College Search Resources

• FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
• Fastweb Scholarship Search
• Scholarships.com
• Financial aid information, scholarship search, CSS Profile
• Financial aid information, scholarship search, loan calculators
• Financial aid information for individual colleges
• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
• Financial aid information for individual colleges
• National Education Loan Association
• Colleges offering merit aid
• International students

Comprehensive Guidebooks

• The College Handbook: Updated in 2018 and published by the College Board, this book offers objective information on the nation’s 2,200 four-year colleges and universities and 1,700 two-year community colleges and technical schools.

• Profiles of American Colleges: Published by Barron’s College Division, this book offers free online access to Barron’s College Search Engine. The 35th edition describes more than 1,650 colleges with up to date facts and figures about the schools.

College Life

The guidebooks below tell students about the feel of schools; they offer opinions on the schools.

• The Hidden Ivies, 3rd Edition: 63 of America’s Top Liberal Arts Colleges and Universities: Published by educational consultants Howard and Matthew Greene, The Hidden Ivies emphasizes that students who attend a “Hidden Ivy” are likely to “acquire critical skills or instincts” and “learn that truth that intelligence without character, personal integrity and a working set of values, can be a dangerous thing.”
• The Best 391 Colleges: “No other college guide has so many extras – and such important ones! Two of the major differences are our unique student survey and the ranking lists we report using that survey. We ask students (126,000 students for this edition!) to rate their schools on dozens of topics and report on their experiences at them. That student feedback is the sole basis for our 62 unique ranking lists, each one naming the top 20 schools in the category. Topics range from financial aid, campus services, and facilities, to how LGBT friendly (or not) the college is. We also tally rating scores for each school in the book on such issues as Admission Selectivity, Fire Safety and Green Living – all based on data from our surveys of administrators at the schools,” according to Robert Franek, the author of The Best 378 Colleges and SVP/Publisher at the Princeton Review.
• Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching Off My Parents: Author Zac Bissonnette suggests that college admissions officers and loan officers are unethical at best to suggest students and their families should take on substantial debt for a college education. He says the quality of an education is up to the student and that students should focus on finding an affordable college match rather than focusing on getting into elite and expensive schools.
• The Fiske Guide to Colleges:  The late Ted Fiske, a New York Times Education Editor, created this book when he realized that parents and students needed information to make good choices about colleges and universities. The Fiske Guide rates each school on its academics, social life, and quality of life.
• Insider's Guide to the Colleges:  The book is written by Yale University undergraduate students and offers profiles that are what Rolling Stone call “lively and informative and strike the tone of a college pal offering advice.” Often noted as one of the best books for students to read during the college application process, this book offers an intimate look into college life and invaluable insights on finding the right college.
• Colleges That Change Lives: This book by Loren Pope profiles small, liberal arts schools and highlights their unique characteristics. Pope illustrates how these often unknown schools sometimes outshine the Ivies. The school profiles include admissions standards, distinguishing facts about the curriculum, extracurricular activities, and what faculty say about their jobs. Review this related brochure with a list and map of the campuses and related questions to ask during a college search. 

College Admissions Books

These books are all about "how to get into college."

• A is for Admission, The Insiders’ Guide to Getting into the Ivy League and other Top Colleges, Michelle Hernandez:  Hernandez is a former Dartmouth College admissions officer whose publication of this book cracked the code on the Academic Index, a ranking system used by Ivy League Schools in the admissions process. Her insight is sometimes noted as tainted because Hernandez left Dartmouth after her husband was denied tenure at the college.
• The Gatekeepers, Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College: “Expanding on a series of articles in the New York Times, Steinberg provides an insider’s look at how… the school’s admissions committee at Wesleyan University factored grades, test scores, essays, extracurricular activities and race into account as they winnowed 700 students for the class of 2004 from nearly 7,000 applicants. Using real names, applications and interviews, Jacques Steinberg follows six applicants of varying backgrounds from their first encounter with (the College Guidance Director) to their final acceptance or rejection. Although not a how-to book per se, Steinberg’s work does include helpful advice, such as ‘there’s no way to outthink this process’ and ‘if you’ve got something you want to write, then write it the way you want.’ Publisher’s Weekly
• Getting Paid to Play: This book by Nancy Nitardy shows students how to use their athletic talents to their advantage in the college admissions process.
• Looking Beyond the Ivy League:  Loren Pope, the author of Colleges That Change Lives, argues for the merits of small liberal arts colleges. This book might best serve those students who are not competitive for Ivy League admissions but desire a similar college experience.
• Playing the Selective College Admissions Game: Richard Moll gives advice on how to get into a selective college, even for those students who feel they underperformed in high school.

Financial Aid Books and Guides

• The College Solution: A Guide for Everyone Looking for the Right School at the Right Price, L. O’Shaughnessy.
• Don’t Miss Out: The Ambitious Student’s Guide to Financial Aid, Anna J.and Robert Leider.
• Getting Financial Aid, The College Board.
• The Scholarship Book: The Complete Guide to Private-Sector Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants, and Loans for the Undergraduate, Daniel J. Cassidy.
• Scholarships, Grants, and Prizes, Peterson’s Guides:  Guide to more sources for private aid than any other reference.
• Scholarship Handbook, The College Board: Undergraduate scholarships, internships and loan programs.

• National Collegiate Athletic Association
  • Provides information about sports and schools. 
• NCAA Eligibility Center
  • Students must register, pay, and submit transcript and test scores to be eligible to play Division I or II sports in college.
• College Student Athletics
  • Site devoted to Division III collegiate athletics and institutions.
• The Education Conservancy 
  • A non-profit organization committed to improving college admission process for students, colleges and high schools
• Colleges That Change Lives
  • "40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College"
• NACAC
  • Student Resources from the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)
• Rights and Responsibilities
  • Students' Rights and Responsibilities in the College Admission Process