www.schoolsintheusa.com - The Schools in the USA website has information that you will find very useful. Please look at it for information about everything from college planning to dorm life.

CollegeAnswer.com - Sallie Mae's new website for college planning. A wonderful site that is very user friendly.

Colleges all over the United States - ACT's college planning site

All About College - Everything you want to know about college. College search, financial information, admission links and more.

Online College Fair - Close to 200 online college fairs from universities across the country.

Campus Tours - Virtual tours of college campuses.

General College Terms to Know for College Planning

In addition to the definitions below, click here for a wonderful glossary of terms you need to know. Look here if you are at a loss for what a term means.

Early Action (EA, Interim Decision)
Early Action plans are non-binding plans that allow a student to apply to a college early in her senior year and receive an admissions decision in advance of regular notification dates. This plan is for a student who is fairly confident that she would attend this school if admitted but is not willing to “bind” herself to this decision. Under this plan, a student can apply to several colleges and compare offers of admissions and financial aid packages. (It is college dependent as to whether or not you can apply to other EA or ED plans at the same time.)

Early Decision
This is a binding decision. You apply in your senior year and receive an admission decision in advance of regular notification dates. This plan is for a student is 100 percent sure that she would attend this school if admitted. She may still apply to other Early Action schools, but once admitted to the Early Decision school, the early admission applications must be retracted.

Rolling Admissions
Many schools offer rolling admission plans. Under this admission plan, a student applies to the college and is usually notified of a decision within six to eight weeks after the completed application has been filed. This is a non-binding program. Because rolling admissions plans get more competitive as the class space fills up, students are encouraged to apply to rolling admissions plans as soon as they know that they will be applying to that institution.

Regular Admission
Regular admission programs have a set deadline and a set response date. These dates vary from college to college but are usually in January and February with a response date in early April. Regular admission allows a student to apply to several colleges and share interim and first-semester grades as well as a complete profile of fall testing. This admission plan is most advisable if a student wants to get a complete picture and take her time deciding which college is the best match for her particular interests and abilities.

Need Blind Admission
This term refers to the fact that the admissions office does not contact the financial aid and scholarship office when making an admission decision. The students' financial ability is not taken into consideration. The phrase translates to, "If we accept your daughter for admission, she is one of the best and brightest and we are going to make it possible for her to attend our university regardless of finances." It is important to remember that the schools often use the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC; please see our financial aid page for definition) to calculate what you as a family will contribute. The total financial aid package will consist of everything you are eligible for from grants, scholarships and loans. Remember to check to see if your school requires the CSS Profile as well as the FAFSA.