Figuring out the college-going path - whether that's a 2-year, 4-year, 12-month, or any length program - is tough. There are LOTS of factors - timing, price, geography, qualifications, value, and on and on. Ultimately, considerations must be made in order to be the best possible consumer of the education you choose, that's right for you.
All of the sites listed below are trustworthy sites to give you generally the same thing: tons of info on how to prepare for college, find the right college path, get to college, pay for college, succeed in college, choose a career, prepare for your career, succeed in your career, etc. Each of the websites is listed because everybody has their preferences – some will work for you, some may not. Test out the websites on your own or track down a friend, coach, parent, mentor, or teacher to help you go through and understand the stuff you find on them. Happy hunting!
Preparing for Post-secondary education
- www.ohiohighered.org - a one-stop shop for high ed info in Ohio
- www.collegeboard.com – prepare for the SAT, research colleges, compare colleges
- www.act.org – prepare for the ACT – free!, check out the majors map, it’s pretty cool
- www.knowhow2go.org – jumpstart your college-going process in 4 steps
- www.ohiomentor.org – one-stop shop for college preparation
www.ocis.org – comprehensive ‘prepare for your future’ website; don’t worry – it’s not hard to use (For your school’s password or username, please contact your school counselor
- www.going2college.org – an easier to look at, and perhaps simpler to navigate, version of OCIS and ohiomentor.org (the above two websites)
Money Matter$-
www.ohiohighered.org - find out what opportunities we have as Ohioans
- www.collegeadvantage.com – big way to save for college
- www.fastweb.com – create a profile to track down specific scholarships you’re eligible for
- www.finaid.org – figure out all this “financial aid” lingo
- www.fafsa.gov – file your FAFSA!
- www.fafsa4caster.gov – if it’s too soon to file your FAFSA (ie you’re not a Senior), use this for an estimate of your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which you can use to figure out how much you’ll have to pay…
- www.ocis.org – yes, it’s listed above – hence ‘comprehensive’: check out the huge scholarship index
Finding the Right
Educational Path-
www.ocis.org – and again: OCIS. Try it. Make a profile, save your stuff – it’s fun
http://degreedirectory.org/index.html - Awesome site! Seriously. What do you want to be when you grow up? This site will tell you how to do it
- www.collegeboard.com – you can search for colleges based on tons of criteria – do you like urban? rural? Lots of people? Few people?
- youcango.collegeboard.org - another college search site from college board, but this one has videos and stories from actual students who went through the process
- https://ohiomeansjobs.com/omj/ - again, opportunities for Ohioans
Your Career