbox to receive new updates on scholarships)
Financial Aid Information Page: www.finaid.org
(everything from scam alerts to scholarship searches)
Hope Scholarship and Lifelong Learning Credits: www.irs.ustreas.gov
Kansas Learning Quest (college savings plan with state and federal tax
advantages): www.treasurer.state.ks.us.
Sallie Mae: www.salliemae.com
Scholarship search sites: www.college-scholarships.com,
www.guaranteed-scholarships.com, www.scholarships.com, www.scholarships-news.com,
www.walmartfoundation.org, www.usafunds.org
Student Aid: www.studentaid.ed.gov (financial aid, apply for a PIN # for FAFSA)
Student Guide: www.FYE/index.html
(***case sensitive-U.S. Dept. of Educ., plus FAFSA links)
Student Athlete Resources:
American Sport Education Program: www.asep.com
Athletic Scholarship Information Search: www.athletes.com
Natl. Assoc. of Collegiate Dir. of Athletics (NACDA): www.nacda.com/
Natl. Assoc. of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) www.naia.org
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA): www.ncaa.org
or www.act.org/ncaa/
National Scouting Report: www/nsr-inc.com/
Knowing your calling and vocation is a combination of identifying your interests, understanding yourself, and allowing God to call and work through you. Career counseling leads to the identification of our talents and skills. Scripture tells us that God has given us gifts, including the Word of God, to confirm our callings. God does not call us to tasks without also giving us the gifts and talents to complete those tasks.
(1 Corinthians 12). Career assessments provide information about our personality, talents, skills and strengths. They also help identify our weaknesses. If we know our design, it will help lead to our calling. Career assessments should NOT be the exclusive determinants of a college major, but rather provide information about ourselves and interests. Several different assessments are available.
CPP (provider of several assessments-Strong Interest Invent, Myers-Briggs Personality) www.cpp-db.com
*Kersey Temperament Sorter (#1 online personality assessment)
www.advisorteam.com/user/ktsintro.asp
*Expan Career Test: www.collegeboard.org/career/bin/career.pl
*Spiritual Gifts Assessment: www.teamministry.com/cgi-bin/gifts.cgi
John Holland's Self-Directed Search www.self-directed-search.com
Holland's theory of careers focuses on six main clusters: realistic, social, investigative, artistic, enterprising and conventional.
Current cost $9.95
*Occupational Outlook Handbook: www.bls.gov/oco/
Personality type: www.personalitytype.com.
Princeton Review: princetonreview.com
*US News and World Report: www.usnews.com
*Wichita State University Career Resources website: www.wichita.edu,
career resources (good site for additional resources)
*no charge. Some sites charge for their assessments. Dr. Paul White, Trinity parent, offers career counseling. Aims Testing Service (Dallas, TX) also offers aptitude assessments for approx. $725. The counseling office has more information on both services.
FYI: Most students enter college as undecided majors. Many experts view this as a sign of intelligence as students have not yet been exposed to many career opportunities/college majors by the end of high school.
Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31)