Planning for College: College Selection
Resources available at the Valley Cottage Library to help teens (and their parents) explore possible career choices, select colleges/universities, and plan the steps needed to achieve admission. It's never too early to begin this journey!
To-do Lists While in High School
- The College Conversation byISBN: 9781984878342Publication Date: 2020-09-22The College Conversation is a comprehensive resource for mapping the path through the college application process that provides practical advice and reassurance to keep both anxious parents and confused children sane and grounded. Rather than adding to the existing canon of "How to Get In" college guides or rankings, Eric Furda and Jacques Steinberg provide a step-by-step approach to having the tough conversations on this topic with less stress and more success. The book is organized around key discussions and themes that trace the chronological arc of admissions and financial aid--beginning before the assembly of a list of potential colleges and continuing through the receipt of decisions--with a final section that includes advice on the first year of college.
- Fiske Countdown to College byISBN: 9781402218972Publication Date: 2009-07-01Unique, simple approach to the complicated college prep process, from the leading authority in college admissions. Getting ready for college is a complicated and confusing process - how do you know when to take the SAT? When do you start applying to schools? What classes should you be taking to help prepare you for college-level work? Is there anything you should do before high school? Fiske Countdown to College is a comprehensive collection of simple, easy-to-use checklists that explain everything you need to do in each year of high school to make preparation for college a breeze. There are 28 "to-do" lists for parents and students, ten "don't" lists, three "top 10" lists, and two glossaries, divided by year, that walk you through high school to college. Quotes from students, parents, and counselors offer advice and support from people who've been through all of this before.
- Bound-For-College Guidebook byISBN: 9781475861815Publication Date: 2022-07-15The third edition of the Bound-for-College Guidebook contains details on the challenges and changes that have and are currently occurring in the high school to college transition: COVID-19 adjustments made in college admission and application procedures that are now a part of the "new normal, The evolving role of admission testing in student selection, Scandalous, criminal acts brought to light by the Varsity Blues Admission Scandal This guidebook provides contemporary students and parents with the information and tools they need for effective exploration, decision making, and application for admission and financial aid. The student exercises offered throughout the book help students create a personal college guidance portfolio, and the dozens of frequently asked questions address everything a student wants to ask a few he or she didn't think to ask. It is a must read before and throughout the high school to college navigation process. The Bound-for-College Guidebook is also the perfect study guide for counselors and educators to use in conducting workshops or classes on the transition to college. Book jacket.
For Students with Specific Learning Needs
- Life after High School byISBN: 9781849058285Publication Date: 2010-08-01Graduating high school and moving on to further education or the workplace brings with it a whole new set of challenges, and this is especially true for students with disabilities. This useful book provides a complete overview of the issues such students and their families will need to consider, and outlines the key skills they will need in order to succeed once they get there. The authors describe the legal landscape as it applies to students with disabilities in the USA, and how to obtain the proper disability documentation to ensure that the student receives the right support and accommodations in college. Focussing specifically on the issues that affect students with disabilities, they offer advice on everything from dealing with college entrance exams and the college application process, to selecting the right college, visiting the campus, and achieving medical and financial independence away from home.
Help Choosing a College
- Colleges Worth Your Money byISBN: 9781475853964Publication Date: 2020-04-15Unlike existing college guidebooks, which contain easy-to-Google admissions statistics and anecdotal generalizations about campus life, Colleges Worth Your Money reveals where graduates work, salaries, grad school acceptances, internships and research opportunities, career services ratings, and data-rich, school-specific admissions strategies. This book will help parents and students make better informed choices that will positively impact their lives not only for the next four years, but well into adulthood. Tables containing information on admissions, financial, and outcomes data accompany each school profile.
- The Enlightened College Applicant byISBN: 9781475826906Publication Date: 2016-08-30Deluged with messages that range from It s Ivy League or bust to It doesn t matter where you go, college applicants and their families often find themselves lost, adrift in a sea of information overload. Finally a worthy life preserver has arrived. The Enlightened College Applicant presents a no-nonsense account of how students should approach the college search and admissions process. Instead of providing recycled entrance statistics or anecdotal generalizations about campus life, authors Belasco and Bergman incorporate cutting-edge data and research to pull back the curtain on critical topics such as: .Whether college prestige really matters, .How to maximize your college admission prospects .Which schools and degrees provide the best return on investment .How to minimize the costs of a college education .What college-related skills are valued in the job market, and much more. Whether you are a valedictorian or a B/C student, this easy-to-read book will improve your college savvy and enable you to maximize the benefits of your higher education."
- Colleges That Change Lives byISBN: 9780143037361Publication Date: 2006-07-25
Prospective college students and their parents have been relying on Loren Pope's expertise since 1995, when he published the first edition of this indispensable guide. This new edition profiles 41 colleges—all of which outdo the Ivies and research universities in producing performers, not only among A students but also among those who get Bs and Cs. Contents include:
- Evaluations of each school's program and "personality"
- Candid assessments by students, professors, and deans
- Information on the progress of graduates
This new edition not only revisits schools listed in previous volumes to give readers a comprehensive assessment, it also addresses such issues as homeschooling, learning
disabilities, and single-sex education. -
College Directories
- Fiske Guide to Colleges 2023 byISBN: 9781492664987Publication Date: 2021-07-06Fully updated and expanded every year, Fiske is the most authoritative source of information for college-bound students and their parents. Helpful, honest, and straightforward, the Fiske Guide to Colleges delivers an insider's look at what it's really like to be a student at the "best and most interesting" schools in the United States, plus Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland--so you can find the best fits for you. In addition to detailed and candid stories on each school, you will find: A self-quiz to help you understand what you are really looking for in a college Lists of strong programs and popular majors at each college "Overlap" listings to help you expand your options Indexes that break down schools by state, price, and average debt Exclusive academic, social, and quality-of-life ratings All the basics, including financial aid stats, and acceptance rates Plus a special section highlighting the 20 public and private Best Buy schools--colleges that provide the best educational value
- The Best 388 Colleges 2023 byISBN: 9780525570820Publication Date: 2021-08-31This comprehensive guide to the nation's best colleges provides in-depth profiles on schools, best-of lists by interest, and tons of helpful student-driven details that will help you or your student choose their best-fit colleges!
- America's Best Colleges for B Students byISBN: 9781617601682Publication Date: 2021-08-10High school students who get average grades and don't ace the SAT or ACT discover that an exceptional college education is by no means beyond their reach with this guide. Along with information on what to look for in a college and what colleges look for in their students besides grades, this college reference provides details on more than 175 colleges that make it a point to help students who have not achieved a stellar GPA and includes information on whether colleges feature extra tutoring, help from professors, and distance-learning programs. Advice on the application process emphasizes the schools that look beyond GPA to the extracurricular activities and community involvement at which many average students excel. Quelling both students' and parents' fears about finding a good education with a less-than-perfect academic record, this guide makes it clear that it is always possible.
- Two-Year Colleges 2021 byISBN: 9780768944044Publication Date: 2020-09-22Peterson's® Two-Year Colleges 2021 includes information on more than 1,700 accredited two-year undergraduate institutions in the United States and Canada, as well as some international schools. It also features a number of detailed two-page school descriptions written by admissions personnel. College-bound students and their parents can research two-year colleges, including community colleges, for information on campus setting, enrollment, majors, expenses, student-faculty ratio, application deadline, and contact information. In addition, Two-Year Colleges offers articles that cover tips on transferring, advice for adults returning to school, "green" programs at community colleges, the basics of financial aid, and much more. Up-to-date data profiles for over 1,700 institutions, listed alphabetically by state (and followed by other countries) with facts and figures on majors, academic programs, student life, standardized tests, financial aid, and applying and contact information Helpful articles on what you need to know about two-year colleges: advice on transferring and returning to school for adult students; how to survive standardized tests; what international students need to know about admission to U.S. colleges; and how to manage paying for college The latest on exciting, innovative "green economy" programs at community colleges throughout the U.S. State-by-state summary table allows comparison of institutions by enrollment, application requirements, types of financial aid available, numbers of majors offered, and more Easy-to-search indexes offering valuable information on associate degree programs at two-year colleges and four-year colleges