Welcome to the College Connection at Ames Seminars — This section of our web site is organized so you can easily get to any part of…

 

GETTING STARTED

A Winning Path to College Admission

Why It Ought To Be an Enjoyable Year

College Planning — A Practical Guide  The Pre-College Planner

Traps to Avoid, Two Case Studies On What NOT To Do

Five Most Important Factors in Admission

College Admission Isn't What it Used to Be

Tips for Parents: Dos and Don'ts for Helping Your Child Through College Admission

Questions to get you started:  Where Do You Belong?  FISKE Guide to Colleges

10 Things You Should Consider When Choosing a College

Our Current College Information Evenings

 

 

COLLEGE PLANNING AND TESTS

• 9 and 10
• 9, 10, 11, 12… very comprehensive to do lists

College Planning — A Practical Guide  The Pre-College Planner

Our Current College Planning Workshop

What tests are required?

When should I take the tests?

How many times should I take the tests?

Do colleges care if I take the test several times?

How do colleges use scores if I take the tests more than once?

When should I prepare?

What is a good course? How can I tell?

SAT

ACT

 

 

COLLEGE SEARCH

Start Your College Search Here

• College Planner — A Practical Guide  The Pre-College Planner
• Questions to get you started:  Where Do You Belong?  FISKE Guide to Colleges

Is a Large or Small College Right for You?

College Search Engines — don't get lost or waste your time…

Princeton Review

College Board

College Data 411

These sites will help you find and research private colleges that you may not know, but could be… PERFECT!

Colleges That Change Lives

Associated Colleges of the Midwest

Colleges of Distinction — Colleges that focus on teaching and developing engaged students

Colleges Worth Considering: 100 colleges that deserve a second look…

Colleges That Encourage Character Development

California

• University of California
• Cal State Universities
• Private Colleges
• Community Colleges

United States

• links to All colleges by States
• links to EVERY campus in the United States

Study In

• Canada
• United Kingdom
• International Schools

Campus Visit Tips

College Visits — A Planning Checklist

Campus Visits — Overnight Visits

Can't go for a visit… Visit anyway! — Collegiate Walking Tour Videos

What To Do: Before, During and After…

Great Advice On Scheduled Fairs AND How To Use Them

See Our Book List below

 

 

ADMISSION AND APPLICATIONS

Private Colleges Have Different Requirements…

Applying To The MOST Selective Colleges Is A Different Game!

How Selective Colleges Decide — Little Things That Make a Big Difference

Five most important factors in Admission

How Can You Tell if You Can Get In? Who Got In Last Year?

• Researching Admission Information: The Freshman Admission Profile

Privates: Who applied? Who got In? See a few sample profiles:

Lewis and Clark	Penn	Puget Sound	Vassar
Loyola Marymount	Pitzer	Stanford	Whitman
Occidental	Pomona	USC	Willamette

Early Decision / Early Action

• What is ED/ EA?
• Is applying early right for you? Does the Early Bird Get the Worm?

Essays

• Top Ten Tips for Writing the College Essay
• Essay Tips
• Seven Grest Essay Tips
• Essays That Worked
• Three Worst Essays

Interviews

• Interview Tips
• The Truth About the College Interview

Recommendations

• Getting Great Recommendations

Freshman admission - it starts here

• Eligibility - are you Eligible?
• Required Courses
• Required Tests

UC Admissions Comprehensive Review - factors in admission

How Each Campus Decides

UC Berkeley	UC Davis	UC Irvine
UCLA	UC Merced	UC Riverside
UC San Diego	UC Santa Barbara	UC Santa Cruz

Who Got In? Lots of Information about Each Campus!

• UC Freshman Profiles - massive information about each campus
• And more UC information

Application for the University of California

Admission Requirements - CSU Overview

• Grades and Tests
• High School Subjects

Eligibility Index

Calculate Your Eligibility Index

Impacted Campuses - Impacted Programs - Impaction by Class Level

Impaction by Major at individual campuses

Application for Cal State University

Top 10 College Application Mistakes

Auditions and Portfolios

Actual Applications

• University of California
• Cal State University
• California Community Colleges
• The Common Application

 

 

FINANCES

Financial Aid: Good News and Bad News

Great Intro to Financial Aid

Financial Aid: The Basics

Financial Aid: How to Apply

Financial Aid: Terminology - Words to Know

Financial Aid: Resources

A Parent's Guide to Financial Aid

Basic Financial Aid Info and Terminology

The Scoop on Scholarships

Pay for College — Good Information from the College Board

FAFSA  — Free Applications for Federal Student Aid

National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs — Learn About Loans

 

 

LEARNING DISABILITIES

Resources for Learning Disabilities

 

 

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

	print booklist
Guide Books
	The Fiske Guide to Colleges by Edward Fiske
	Best 361 Colleges, 2006 Edition Princeton Review
	Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools You Should Know About Even If You're Not a Straight-A Student by Loren Pope
	Harvard Schmarvard: Getting Beyond the Ivy League to the College that is Best for You by Jay Mathews
	Looking Beyond the Ivy League: Finding the College That's Right for You by Loren Pope
	The Insider's Guide to the Colleges 2007 Staff of The Yale Daily News (Editor)
	The College Board Book of Majors College Board
Admission
	A Is for Admission: The Ultimate Insider's Guide to Getting Into The Ivy League and Other Top Colleges by Michele A. Hernandez
	The Truth about Getting In: A Top College Advisor Tells You Everything You Need to Know by Katherine Cohen
	The Early Admissions Game: Joining the Elite by Christopher Avery, Richard Zeckhauser, Andrew Fairbanks
	College Essays That Made a Difference Princeton Review Staff
	Rock Hard Apps: How to Write a Killer College Application by Katherine Cohen
	Discounts and Deals at the Nation's 360 Best Colleges by Bruce Hammond
For Parents
	Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years by Karen Levin Coburn, Madge Lawrence Treeger
	Launching Years: Strategies for Parenting from Senior Year to College Life by Laura Kastner, Jennifer Wyatt
Learning Disabilities
	The K & W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorder by Marybeth Kravets, Imy Wax, Imy F. Wax
	Colleges for Students With Learning Disabilities or ADD - (Peterson's Colleges With Programs for Students With Learning Disabilities Or Attention Deficit Disorders) by Peterson's
	Learning How to Learn: Getting Into and Surviving College When You Have A Learning Disability by Joyanne Cobb
	Learning Outside The Lines : Two Ivy League Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD Give You the Tools for Academic Success and Educational Revolution by Jonathan Mooney, David Cole and foreword by Edward M Hallowell