Ventures Scholars Program | High School Resource Center

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Preparing for College
–	Achieving Academic Success
–	Planning
–	Applying
–	Testing Information
–	Thinking about Grad & Professional School

College Planning

From getting ideas about the questions you should ask at a college visit to ideas for developing your college list, this section provides you with helpful information.

Choosing a College
Visiting Colleges
College Fairs

CHOOSING A COLLEGE

Choosing a College/University
These questions will help you prepare for your college search.

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About College Admissions?
http://familyeducation.com/quiz/0,1399,5-2855,00.html?relinks

Career Center - College Selection Process
Provides sample letter, campus visit checklist and college comparison worksheet.

Choosing a College that's Right for You
Choosing where you want to go to college is an extremely personal -- and frequently stressful -- decision that teens and their families have to make. So, how can this article help you? This article's intent is to give you a framework that will help you choose the college that is right for you .

College Selection
Includes self-evaluation and college selection checklists.

Choosing a College
Selecting a college for a young man or young woman to attend is more than a matter of looking up the rankings and seeing where the chances of admission look good. How the atmosphere of the college matches the personality of the individual can mean far more than anything in the college catalogue or the pretty brochures.

What Are Colleges Looking For?
A rigorous course schedule throughout high school is important. Good grades are key. High SAT/ACT test scores certainly don't hurt. But what else are colleges looking for in students?

Developing Your College List
How does one intelligently examine the thousands of colleges available in the United States and abroad? We would like you to remember two maxims as you consider this question. First, there will probably not be one magic choice. There are likely to be many institutions at which you would be happy. Second, the only poor college choices are uninformed choices, those made without enough information.

Selecting a College
These sites provide you with general information about selecting a college or university.

Selecting a College
One of the most critical decisions facing the college bound student is to decide which college presents the best fit. Like most decisions the process involves identifying the most critical factors and weighing their importance against the large quantity of choices available.

College Planning for Gifted and Talented Youth
There are more than 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States. Choosing among them is a complex task. Recruiting procedures and a wide variety of publications such as college viewbooks offer idyllic scenes of campus life, but do little to clarify student decision making. The increasing number and variety of books on how to get accepted by the college of your choice adds to the anxiety and expectations. Unless the match between institutions and students is truly a good one, both are likely to be disappointed.

Finding the Right College
What kind of college do you see yourself attending? Different types of colleges suit different types of people. Take a look at these descriptions to help you see where you fit.

PBS-Ten Steps to College
This site has lots of great information about college planning.

Starting Your College Search
Overwhelmed by the college application process? This special section should help. Start by answering a series of basic questions about what you want in a school.

How You Really Get To Know a School
Not sure how to assess a college or university? This article provides some helpful ideas.

IPEDS College Opportunities - On-Line
IPEDS presents data on institution prices, financial aid, enrollment, and type of programs that are offered by the institution. IPEDS COOL is designed to help college students, future students, and their parents understand the differences between colleges and how much it costs to attend college.

Read more:
http://www.nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cool/

Is a Small or Large College Right for You?
When you think about college, do you picture a compact campus where you run into friends between classes? Or do you envision big Saturday-afternoon football games, with thousands of fans cheering on your college's team? Are you participating in small-group discussions or listening carefully to your professor lecture?

College Board Helps You Compare Colleges
Need help making your big decision? Want just the facts? Quickly jump to a college's profile.

Already know of a college that meets your needs? Use LikeFinder to find colleges that match the same basic characteristics. Can't decide between schools? Want to see a snapshot of the differences? Compare up to three schools side by side.

VISITING COLLEGES

College Visits
How to schedule your campus visits.

Visiting a College Campus
Visiting a college campus will allow you to physically feel whether the institution is a good fit for you, for often they begin to look all too similar on paper. Are you planning to visit a college this summer? These sites provide helpful hints.

Why Visit a College?
While it is essential to research colleges, and browsing through view books can be fun, only a visit can fully convey the culture of the campus. Nothing equals the experience of seeing it for yourself. Remember, this will be your home for four years and you are investing a large amount of your time and money.

Read more:
http://www.elsdon.com/newpage22.htm

Tips for Visiting College Campuses

The campus visit is an essential part of the college decision process. Visiting different campuses will help you better understand which college is right for you. Here are some tips to keep in mind when visiting the campuses.

Campus Visit Checklist

Here are things you shouldn't miss while visiting a college. Take a look at this list before planning campus trips to make sure that you allow enough time on each campus to get a sense of what the school -- and the life of its students -- is really like.

Read more:
http://www.collegeboard.com/student/csearch/college-visits/101.html

Visiting Colleges

The following tips and advice will help you make the most of your college visits. Click on each subject for more detailed information.

Read more:
http://www.go4ivy.com/collegevisit.asp

Tips for Visiting College Campuses

COLLEGE FAIRS

College Fair Tips
College fairs are an all-inclusive way to find out about colleges of interest to you because a variety of college representatives are gathered together in one place. Use these tips to make the most out of your college fair experience.

Read more:
http://www.ecampustours.com/collegeplanning/collegefairtips.aspx

Tips for Getting the Most Out of College Fairs
Introduce yourself and shake hands with the college representative.