College Search

Basically, your search process should include several components.  You need to consider the size of college you'd like to attend, what you might like to major in,  what type of environment you'd prefer, how far away from home you like to be, and what type of college you can afford.  You will need to research your college choices: Solon's guidance office and website, public libraries, online resources, and actual college visits.  I can help with the online part:

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The College Board provides an interactive College Search tool for over 3500 colleges and universities.  It offers a questionnaire to help you determine which colleges fit your profile, as well as very detailed information on whichever college you enter (including all majors available, in-state and out-of-state costs, average SAT and ACT scores, and AP scores necessary for credit, and even which sports are offered).  Another feature of this site is the ability to compare two or three colleges on a point-by-point comparison.  I thought this site was extremely helpful and easy to use. 
 

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Jeff Karns recommends a similar website, offered by Peterson's and Thomson: "They have a feature where if you register an account (not a long process) you can create your own college list. This list gives you access to the basic information of mostly any college, like the price, size, location, etc. Then you can select up to to three colleges from your list and compare them. It is nice because the information for each college is in the same format, which makes it very easy to compare average SAT or ACT scores and so on."

 

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If you're unsure of what to major in, or just open to considering other fields, you may want to use a personality test, such as the one offered at Do What You Are.com.  However, first you will need to see Mrs. Morgan's Solon website to retrieve the necessary ID and passwords.  Apparently, the questionnaire lasts 30-45 minutes and the results will be shared with you and your guidance counselor.  This didn't work for me.  I'll have to get back to you. 

 

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