These Are LOTS of My Favorite Things! - Smart College Admission

This is an ever-evolving list and is almost entirely outside links.

This results from curiosity, nerdiness, and a bit of obsession (ok, maybe more than a tad!) I receive no compensation or benefits from any of these sites and make no guarantees of their content. My official disclaimer in this litigious society is that you use this information at your own risk. Many resources are free, but not all. Please share. All I ask is you credit/link to this page when you use anything you found here.
If you have a favorite I should check out, drop me a line at Holly@SmartCollegeAdmission.com

How To Improve Study Skills/Grades

Hemingway App ($20) – this app is quite amazing and WILL make you a better writer. It doesn’t do grammar specifically but focuses on writing style (sentence construction, active versus passive voice, etc.)

Grammarly – free version – There is NO excuse for misspelled words or basic grammar issues at this point.

Write in the active tense. It is concise and more engaging for the reader. Need a reminder of what active (versus passive) tense means? Here is a short video.

Want to study less and get better grades? If you are still using highlighters and re-reading, you are wasting your time. Science has a better option. Use these techniques to study less and learn more! Based on the book Making It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Brown, Roediger, and McDaniel.

Tools To Build Your College List

Why You Should Aim For Ten Schools – yes, this links to another counselor’s website, but she says it so well (and gave me her permission.)

Prepscholar.com
It bills itself as an SAT/ACT prep site, but I really like the college info it provides. However, I haven’t figured out how to work the site and usually just google “PrepScholar” and the name of the college for admission rate, average GPA, and average test score of admitted students. Great blogs too.

College-Insight.org
Love this for SO many reasons! Want to know the average debt of a graduate at a college you are considering (you do, trust me), or what percentage of students graduate in four years (don’t assume this is anywhere close to 100% for many schools), or the average salary ten years after graduation? Find it all here!

The government wants to help too!
How to search for a college by location and (very) specific major (i.e. not just engineering but a specific kind of engineering.) Government website!

Colleges That Change Lives
You may not have heard of them, but these are some hidden gems of higher education.

Niche.com – general search site with lots of reviews. Take reviews with a grain of salt. Look for patterns of comments v an individual who loves/hates a place. Your standard college search engine – criteria options include size, location, major, SAT, GPA, etc. Sign up with your GPA, etc., and you can literally get offers of admission without even applying through their Direct Admission program.

Corsava is an excellent tool that presents you with options then you rate their importance. Ultimately, it will recommend schools to research based on your specific interests. There is a fee unless your high school participates. Ask your college advisor at school.

Loper App
like Tinder for Colleges

The College Admissions Process Podcast
Alphabetized list of podcasts about individual colleges (list is updated frequently, so check back if you don’t see the school you are looking for.)

The College Tour
This is a free show for Amazon Prime members, or you can find it for free online. Each season (and there are at least eight now) profiles different colleges in 30-minute segments.

Ranking ROI of 4500 US Colleges and Universities
Look up individual schools and read how they rank regarding Return on Investment (aka ROI). Like any ranking system, be sure to read the criteria to see if you agree with it or not.

ROI of Liberal Arts Colleges Value Adds Up Over Time
Why liberal arts colleges are worth considering. May surprise you!

Price-To-Earnings Premium:
Measuring Economic Value in Higher Education -interactive map. Another tool to measure the value of a college education from a specific school

Specific degrees ranked at different schools
I like the idea of finding school rankings for specific degrees (be sure you agree with their ranking criteria before deciding is this is a good tool for you), but I didn’t want to give all the personal info it wanted

Schools With Rolling Admission
Rolling admission means quick decisions – usually within 4-6 weeks.

Map of Colleges by geography and major – useful if traveling

Zeemee app for exploring the vibe on a particular campus

Scholarships and Financial Aid Resources

FAFSA Estimator This is for the revised 2024 and beyond FAFSA.

Fastweb.com – sign up for their scholarship search. It sends reminders about upcoming deadlines and internship options too.

TuitionFit.org – See what other people are paying for a particular school

Chasing merit money? Jeff Selingo’s Buyers and Sellers list is worth your time. (planned update in 2024)

https://collegeinsights.road2college.com/ – People share their income category and financial aid awards

Merit aid finder

Department of Defense Scholarship-for-Service Program (must be STEM and IN college)

Guaranteed Scholarships by school (Need to verify with individual schools as this looks out of date)

Application Advice

www.TheCollegeEssayGuy.com

“Your College-Bound Kid” podcast

CollegesLike.com – lots of “how to” advice videos

Athletic Recruiting Info

NCAA Core course requirements and registration page

Coach Renee Lopez -specifically check out her “Broken leg test” criteria, and she has valuable info on her Facebook page! Lots of discussions and tips from parents too. Clients give her book excellent reviews.

Colleges With Strong Support for Learning Differences of Various Kinds

Colleges That Cater To Students on the Autism Spectrum

20 Good Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities

My own ever-evolving list of schools for students with learning differences