Advice for Parents

(The following content was previously available on guideforparents.com, developed and maintained by Jan A. Maas)

Special material just for the parents of a college-bound student.  Includes General Advice, Financial Aid Advice, and Avoiding Scholarship Scams.

General Advice

College Board Tests; for Parents:  Insights into the College Board Tests, including the SATs.

Getting Ready for College Early:  How to help your child prepare for college in the pre high school years. From the U.S. Department of Education.

Preparing Your Child for College:  A government online publication that answers important questions — such as "Why attend college?" — and provides detailed preparation guidelines.

Ten Steps to Prepare Your Child for College:  What to do, from pre-school through high school. From College is Possible.

What Terms do I Need to Understand?:  A glossary from the U.S. Department of Education's Preparing Your Child for College.

Financial Aid

College Financial Aid:  Links to three government publications on student aid, written for parents.

FinAid: The Financial Aid Information Page:  Free, comprehensive, independent and objective guide to student financial aid. Topics include international, disabled, older, and minority student aid.

Financial Aid Glossary:  From FinAid. Includes acronyms, numbers and an alphabetical list.

Paying for College:  Includes basic facts, myths and realities about financial aid, and a guide to responsible borrowing. From College is Possible.

Sallie Mae:  Information about the financial aid process. Includes a set of interactive financial aid calculators and a glossary of financial aid terms.

Scholarship Scam Sites

$cholarship $cams Site:  Warnings from the Federal Trade Commission about common scholarship scams.

Avoiding Scams and Dubious Offers:  Outlines the common signs of a scam, and provides advice on how to investigate a scholarship search company and what to do if you feel you have been scammed. Good advice, from FreSch.