The following web sites will help you in this resource exploration:

• Begin Here! This web site has special information for middle school and high school students and their parents. It is also helpful to college students and older returning students. The site is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Excellent!
  www.ed.gov/thinkcollege/welcome
   
  
• Financial Aid Calculators. This web site has a variety of interactive calculators that will be interesting to both students and parents. We suggest you try one of the "Needs Analysis" calculators first. If your family income is lower than average, you might want to try the "Quick EFC Approximation." This will give you an idea of what your family contribution may be for one year of college costs. If your family income levels are moderate or higher, we suggest you use the regular "Financial Aid Estimation" calculator.
  www.finaid.org/calculators
   
  
• Links to Washington College and University Web Sites. This gets you into the Washington Higher Education Board web site with a wealth of information about programs available to Washington residents. You will enter a site called "Getting Into College" that allows quick linkages to all Washington state public four year and community colleges as well as all of the Washington independent colleges. You can therefore find information about admission requirements and financial aid and scholarship programs available at each of these colleges. Maps also show you the locations of all of these colleges within the state of Washington.
  http://www.hecb.wa.gov/links/colleges/collegesindex.asp
   
  
• Links to National Information For information on the SAT test, contact http://www.collegeboard.com.

  For information on the ACT test, contact http://www.act.org.

  For a site that has a convenient list of most four year colleges throughout the United States, indexed by state, contact: www.college-scholarships.com
   
  

• Links to Free Scholarships Searches. Every student wants to check out scholarship opportunities. Don't pay money though for a scholarship search! Be sure only use free scholarship searches. This link gets you into several free scholarship searches. We suggest you begin with FASTWEB and as you have more time you may want to work with others as well. Please note that these are all long shots and that most students don't receive scholarships through these sources. Therefore, these should not be your primary scholarship search. Begin your search at each of the colleges you are interested in attending. Also apply for local (high school, community organizations etc.) scholarships. Then as you have additional time, work on these national computerized free scholarship searches:
  www.college-scholarships.com
   
  
• An Outstanding Free Publication. Take the time now to call the following toll free number to have a free publication called "Paying for College" mailed to your home. This publication, produced by the Northwest Education Loan Association (NELA), provides a comprehensive guide on applying for financial aid. It also provides occupational information, sample college costs and provides a financial need worksheet. Excellent! 1-800-979-4441.
   
  

A College Degree is Achievable for You!