Check Out These Web Sites As A Way To Start Your Preparation And Planning For College

College for Texans  (sponsored by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board). To start, at the home page, click on whether you want English or Spanish to "enter" the site.

Gear Up Texas Gear Up Texas is a great web site with many resources for students and parents, offered by grade level. (You will see a pop up screen that tells you that pop ups are blocked. You will need to temporarily allow pop ups to see the web site).

Princeton Review  Offers invaluable resources covering topics such as:

• Exploring Schools and Careers Counselor-O-Matic is an advanced search engine that combines your academic and  extracurricular history with your preferences to help you find the right college.

• Improving Scores and Skills SAT, SAT Subject Tests, PSAT, ACT, AP and Academic Tutoring

• Scholarships and Aid  Scholarship search and FAFSA strategies

ACT® Providing educational and career planning for students and teachers at every level.

The College Board  Offers many resources regarding planning, applying, and paying for college, as well as information about SAT, PSAT, AP, and CLEP exams.

knowhow2go.org A website to help you navigate the road the college, helping you with time lines and resources.

College Searches

College Opportunities Online Locator  See and compare profiles of universities across the nation.

U.S. News and World Report  Search for colleges by majors.

Applications

Public universities and colleges in Texas accept the Texas Common Application.

The Common Application is used by 350 members of the Common Application, a not-for-profit organization of colleges and universities. Check to see if the college(s) that you are interested in are members.

To find out a particular college's application procedure and admissions policies, see its website.

Free Online Test Prep Web Sites

TAKS:

TAKS Study Guide  This site provides a wide range of TAKS study resources, both in English and Spanish.

• http://www.actstudent.org/pdf/preparing.pdf - Practice test and scoring

• http://www.actstudent.org/sampletest/index.html - Sample ACT test

• http://number2.com/ - SAT, ACT

• http://www.petersons.com/testprep/tips.asp?id=400&sponsor=1&path=ug.pft.sat- SAT

• http://www.petersons.com/testprep/practice_test.asp?id=354&sponsor=1&path=ug.pft.act
testname=actfreepractice&sitelicense_key=155&referer_type=SL - ACT

SAT/ACT Optional:

Fair Test  National Center for Fair and Open Testing provides a list of colleges and universities that de-emphasize the use of SAT or ACT tests for admissions.

Texas Success Initiative (TSI) :

The Texas State legislature mandates that all public institutions of higher education shall asses the academic skills of each entering undergraduate student prior to enrollment of the student. The purpose of the TSI is to assess each student's academic readiness for college level coursework.  Students who do not place into college level coursework will be required to start by taking Developmental coursework in reading, English, and/or math. Colleges may use the COMPASS, ASSET, Accuplacer, or THEA for the TSI.

A student may be exempt from having to take a TSI assessment. To see details about exemptions, check the college's web site.

COMPASS:  http://www.act.org/compass/sample/index.html

THEA:   http://www.thea.nesinc.com/practice.htm

EXPLORING MAJORS:

SUGGESTED READING LIST FOR CHOOSING YOUR MAJOR Check out a wide variety of books that are available through the Collin College Library for use in exploring your major!