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Resources

AP Central Dive into the world of AP exams, explore the subjects available, find study guides, sample test questions and fees. 

Remember, even if your high school does not offer an AP subject, you can always self-study for the test. Just do your research first then talk to your guidance counselor about registration. 

Homeschooled students should talk to the guidance counselors at nearby public schools to set up test date and location. 
IB Program Curious about the International Baccalaureate (IB) program and want to find the nearest IB school to you? Check out the International Baccalaureate Organization’s website for more info. 
Khan Academy Khan Academy is a free online resource that offers courses in a variety of subjects, including SAT Prep, math, science, history, and English. The courses are self-paced and students can use the videos to refresh or understand concepts they didn’t fully absorb in class. 
Coursera Learning does not have to be limited to the hours spent or the knowledge acquired in school. 

Coursera is an online resource with free and paid courses from top universities around the world. The courses are taught by leading experts in their fields, and they offer a variety of specializations and certificates at a small cost. 

Use Coursera to explore various career paths and collect important skills along the way. 
EdX Similar to Coursera, EdX offers numerous free and paid from some of the top universities around the world. 

Students can take courses to learn skills, attain Bachelor’s, Master’s and Micro-Bachelor’s degrees. 

I highly recommend that students use Coursera and EdX to attain career certifications at a fraction of the cost. Great for students who don’t know which career they’d like to pursue or attain a series of certifications prior to entering the workforce. 
Udemy Another great website for online courses in a variety of categories, with the cost of most courses falling into the $15-$30 price range. 
Skillshare A great paid online course website for creatives. Learn or hone your skills by learning from those who currently work in the field. 

Note: There are many other college search and tours resources out there, but for the sake of simplicity, we’ll talk about the big ones. 

 

College Board Big Future Search The BigFuture search is a database of over 4,000+ 2–4-year programs around the U.S and a few international. Use the tool to start your college search process. Select the filters that you genuinely care about and leave all the others blank to avoid narrowing down too much. 
CampusTours  CampusTours takes you directly to a university’s campus tour page and provides the entire list of social media platforms the university has available. It’s a great way to get more information about the university’s campus and culture without/before visiting. 
Unigo College Reviews Unigo college reviews provides parents and students with the pros and cons of a university from the perspective of current and former students. It’s a great way to collect information about the academics, quality of food, housing, things to do around campus, school spirit and more! 

College Board SAT Registration Guidelines, test dates, registration deadlines, testing centers, fees and more about the SAT exam. 
ACT Registration Guidelines, test dates, registration deadlines, testing centers, fees and more about the ACT exam. 
Khan Academy Free SAT Prep College Board partnered with Khan Academy to make SAT test prep accessible to students of all backgrounds. Check it out!
SAT Practice & Prep College Board provided a few sample exams in case you’d like to get an idea for the exam in you case you don’t want to go through the Khan Academy Test Prep just yet. 
Free ACT Prep ACT has a few ACT test prep resources available on its website. 
SAT Disabilities Accommodations Learn about SATs extended time and other accommodations for students who could use extra support. 
ACT Disabilities Accommodations  Learn about ACTs extended time and other accommodations for students who could use extra support. 

College Essay Prompts There are seven prompts for students to choose from. Pick ONE. It doesn’t matter which one, so choose the one you can write an engaging essay about.  
Johns Hopkins Essays That Worked Sample college essays to help you get an idea.

FAFSA The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) allows parents and students the opportunity to apply for grants, work-study, and loans. You must complete the form every year a student is in college to receive aid. 
Federal Student Aid Estimator Not sure if you qualify for aid? Or you just want to know how much you would receive? Try out the FAFSA simulator. Grab your latest tax returns and carve out about 15-20 min. 

The Estimator will provide you information about the types of financial aid packages and dollar amount you could receive. 
Federal Loan Simulator Thinking about getting student loans but want to know how it could all play out? Try out the Federal Loan Simulator and test out various scenarios to see what happens. 
CSS Profile A more detailed financial aid application that was designed to supplement FAFSA.  Note that not all universities accept the CSS profile so please double check that. Additionally, there is a $25-$35 fee associated with each application send. Fee waivers are available to those who qualify. 

Each of the databases listed below are great when searching for scholarships. Simply create an account, fill out the information, and the databases will send you emails with scholarships you qualify for, along with deadline reminders. 

 

Note: Because there are all databases, you are likely to see multiple listings of the same scholarship. Apply only once. 

Scholarships.org
Fastweb
Cappex
College Board Scholarships

CommonApp The most used application platform for over 1,000 universities. Chances are, this will be the website you’re using. 
Coalition App 150 universities, including top-tier ones, came together to form a “coalition” that makes university affordable for students. 

The best application platform for students seeking financial assistance. 

So, even if the university is listed on the CommonApp, use the Coalition App if you need help paying for college. 
Questbridge Questbridge is a non-profit designed to help high-achieving, low-income students attend university at a fraction of the cost. 

Student should complete all the qualification requirements early on, as the process can be highly selective. 

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