Cool Colleges for the Hyper-Intelligent, Self-Directed, Late Blooming and Just Plain Different (Donald Asher, 2007; revised as Cool Colleges (Peterson’s Cool Colleges 101 - 2013)
Creative Colleges: A Guide for Student Actors, Artists, Dancers, Musicians and Writers (Elaine Loveland, 2013)
Fiske Guide to Colleges (Edward B. Fiske and Bruce G. Hammond, 2022) – A much-beloved classic by the former New York Times education editor.
The Price You Pay for College (Ron Lieber, 2021) NY Times “Your Money” columnist posits an “entirely new road map for the biggest financial decision our family will ever make.”
Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania (Frank Bruni, 2017) - College admissions at elite institutions has become a terrifying and sometimes devastating process, but New York Times columnist Bruni argues persuasively that it doesn’t have to be.
Websites
College Board Online (Provides everything you need to know about the SAT and SAT subject tests, including free test prep via Khan Academy.)
College Navigator (Comprehensive data base powered by the National Center for Educational Statistics and connected to the College Affordability and Transparency Center.)
Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL) (A not-for-profit organization founded on a philosophy of building the knowledge, character and values of young people by introducing them to a personalized and transformative collegiate experience. Currently, 45 colleges are affiliated with CTCL.)
Common Application (The most popular admission application with nearly 900 participating colleges and universities)
Edvisors (Step-by-step FAFSA tutorial and lots of good information on the financial aid process in layman’s terms.)
Excelsior Scholarship (Eligibility for this need-based award includes annual family income of less than $125.000; it covers the annual tuition at CUNYs and SUNYs minus other financial aid awards; Enhanced Tuition Awards are the private college/university version.)
Fairtest (Website of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, which includes an up-to-date list of test-optional and test-flexible colleges and universities.)
Federal Student Aid (Federal Department of Education website with everything you need to know about college federal aid, including creating an FSA ID so you can sign the FAFSA electronically)
Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) (The Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) is a partnership between the State of New York and its independent colleges which provides economically and educationally disadvantaged residents the possibility of a college education. EOP is the public college/university version of this program.)
Posse Foundation (Identifies and trains young people with extraordinary potential who otherwise might be missed by elite schools. It places selected students in supportive, multicultural groups of 10 students — Posses—with mentoring and full- tuition leadership scholarships provided by 58 current partner colleges.)
Private College 529 Plan (Prepay tuition up to 30 years in advance of your child entering one of more than 270 private colleges and be guaranteed today's prices tomorrow.)
Questbridge (A not-for-profit organization that connects the nation's brightest students from low-income backgrounds with (currently 40) leading institutions of higher education and further opportunities.)
Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) (A need-based financial aid program for eligible New York State residents attending a public or private college or university in New York State; annual grants are awarded of up to $5,165; apply via FAFSA)