(written by Rising STAR, Meryssa)

Hello everyone, Meryssa here.

First of, I hope everyone is enjoying their April vacation. Before vacation a man from Monster.com came and talked to all the juniors at my high school about how we can make our college search count. The man that came to my high school gave everyone a small booklet that I thought was very useful. In the packet there was a bunch of useful information such as a checklist for college campus visits. Some things on the checklist include a campus tour, finding out about organizations and activities the campus has to offer, and to have a meal on campus. The packet also has a page of financial aid facts as well as a month by month timeline for what juniors and seniors should be doing before they graduate. Finally, the packet included a list of great web resources to help out with stuff for scholarships and they even have a SAT/ACT prep game to help you when it comes to studying for the big test. Some of the useful websites are listed below with a short description of what they can be used for.

•  www.makingitcount.com  - this is what I like to call an all-in-one website resource (like NHHEAF). It has everything from how to pay for college to how to pick your college major.

•  www.fastweb.com - this website is the leading internet scholarship search. This website can help find a scholarship or two (or even more) to help you pay for college.

•  www.bridges.com - this website helps students narrow down their college search and find schools that are perfect for them based on all sorts of different criteria (such as major, location, size, etc.).  And just so you know, the Center for College Planning has access codes they can share with you if you call them…they subscribe to this search engine as well.

I hope these websites help in your college searching process as well as give you advice on paying for college.  And don't forget to always check the free resources the Center for College Planning at NHHEAF offers!"

Until next time,
Meryssa