Going through the college process can be somewhat daunting as there are many websites out there that provide a variety of resources. I have ordered some great websites in how I would utilize them in a college search.
1. Develop a Career Path to Major
Florida Career Shines- Florida’s college and career resources- https://www.floridashines.org
Job Shadow- Shadow real people’s jobs online- http://www.jobshadow.com/
Career One Stop-A source for career exploration, training & jobs http://www.careeronestop.org/
C’reer App- Matching career paths with colleges-http://www.creer.us/
Career Clusters- Research 16 Career Clusters, and 79 Career Pathways-https://careertech.org/career-clusters
Bureau of Labor Statistics- Find information on duties, education, training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations- https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
2. Major to College Search
College Navigator- Find the right college for you-https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/
Cappex- Scholarship & College Search-www.cappex.com
Big Future-https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/
College ScoreCard-Compare colleges and financial aid packages-https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
Cappex- Scholarship & College Search-www.cappex.com
NACAC College Fairs-National college fairs with 200+ universities and colleges in attendance- www.gotomyncf.com
Affordable Colleges Online- Distance Learning- http://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/
Parchment- Predicts acceptability to colleges based on student entered information, https://www.parchment.com
3. The Application Process
CollegeBoard- SAT & College Articles-www.collegeboard.org
ACT-ACT & Resources- www.actstudent.org
Common Application- An online application for 400+ college and universities throughout the country- www.commonapp.org
Coalition Application- An online application to 90 universities and colleges, http://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/
4. Scholarship & Financial Aid Websites
FAFSA- Free Application for Federal Student Aid- https://fafsa.ed.gov/
CSS Profile- Institutional Financial Aid for certain universities- https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile
Student Loans- Find out about student college loans- https://studentloans.gov
Nest 529- College Savings- https://www.nest529direct.com
College Reality Check- Education as an Investment- http://collegerealitycheck.com/en/
StudentAid- Federal financial aid planning website- www.studentaid.ed.gov
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators- Online calculator to interpret financial aid packages- www.nelliemae.com
Estimated Family Contribution- Calculate your EFC- https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/paying-your-share/expected-family-contribution-calculator
Raise.Me- Micro-scholarships- www.raise.me
Scholarships.com- Free scholarship search engine- www.scholarships.com
Fastweb- Connection to scholarships, financial aid, and colleges- www.fastweb.com
Scholly app- Personalized scholarship search engine- https://myscholly.com/
FastAid- Free scholarship search- www.fastaid.com
Florida
Florida College Access Network- State organization to improve college and career readiness- http://www.floridacollegeaccess.org/
Bright Futures- Florida state college scholarships-http://www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ssfad/bf/
Finance Your Future- Provides online courses on financial literacy- http://financeyourfuture.myfloridacfo.com/index.html
Florida FAFSA First Campaign- Find out "Why FAFSA?"- http://www.fafsafirst.com/
Local Florida Scholarships-A list of local scholarships throughout Florida and how to access them. http://www.unmaze.me/community/2017/7/2/the-power-of-local-scholarships
