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MyTabstart > Favorites Directory > Education > College Admissions - Resources for Parents
The inspiration for this collection of resources for parents on the college admissions process is a new book aptly titled "Crazy U." Andrew Ferguson's personal and often humorous account of the ever-increasing insanity of the college admissions process is a reminder for parents that as much as you work to ready your son or daughter for this next stage in life, you too need to be ready. Here are some websites that can help, along with links to reviews and interviews with Andrew Ferguson, where you can glean the insights of a parent in the process.
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College Confidential - Numerous articles about the college admissions process, how to get your kid into college of choice, and how to pay for it. Click around within this site for books and other resources and what appears to be a pretty active discussion forum (registration required).
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In Like Me - In Like Me is a free resource on college admissions and student aid that is inviting and engaging for parents and students alike.
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Go4College.com - Resources for parents on the top 150 U.S. colleges, broken down by Ivy league, Regional, Engineering, and Big Ten. This site provides, for a "money-back guaranteed" price, the statistical likelihood of admission at your child's college of choice.
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National Association for College Admission Counseling - Extensive collection of articles for parents assembled on this website for counseling and admissions professionals.
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Black Excel - Website offers resources for college-bound students and their parents to help navigate the college admission process.
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My College Options - This free college planning service offers parents numerous resources, advice, scholarship information, and a robust college search tool.
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College Navigator - A free and easy-to-use tool for finding colleges. Search for colleges by state, zip code, programs of study, two- and four-year institutions, and more.
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CollegeData - Another robust yet free search engine for colleges. Also of note is the college admissions tracker tool. Set up a free admissions profile to view and compare your student admissions decisions to other real students.
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Amazon - "Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to Know About Getting into College" by Sally P. Springer, Jon Reider, and Marion R. Franck.
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Amazon - "Winning the College Admission Game: Strategies for Parents & Students" by Peter Van Buskirk.
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Amazon - "Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond" by Marilee Jones and Kenneth R. Ginsburg.
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Amazon - "Watsamatta U: The Get-A-Grip Guide to Staying Sane Through Your Child's College Application Process" by Karin Kasdin.
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College Admissions Advice - Six high school seniors have been blogging about their experiences with the college admissions process with the stated goal of demystifying admissions and financial aid.
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College Admissions Blog - Extensive collection of blogs on the admissions process.
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StudentAdvisor.com - Articles and blogs from StudentAdvisor staff writers on all things related to the college admissions process.
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Dirty Secrets of College Admissions - If it sometimes feels like whimsy plays a larger role in the college admissions process than say SAT scores and GPAs, this Daily Beast article confirms those suspicions.
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Why You Were Rejected - New York Times opinion page has debate on the college acceptance racket that offers nine eye-opening articles on the college admissions process. A piece by Mark Bauerlein, a professor of English at Emory University, called "Colleges Love to Say No" is a must-read for every parent.
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Inside the College Admissions Process - Compelling interview with Grinnell College Dean of Admissions. Be sure to click on the included video as a group of admissions officers provide an insider's look at the college admissions process.
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Facebook, Twitter play role in college admissions process, experts say - Interesting piece from LA Times that advises college-bound students to be careful about their postings and such on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Admissions officers are taking content on those pages into consideration, too.
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Admission to College, But Wait a Year - NYT piece on less-known college admissions practice of offering guaranteed admission with a catch: The student must first attend another college for a year (or two) and earn a certain grade-point average.
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College Board - The first website to visit as you help prepare your child for the college application process. Nonprofit site offers information on registering for SAT and AP tests, free practice tests, college planning, and more.
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ACT - Home site for ACT test includes practice tests, links to register online for the ACT, college search tools, and more.
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SAT - CollegeBoard website offers helpful information about the test and what to expect, registration details and dates, practice tests, and more.
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Common Application - The website for the common application that students can use (print or online) to apply to any of more than 400 member colleges.
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US News & World Report - Long known as one of the premier college ranking sources, US News online provides data on the best schools by categories: national, regional, liberal arts, engineering, and business, to name a few.
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CollegeBoundNews - Monthly newsletter may target college admission advisors, but the first advisor is the parent, so worth it to subscribe.
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Facebook - Type in "College Admissions" in the search tool to see hundreds of college's admissions departments' Facebook pages. You're bound to find many of your schools of choice to 'like'.
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Zinch - A social media-oriented site, Zinch lets college-bound students connect with other students going through the college admissions process, as well as with admissions officers, and financial aid personnel.
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Vanderbilt University Dean of Admission - Getting into College - An Insider's Guide
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College Admissions 101 - Very positive panel discussion on the college admissions process to high school families audience at Darien Library (April 2010). Note: The panel discussion starts about 6 minutes in.
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Experts Answer College Admissions Questions - Another good panel discussion presented by "'Today" show with college admissions professionals. Princeton University's Janet Lavin Rapelye, Bates College's Elaine Tuttle Hansen, UCLA's Janina Montero, and Washington University in St. Louis' Nanette Tarbouni answer viewer emails on college admissions process.
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Amazon - Crazy U: One Dad's Crash Course in Getting His Kid Into College
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American Public Media - Excerpt of the Introduction to "Crazy U."
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New York Times - Application Adventure: A Dad’s College Essay
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US News & World Report - Crazy U Takes on the College Rankings
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Wall Street Journal - A Craving for Acceptance
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Washington Post - A review of Crazy U by Andrew Ferguson and his family's college admissions experience.
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American Public Radio Marketplace - A Crash Course on How to Get Your Kid into College (text and audio versions available here).
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NPR - The 'Crazy' World Of College Admissions
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National Review - Andrew Ferguson on "Crazy U" (10-minute podcast interview).
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U.S. Department of Education - Government website for applying for federal student aid.
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Federal Pell Grants - Federal Student Aid website includes links to information on eligibility requirements, resources, FAQs, and more.
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Student Aid on the Web - This is a federally run portal site run by the U.S. Department of Education that supplies free information for students on financing their college education, including calculators that can determine what your education will ultimately cost.
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FinAid - Site provides free tools such as a financial aid calculator, scholarship search, and more.
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SimpleTuition - Free online resource center for parents looking for financial information to help pay for a college education.
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Scholarships.com - Free help for students searching for scholarships.
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Scholarship America - Dollars for Scholars program information.
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FastWeb - Free scholarship search site.
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FastAid - Another free scholarship search site.