Website offers free help with college plans
Surveys have shown that although high school counselors and community college transfer counselors play an important role in helping students identify their educational and college financing options, even more students, especially working adults, turn to the Internet for information and advice on higher education and career preparation.
One of the dozens of helpful websites for both prospective and current college students of all ages is “Online Colleges, Scholarships, and Degree Programs” (www.college-scholarships.com).
As the site’s name suggests, it offers comprehensive information for both students interested in traditional, campus-based degree programs and those who wish to earn a specialized, vocationally oriented certificate or college degree online.
Former school counselor and college dean of admission Dan Rosenfield, founder of the American Educational Guidance Center, the organization that created the website, says, “The goal of our site has always been very simple; to provide high school students, their families, current college students, and adults contemplating a return to traditional or online education with as much helpful information and actionable advice as possible. The most visited pages on the site, not surprisingly, are the one that lists 70 free scholarship search sites and another that enables even a math dummy like I am to calculate a GPA for any number of grades almost instantly.”
“Online Colleges, Scholarships, and Degree Programs” now receives approximately 56,000 to 65,000 visitors per month. With well over 1,000 pages, its many lists include colleges by state, colleges by religious affiliation, colleges offering comprehensive programs for students with learning disabilities, colleges for women, traditionally African-American colleges, and colleges offering online degrees. Other tools and information on the site include an online student loan repayment calculator and more than 100 articles offering students information in areas of concern to them.
Whether they like the site as is or they want to see changes, Rosenfield hopes his visitors contact him at aegc@earthlink.net. “We greatly appreciate it when readers take the time to send us suggestions and/or criticisms; it helps us improve the site. And, of course, we love to hear from people who have found the site helpful”, he says.
In addition to providing information via their website, its creators are more than happy to answer the dozens of weekly questions they receive about college admission, financial aid, campus life and career preparation.