Getting into college these days can be a lesson in competition. This is especially true if you want financial aid. Figuring out how to get into college, and how to pay for it, can be frustrating and difficult. You can increase your chances, though, with a little help.

There are plenty of experts online that are acquainted with the college admissions process, and who know about the options when it comes to funding college. From 529 plans to scholarships to student loans, there are people who can help you. As you go through your college search, consider the information offered by the following 17 college financial aid experts worth knowing about:

1. Scott Wiengold

Scott Weingold has more than 10 years of experience in the financial aspect of getting an education. Scott is the co-founder of of the company Strategic College Funding Solutions, Inc. He has been ranked in the top 10 when it comes to college advisers in the U.S. He has a degree in Finance from John Carroll University and is known as one of the premier experts on college financial planning. You can find him online at ScottWeingold.com, or on LinkedIn.

2. Mark Kantrowitz

One of the most well-known people in college financial aid is Mark Kantrowitz. He is known as the publisher of Fastweb and of FinAid. These are financial aid web sites that can help you find information about student loans and scholarships. He is working on a PhD from Carnegie Mellon University in computer science. He knows a great deal about financial aid, and has testified before Congress. You can find him at Kantrowitz.com.

3. Jon W. Tarrant

This college admissions expert can help you get into college. Jon has experience learned from his days as a high school English teacher. He has a Masters degree, and has taken graduate courses in college planning. He is a Certified Educational Planner, and can help your student find his or her way on a path that will lead to college and career. Jon can also help with some of the financial aspects of getting into college. Begin early. You can find Jon at JonWTarrant.com.

4. Susan Hanflik

Susan Hanflik is a Certified Education Planner who can help you student learn the ins and outs of getting into college and planning for the future. Susan is accomplished at helping with the entire college planning process. She has a Masters degree in special education, and is especially adept at helping families with special needs through all aspects of college planning. She is the principal of Susan Hanflik and Associates.

5. Justin Draeger

Justin Draeger has more than 13 years of experience with helping under-served populations pay for college. His experience is first-hand since he is a first-generation four-year college graduate. He has been featured in a number of media outlets. You can find him acting as the President and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. You can also find him at JustinDraeger.com. You can also find him on Twitter (@justindraeger).

6. John Hollis

Co-founder of the College Planning Network, John Hollis works closely with Scott Weingold. He is part of the Lifetime Financial Alliance, is is well versed in subjects related to paying for college. He co-wrote the book The Real Secret To Paying For College. The Insider’s Guide To Sending Your Child To College – Without Spending Your Life’s Savings. He is a well known in the field of college financing, and can provide you with good insight.

7. Ben Kaplan

One of the leading experts on youth finances, college admissions and paying for your education, Ben Kaplan offers tips for making your dreams come true on his blog, City of College Dreams. His “Scholars & Dollars” column in nationally syndicated, and he has authored best-selling books on the subject of paying for college. He is also on Twitter at @benjaminkaplan.

8. Carl Buck

Carl Buck has more than 30 years in the field of college financial aid. He is a nationally-recognized expert on college funding options. Carl has worked in a number of positions related to financial aid, and is now working with college search portal Peterson’s. He also developed BestCollegeDeals.

9. Paul Wrubel

Dr. Paul Wrubel is the co-founder of the TuitionCoach web site. He has plenty of experience helping families pay for college. He is well known for his ability to help students and their parents get through the paperwork associated with different forms, including government forms. Paul blogs regularly at Paul Wrubel’s Room 72 and you can follow him on Twitter: @paulwrubel.

10. Don Betterton

If you are looking for someone with a wide field of knowledge in college planning, Don Betterton is a good pick. He was the director of financial aid at Princeton, and he has years of experience related to college funding and college planning. He is a Certified College Planner, and well versed in all aspects of education planning. You can find him at Betterton College Planning.

11. Lawrence Burt

If you are looking for someone with a great deal of experience, Dr. Lawrence Burt might be able to help. He is the president of Over The Bridge Services, LLC, a company designed to help students reach their college goals with the help of financial aid. He is on the advisory board of the National Institute of Certified College Planners, and part of Get College Funding. You can find him on LinkedIn.

12. Rick Darvis

The founder of Solutions for College, Rick Darvis, is a CPA and Certified College Planning Specialist. He is also the developer of college planning and funding software for financial planners. He is a nationally recognized expert who has been consulted by media outlets and others. He is also an author of books on financial planning and college funding.

13. Felicia Gopaul

Felicia Gopaul is a well-known college financial planning expert. She has made many appearances, and started the College Funding Resource. When she became sick, her brother took over the business, but Felicia is still sought as an expert. As a CFP and a CCPS, she has insights into arranging your finances so that you can pay for college. You can find her on Twitter, @feliciagopaul.

14. Jamie Dickenson

This Certified Education Planner, Jamie Dickenson, knows what it takes to get into college — and how to pay for it. She has experience helping families plot the treacherous course toward college, including how you can plan for the costs of college. You can find her at JamieDickenson.com and on Facebook.

15. Estelle Meskin

Estelle Meskin is skilled at helping students find the right college for them. It is important to note that she helps with various areas of college planning, including financial aid, you can get an idea of which colleges match your financial situation. Estelle is a Certified Educational Planner and a college coach. She can help you find the right match. Look for her at EstelleMeskin.com.

16. Bev Taylor

Founder of The Ivy Coach, Bev Taylor is experienced in aspects of planning for an Ivy League education. She can help you learn how to find the right college, as well as how to combat the rising costs of college tuition. Bev has presented a number of workshops and seminars around the country, and is considered an expert in the field of college planning.

17. Ken Clark

If you are interested in learning how to save for college, Ken Clark might be able to help. Ken Clark is a Certified Financial Planner, and the About.com expert focusing on Saving for College. He is also the author of a book about getting out of debt. You can find him at KenClarkCFP.com.

Everyone wants to know what universities and colleges are the best. It’s hard to figure that information out, though, if you don’t have a way to compare different colleges and universities. Unfortunately, it can be a lot of work to find information on each institution of your choice. The good news is that there are plenty of other people who are interested in helping you out with that. College rankings are released regularly, aimed at providing you with an at-a-glance way to compare different colleges and universities. If you are interested in seeing comparisons of programs, costs and other criteria, here is a great list of 2011 college and university rankings:

National University Rankings

National University Rankings, from U.S. News and World Report, offers a look at major national universities. These universities include such schools as Harvard (#1) and UNLV (no published ranking). Offers a look at public and private institutions throughout the country. Includes basic information on the schools, which can help you quickly and easily make comparisons.

College Rankings

If you don’t mind paying for in-depth rankings, College Rankings from The Princeton Review can be a good choice. Different rankings include schools by type, academics, professors, demographics, location, extracurriculars and more. A complete list of the best schools in the country.

America’s Best Colleges

Forbes has its own ranking of America’s Best Colleges. Forbes puts Princeton at #1 and Harvard only comes in at #3 on this list. You can compare the rankings, and see how the Forbes ranking differs from the rankings offered by U.S. News. It’s an interesting exercise in college ranking options.

Best Values in Public Colleges

You don’t have to pay an Ivy League price to get a good college education. Kiplinger offers Best Values in Public Colleges. This ranking offers 100 schools that can help you compare what’s available out there. It looks at the costs involved, and the education you get for the money, as well as the financial aid offered to students. A great resource for the value conscious.

2010 – 2011 College Rankings

MyChances.net has created a ranking system based on what it calls Elo points. Its 2010 – 2011 College Rankings offers a look at student admissions. You can look at the acceptance rate to get an idea of what your chances of getting in are. Also includes cost of tuition, as well as information about standardized tests. An interesting way to rank colleges.

Judging the Law Schools

Thomas M. Cooley Law School has been release rankings for more than a decade. You get the latest report on Judging the Law Schools, and find out which are the best. 40 factors are used to judge, each one with equal weight. That way, you can get a more accurate view of which law schools really are the best when it comes to educating future lawyers.

Global MBA Rankings 2011

The Financial Times offers a look at the best business schools in the whole world. If you are interested in a MBA that can impress anyone, anywhere, the Global MBA Rankings 2011 can help you make a decision. This ranking includes weighted salary, so you can get an idea of what to expect upon graduation.

The Best Business Schools

Bloomberg Businessweek has taken the numbers from 2010 to provide you with a look at what is coming for 2011 in The Best Business Schools. Looks at best schools in the U.S., as well as top global business schools. Includes plenty of programs, including full-time and part-time. You can also find information on distance programs and undergraduate programs, in addition to on-site MBA.

Best Graduate Schools

U.S. News and World Report once again proves that it is determined to dominate in the college rankings game. The Best Graduate Schools rankings tackles grad schools from different disciplines. You can look at engineering, business, law, medicine, education, science, public affairs and more. A great resource if you are looking for help pinpointing the best schools in your particular discipline.

The Times Higher Education World University Rankings

Get a ranking of the top 200 universities in the world. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings provides insights into where you might fit on a global stage. Harvard takes the #1 spot in this ranking, and four other schools from the U.S. round out the top 5.

Academic Ranking of World Universities

You can an even greater basis of comparison when you visit the Academic Ranking of World Universities. This ranking includes 500 universities from around the world. You can look at schools by subject, including math, physics, business and more. An interactive map makes it easy to learn more about universities by region.

Ranking Web of World Universities

The Ranking Web of World Universities is an interesting ranking that provides information based on web policy. It is designed to help colleges and universities improve their web policies. You can also get an idea of how web-friendly an institution is by paying attention to this ranking.

Community College Rankings

The latest version of the Washington Monthly’s Community College Rankings was released last summer, and a new one should be forthcoming this summer. This ranking helps you figure out which community colleges are the best. An interesting resource for those who are interested in attending community college for decent academics, and to save some money during the first couple of years of higher education.

The Best Online Universities

OEDb offers a look at the best online universities with their rankings (Click here to see the full list). If you are interested in learning more about distance education, and which online programs are the best, you can head here. You can look at overall results, or at metric data to get a better breakdown. If you know you will be looking online for your education, this isn’t a bad ranking to start with.

College Football Class Rankings 2011

If you are into athletics, the College Football Class Rankings 2011 from ESPN is the place to go. Choose a school based on its football program, and you could enjoy the college sports experience of your dreams. A cool take on college rankings.

Top Party Schools 2011

If you are into partying, you can use the Top Party Schools of 2011 to figure out where to go. You can also get a look at the worst party schools in this ranking, as well as the schools with the most beer drinkers, most hard liquor drinkers, most potheads and the schools whose students study the least. Plenty of rankings to go around on this one.

You may already be familiar with college sports stats offered by mainstream media such as ESPN and CBS Sports; however, you may find that lone wolf sports fanatics and obsessed data geeks could have more obscure records waiting for you online. Additionally, while football and basketball have garnered much attention in the collegiate sports realm, other obscure sports such as water polo and snowboarding also have their merits. Hence this list of 50 essential sites for any college sports fan who craves some intense stats and rankings.

General Sports Stats

1. ACC: The Atlantic Coast Conference sports fan can find stats, rankings, teams and much more at this Web site.
2. Big 10 Conference: Learn more about the men’s and women’s sports at this Big Ten site.
3. Big 12 Sports: The Big 12 Conference, despite being one of the youngest conferences in America, embarks on its 15th season in 2010-11.
4. College Sports Matchups: CSM offers all the significant news for your team in one place, no matter if it’s from the ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, PAC-10 or SEC.
5. Hickok Sports: Not a fancy site, but one filled with tons of information about every sport imaginable from college to pro.
6. NAIA: This is the official site for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, and provides a different perspective on college athletes and their various sports.
7. NCAA: Every sport imaginable within the National Collegiate Athletic Association is listed here, including legislation and governance, stats and records.
8. NJCAA: The National Junior College Athletic Association offers stats, reports, award winners and more at this site.
9. SEC Sports Fan: This site provides perspective on the Southeastern Conference that you can get nowhere else, including an overview of every major college sport in that arena.
10. STATS: STATS provides unparalleled coverage of 234 sports including real-time scores, historical sports info and AP editorial.
11. StatSheet: Follow news and stats, build your own charts and read analysis at this site.
12. StatTweets: Use Twitter to follow just the teams you are interested in and to interact with each account to retrieve team and player stats dynamically.
13. Warren Nolan: Get your fill of college stats and ratings for basketball, football, baseball and softball.
14. Women’s Sports Foundation: Look to this site for stats such as gender studies and more for a variety of sports at all levels and age groups.

Baseball and Basketball

15. Baseball America: This link takes you straight to the college section of this site, where you can find news, trackers, stats, scores and more for teams across America.
16. Baseline Stats: This site is devoted to college basketball statistics.
17. Black College Baseball: Do the conference “Quick Pick” to learn more about your division, team and individual player.
18. Boyd’s World: Enjoy easy and simple college baseball ratings, analysis, and “the occasional opinion.”
19. Bracket Science: Pete Tiernan has been using stats to analyze March Madness for 19 years. His insights into the NCAA tournament and college basketball stats can help you build a better bracket.
20. College Baseball 360: Enjoy schedules, stats, polls and live coverage of all your favorite teams.
21. College Baseball Insider: This is the total college baseball site, filled with NCAA stats, journals, team links and scores and schedules.
22. Pomeroy Ratings and Stats: Enjoy the blog and drink up the college basketball ratings and stats found at this site.
23. Society for American Baseball Research: SABR’s mission is to foster the study of baseball past and present, and to provide an outlet for educational, historical and research information about the game.
24. SR College Basketball: Get schedules and stats for every D-1 college football team in the country as well as information on bowl games, coaches, conference standings, poll results, and more.
25. The Baseball Cube: This site goes from high schools and minor leaguers to college and beyond. Find stats as well as fantasy analysis tools.

Football

26. CFBStats: Get your college football stats here, from national to conferences, and by teams and players.
27. Chris Stassen’s Football Search: Chris Stassen has several programs to access a database of all college football scores viewed by a variety of methods.
28. College BCS: Learn everything you need to know about the Bowl Championship Series in football. This site is known for scoops, and you can subscribe for a fee.
29. College Football Data Warehouse: This site focuses on the historical data of college football, including all-time records of all division 1-A teams, national champs and conference champions.
30. D3 Football: This is your main source for Division III football information from news to awards, stats and rankings.
31. Football Outsiders: Football Outsiders brings you a series of brand new, in-depth statistics you can’t find anywhere else.
32. Max Emfinger: If you want to know the future of college football, take a look at the national voice for high school football recruiting and the famous Mears Index ratings.

Track and Field

33. Athletic.net: This site carries collegiate track and field and cross country stats. Schools sign in to log their stats so you can see first-hand results.
34. Direct Athletics: Based in Boston, MA, DirectAthletics provides online entry services and Web-based automation tools for data-intensive sports such as swimming, track & field and road racing.
35. Runner Space Collegiate: Check out rankings, compare teams and learn more about cross, indoor and track nationals.
36. USATF: USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States.
37. U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association: Get into this site to learn more about team rankings, polls, results and much more from a different perspective.

Misc. Stats

38. Bad Jocks: Bad boys, bad girls…whatcha gonna do? Read about them, from high school to pros, at this blog.
39. Coach Rey’s Volleyball Stats: This link leads straight to the stats at Coach Rey’s site. But, be sure to browse through the rest of the site to hone your game or to learn how the game is won.
40. College and Junior Tennis: Get college results and watch the junior rankings for possible drafts.
41. College Tennis Online: Dig into rankings, teams and more at this site dedicated solely to college tennis.
42. Collegiate Water Polo Association: Find schedules and results as well as stats and profiles for college teams across America.
43. Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association: A rare look at specific stats for eastern college ski clubs.
44. Inside LaCrosse: From college to elite, this site covers the country from stats to recruiting.
45. LaxPower: Are you into high school and college lacrosse? This site carries all the stats you might need for this sport.
46. Podium Sports Journal: This online journal provides credible and practical and cutting-edge information on best practices in mental training and conditioning.
47. Sports Are 80 Percent Mental: If you want stats and information on developing the mental side of sports, visit this site. All sports are covered.
48. Sweat Science: Sweat Science is an online extension of the Jockology column in the Globe and Mail newspaper, which examines exercise and athletic performance through the lens of scientific research.
49. USCHO: Enjoy stats and rankings for D-1 Men and D-III mean and women’s hockey.
50. USCSA: The USCSA is the sports federation for collegiate team ski racing and snowboard competition in America.

Not only is the college application process competitive, it is stressful and often disappointing. But, compared to a decade ago, student applicants today have a wide variety of tools available to them to help them stand out to the colleges of their choices. In this list of 25 free Web apps that you can use to manage your college search and applications, you will find full-service Web sites, simple search sites, application essay help and sites that contain actual applications for colleges and for the college financial aid process.

All the links below are listed in alphabetical order within categories to make it easy for you to gain access to these sites. The luxury behind using Web apps is that you can gain access to these sites from just about any computer. Most of the sites allow you to save your searches as well as incomplete applications so you can return to them later to finish your work.

Full Service

1. College Board: Use MatchMaker to generate a list of colleges that match your preferences in this search. Use QuickFinder to research a college that you already have in mind. This site offers a wide variety of information, links, articles and advice on how to make you college search more productive.
2. College Confidential: Here you’ll find hundreds of pages of articles about choosing a college, getting into the college you want, how to pay for it, and much more. Search, learn about college admissions and decide how you might pay for college.
3. College Data: This is an online college advisory service provided for students and their parents by 1st Financial Bank. You can Choose, prepare, apply and pay for college with these advice and tools.
4. CollegeNET: You can search for colleges, set up your own board to explore resources and apply to weekly drawings for scholarships at this site for college students.
5. CollegeToolKit: Use this site to help you with every step of your college application process. Search for colleges, scholarships and loans and read articles about careers.
6. CollegeView: This site contains a college search, information about financial aid, tools for the application process and as well as a college recruiting service. They help to bring educational and corporate recruiters together with the college-bound students they want to reach.
7. EdRef College Search Directory: Get free detailed information on thousands of US colleges, universities, and post-secondary trade schools. School info includes admission requirements, degrees & majors, contact info, test scores, student diversity, religious affiliations, athletics, tuition expenses, etc.
8. My College Calendar: This site provides a college search, college admission information, a calendar so you can keep track of your college admission goals and information about college financing and residences.

Applications Apps

9. FAFSA: Every college student should apply for government loans, grants and scholarships. This is the one-stop shop where you can get this work accomplished. Additionally, once you’ve filled out all the forms, you can indicate which school you want to receive the information.
10. FinAid: This is another great financial application tool for college students. Apply for loans, scholarships, savings plans, and look into military aid. This site also includes applications for aid.
11. More Than Grades: This free app is a web-based platform for students to create customized profiles for review by college admissions officers.
12. The Common Application: Once completed online or in print, copies of the Application for Undergraduate Admission can be sent to any number of over 400 participating colleges.

College Essays

13. 123 Help Me! Search for essays that are free, rated or unrated, term papers and research papers at this site. You’ll pay for better papers.
14. Admissions Essay Writing Course: This free course provides an in-depth look at how to write a college essay for your application. It is offered by Peterson’s EssayEdge. They supply editing services for a fee.
15. Admissions Essays: For over a decade this company has been committed to helping applicants create the most powerful and effective essays to ensure that they stand out from the crowd when applying to the schools of their choice. Free essays are available.
16. Application Essay Writing 101: The course contains six lessons and over 100 pages of content. Each of the lessons should help you with a different portion of the essay for your college application.
17. GradeSaver: While GradeSaver offers high-quality study guides, they also provide literature essays and school papers. They have been mentioned in several national newspapers for their free essays and sample essays.
18. My Chances: Get free essay feedback from over 25,000 current students and enjoy the college application predictions — will you be accepted? This site was created by Yale and Standford graduates.

Searches

19. Campus Compare: Discover 4000 community colleges, state colleges, traditional colleges, universities, and more. Dive into the College Current to see college videos, student reviews, and college information on Twitter.
20. Cappex: Create a free profile and see which colleges fit your college dreams, your financial position and your grade levels. Colleges that are interested in you can contact you through this site.
21. College Quest: CollegeQuest is a unique college search service provided at no cost to prospective students. You can talk with advisors who can help you find the right college, university or certification program for your goals, schedule and lifestyle.
22. Get Educated: Find degrees and compare colleges with this tool. You also can get expert advice on financial aid, careers and diploma mills.
23. myUSearch: myUsearch is an unbiased online resource dedicated to objectively matching students with colleges and providing fair and accurate college enrollment information. Fill out an application and the site will match you up with various colleges.
24. Private Colleges and Universities: This college search allows you to view information from over 4,000 colleges and universities and directly request information from all of our member schools.
25. The International Education Site: Use this site to find free study abroad information, advice and opportunities. This site also includes a universal application.

You may know that ACT (original abbreviation for American College Testing) is an alternative to the SAT test. You may also know that you have an option of taking both the ACT and the SAT as means to measure your high school achievements and as tools to get into college. But how much more do you know about the ACT? This article may prove to be your ultimate guide to ACT test statistics, with information about the test, the test scores and how those scores are interpreted.

Everett Franklin Lindquist administered ACT for the first time in 1959 as competition against the SAT. Historically, the ACT consisted of four tests, including math, reading, English and science reasoning. An optional writing test was added to the ACT in February 2005, and the SAT offered the same option in March that year.

As of 2007, all four-year colleges and universities in the U.S. now accept the ACT as well as the SAT. The SAT historically had dominated schools on both East and West coasts, while the ACT dominated in Illinois and Colorado (both states incorporated the ACT as a mandatory test in 2001). While students, in the past, often were denied acceptance at various schools for taking the ACT rather than the SAT, colleges have broadened their acceptance in efforts to gain more students across a broader geographic region.

SAT takers dropped by nearly 10,000 students in 2007, while the ACT test increased by more than 20,000 students. And, while SAT national average scores dropped, ACT scores rose significantly (see test takers, state by state in 2007). It is unknown whether marketing, acceptance or changes in tests are to blame for the changes in these numbers.

Subject test scores in all four sections of ACT range from 1 to 36. The English, mathematics, and reading tests also have subscores that range from 1 to 18. The composite score equals the average of all four tests. Students who take the writing test receive a writing score that ranges from 2 to 12, a “combined English/writing score,” based upon the writing and English scores, ranges from 1 to 36 and one to four comments on the essay from the essay scorers. The writing score does not affect the composite score. The test may include an experimental section that may be a short version of any of the four major sections.

On the ACT, each question correctly answered is worth one raw point. Unlike the SAT, there is no penalty for marking incorrect answers on the multiple-choice part of the test. Although the ACT often is considered easier than the SAT, the time allotted to take the ACT is shorter. The SAT is structured so that the test taker has about one minute to answer each question; the ACT allots, for instance, only 45 minutes for a 75-question English test. The highest possible ACT score is 36, compared to the SAT 1600.

The main difference between the SAT and the ACT is that the latter test measures the student’s knowledge learned in high school, whereas the SAT tries to determine “innate” abilities. But, the difficulty in the ACT comes from its questions that require more specific knowledge of any given subject. The ACT requires knowledge, the SAT requires test-taking skills.

According to ACT, a record 1.3 million high school seniors of the 2007 graduating class took the ACT test and earned an average composite score of 21.2 on the college admission and placement exam, up from 20.8 in 2003 and from 21.1 in 2006. Like the SAT, the ACT also employs a percentile based upon the scores. For instance, if you score a 24 on your ACT composite score, this score implies that your percentile score is 75, or that you scored better than 75 percent of the other students who took the ACT test that same year. These percentiles are broken down by test as well as pulled together in a composite.

While many critics have accused the SAT designers of cultural bias toward the white and wealthy with their questions and the cost of the test, the ACT — while still costly — has been regarded as the underdog’s hero. In fact, ACT provided $6 million worth of free exams in 2007 and budgeted $8 million in free exams for the fiscal year ending in August 2008. Additionally, ACT places an emphasis on serving students with disabilities.

But, in 2007, the Des Moines Sunday Register uncovered salaries paid to the ACT ‘s non-profit board of directors only to learn that those salaries — about $520,000 annually — surpassed the compensation of about 98 percent of nonprofit boards across the U.S. If the IRS deems that a nonprofit is paying an amount in excess of reasonable compensation, the IRS may impose intermediate sanctions on both the individual receiving that salary and the organizational managers who approved it.

Note that it is possible to achieve a perfect score on the ACT, while this is a very rare occurrence for the SAT. Often, those higher scores occur after the student takes the test for the second time. The odds of a higher score with the second test should increase, simply because the test and the testing environment becomes more familiar.

To learn more about ACT scores and percentiles, what they mean, how colleges use them, we’ve prepared a list of links for your convenience. All the links listed below are current, and include some of the latest test scores as well as some historic numbers. This list is categorized by scores and percentiles, and each link is listed alphabetically within those categories.

ACT provides many of the following graphs and information. You can keep up with their yearly accounts at the Web site, with 2009 ACT National and State Scores offered for 2010.

Test Score Information

• 2009 Average ACT Scores by State: You can sort the data in this table by column heading or select a sate to view its complete High School Profile Report in PDF. This table is offered by ACT, and they also offer 2008 and 2007 average scores.
• Average ACT English and Writing Scores by Race/Ethnicity and Gender for students who took ACT Writing [PDF]: Asian American and white American students on average scored highest on English, writing and a composite of both subjects. Females, nationally, scored higher than men, especially in writing.
• Average ACT Scores and Average ACT Score Changes by Common Course Patterns [PDF]: This graph measures scores across all students as well as comparisons by gender.
• Average ACT Composite Scores for Racial/Ethnic Groups by Post-Secondary Educational Aspirations [PDF]: The ACT places an emphasis on educational goals. This graph provides information that shows those aspirations by ethnic group.
• ACT Scores for Ivy League Admissions: This article provides the rundown on what most top universities expect from ACT scores. Use the ACT Comparison Charts link to learn more about specific colleges. However, you might want to check with individual colleges’ Web sites to learn more (see two examples below).
• Ivy League Average ACT Scores: This short list shows the average ACT score required by most Ivy League universities.

Percentile Rank Information

• College Readiness Percents by Common Course Patterns [PDF]: This graph breaks the percentiles down by the four tests, comparing the results on a national scale.
• Percent of Students Meeting ACT College English Readiness Benchmark Scores by Race/Ethnicity [PDF]: This graph shows that American white students are more prepared for college than other ethnic groups (77), with Asian Americans almost equal to the task (76).
• Percent of Students Meeting ACT College Math Readiness Benchmark Scores by Race/Ethnicity [PDF]: This graph shows that Asian Americans are far more ready than any other ethnic group in mathematics.
• Percent of Students Meeting ACT College Reading Readiness Benchmark Scores by Race/Ethnicity [PDF]: This graph, which measures reading readiness, shows that white and Asian Americans are basically equal to this task (62 and 61 respectively).
• Percent of Students Meeting ACT College Science Readiness Benchmark Scores by Race/Ethnicity [PDF]: Once again, Asian Americans pull ahead at 42 with science readiness.
• Percent of Students Meeting ACT College Composite Readiness Benchmark Scores by Race/Ethnicity [PDF]: When comparing a composite, Asian Americans show a 36 percent readiness for college, compared to white American students at 28, which is the next-highest rank.

Other Comparisons and Notes

• ACT/SAT Comparison: This page compares the ACT to the SAT by fees, scores and content.
• ACT and SAT Concordance Tables: Before 2005, ACT and the College Board had periodically produced concordance tables to assist admission officers who wanted to understand how students of comparable ability would score on the two college entrance examinations. Given the changes to both tests, the College Board and ACT are now providing updated concordance tables that are based on the current versions of the two tests.
• College Navigator: Use this government search engine to find colleges and to learn more about their test policies and statistics. You may learn, for instance, that a college has “an open admission policy. Contact the institution for more information.” This means that you do need to contact the college well before test dates to learn whether or not they use SAT or ACT scores for first-year admissions. Other colleges, such as Stanford Medical Center, require SAT/ACT scores for admission.
• Colleges Acknowledge SAT and ACT Score Cut-Offs in Admissions: The New York Times reported in 2009 that of those colleges that accept the SAT, one in five said they used particular scores on the test as a “threshold” for admission, at least in some cases; among those using the ACT, one in four described similar cut-offs.
• Distribution of Planned Educational Majors for All Students by College Plans [PDF]: The ACT places a great emphasis on future goals and career plans. This graph shows ethnic group choices broken down by career.
• Harvard Requirements: Harvard requires scores from the SAT or the ACT (with Writing) plus three SAT subject tests, showing no preference between the SAT I and ACT. Test scores among accepted freshmen show: SAT score (25/75 percentile) — 2080-2370; ACT score (25/75 percentile) — 31-35.
• Stanford First-Time, First-Year Admission: This information supplies just one example of how colleges might use ACT in the future. Stanford is using ACT test scores for 2011 admission, which were due in January 2010. Stanford is not using the essay component, but requires the ACT with writing component. They also include scores and percentiles of freshmen applications for both the ACT and the SAT. Note that GPA is a larger factor in acceptance, with 90.13 percent holding a 3.75 or higher GPA.
• SAT and ACT Score Comparison [PDF]: This chart shows comparative scores between the two tests as well as a chart that shows the differences between the tests.

Wacky, interesting, unusual and strange — those words can describe some “easy” college scholarships that are available today. But, while those scholarships might be described as the easiest scholarships to enter, the time and work you might need to apply to find scholarships adds up — as do the odds against your winning any given “easy” scholarship.

Few studies have been conducted on your odds of winning a scholarship. The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), which is conducted every 3-4 years, showed that students at four-year colleges represent 71.5 percent of scholarship recipients in 2003-04 and 77.0 percent of scholarship recipients in 2007-08.

If you further restrict the data to just the students who were enrolled full-time at 4-year institutions, 12.1 percent of students, or about 1 in 8, received scholarships worth $2,223 on average in 2003-04 and 10.6 percent of students, or about 1 in 10, received scholarships worth $2,815 on average in 2007-08. Full-time students at four-year schools represented 63.2 percent of scholarship recipients in 2003-04 and 69.4 percent of scholarship recipients in 2007-08 (breakdown of this information is found at FinAid).

The information shown above means that more students are applying for scholarships, increasing the odds against any one student attaining a scholarship.

But, another study, which shows that the odds for an athletic scholarship do not depend upon participation numbers, applies more to this article…as this article shows that winning a certain scholarship depends more upon the applicant’s ability and skill levels, rather than the number of individuals in the competition.

Preparations

Scholarships provide one of the best ways to pay for your college education, as they do not need to be repaid. Easy scholarships are those that are easy to apply for, easy to understand and take little time for application. But, you must know yourself and you often need information at your fingertips for applications. You can pull together the following information and keep it in a file for easy access:

• Transcript
• Standardized test scores
• Financial aid forms, such as the FAFSA or PROFILE
• Parent’s financial information, including tax returns
• One or more letters of recommendation
• Proof of eligibility (e.g. membership credentials)
• Medical records for student and parents
• Military records for student and parents
• Job and career proof for student and parents

Next, make a file for each scholarship and contest that you enter, noting the entry deadline and end of contest dates. You can do this easily online at Evernote.com.

When you apply for a scholarship or contest for college funds, be sure to read instructions carefully and follow those instructions to the letter. Make copies of everything you do and don’t leave any items blank. Proofread your entry before you hit the “send” button or before you seal it up to send it off in the regular mail. Finally, get all your applications in early and often (some scholarship funds are offered monthly, and you must reapply each month to be in the running). Make a calendar to note these dates so you don’t forget to enter again.

Your preparation and organization can increase the odds that you might win, especially when competing against people who are not organized.

But, the odds of winning scholarship funds when you enter depends upon the number of people who enter a contest in competition with you. If, for instance, you decide to enter an essay contest where hundreds of students enter and no one in your area has ever made the top ten spot since 1947, then the odds may be against you. But, if you never enter the essay contest at all, the odds are 100 percent against you.

Determine Your Categories and Your Odds

Scholarships basically are divided into four categories: contests and sweepstakes, money provided to special groups, money provided for talents and skills and money based upon activities. These categories are covered below, along with the odds of success for each category. The links included in each category lead either to lists of scholarships or specific scholarships that provide an example of what you can find through Web searches.

Contests, Lotteries and Sweepstakes

Contests are easy, some contests are fun to enter, and most are geared to students with less than stellar grade point averages. Some contests might require essays, but the topics usually are preselected. Some contests require an entry form, nothing more.

But, contests and sweepstakes that depend solely upon registration and nothing else are just like lotteries — and the odds are about the same. Single state lotteries usually have odds of about 18 million to 1 while multiple state lotteries have odds as high as 120 million to 1. But, like any other contest, you cannot win if you do not enter, and — unlike the lottery — the only cost to you for these scholarships is your time.

Therefore, use your time wisely by using scholarship search sites that list contests and update them regularly. Some of these sites include:

• Scholarship Hunter: This page contains updated information on contests designed specifically for college students. One contest, for instance, offers $1,000 in a monthly giveaway and up to one year of free tuition with a simple registration.
• Scholarship Lotteries: The odds of winning a free scholarship from these lotteries usually is less than 1 in 10,000 (if well-publicized). Note that FinAid, the author of this information, also states that the odds of winning a scholarship are closer to 1 in 15 if based upon academic, artistic or athletic talents.

Your Characteristics

Are of you Native American or European ancestry? What is your religious preference? Are you legally blind, or over six feet tall or female? All these characteristics provide opportunities to find scholarship money, and the odds against thousands of entries is high. Here are some resources to learn more about these scholarships:

• FinAid Student Profile-Based Aid: This list includes scholarships for international, Canadian, female, older, Jewish and gay students as well as students with disabilities.
• Native American Scholarships: This list offers many scholarships offered to Native Americans. If you are Native American, most often your tribal leaders may have more information available for you.
• Religious Scholarships: These scholarships are very specific and cover a variety of sects and religions. Be sure to check with your local church or regional or nationwide office for further information.
• Scholarships by Ethnic Background: Fastweb offers ethnic-based scholarships that range from African to Vietnamese.

Use your search engine to find more scholarships in all categories listed here. Just use keywords that describe you (one at a time) + scholarship to find results. For example, the keyphrase search, “deaf scholarship” provides links to sites such as Scholarships for the Deaf.

Your Talents, Knowledge and Skills

Are you a skilled writer? Are you an award-winning actor, athlete or artist? Do you have a stellar grade point average? These skills, your efforts, knowledge and talents can land you a scholarship with odds in your favor. Once again, a Web search can yield many more results than shown here.

• Fastweb: Although you might find a few scholarships geared toward characteristics and activities here, most scholarships are geared toward your talents and knowledge (essays, etc.) and skills (art, etc.) This site also lists contests, but — for the most part — they are skill-based contests. Note that, on the page linked here, Fastweb makes the claim that one in eight applicants win scholarships through their site. See the link immediately below for confirmation of this information.
• FinAid Scholarship Searches: Use this page at FinAid to learn more about other scholarship search engines that focus on skills, talents and knowledge. But, you might want to check the FinAid scholarship database quality information to learn more about the best scholarship search engines. Use the top-rated engines first and often.
• Talent Scholarships: This link provides an example of what some colleges may offer to incoming or current students. This shows that your choice of college may influence your ability to earn a scholarship.

Your Activities

Have you been involved in student organizations, community outreach or politics? Do you or your parents belong to a specific club or organizations? You can find many scholarships based upon affirmative action, which targets funds to minorities and low-income families as well in this category.

• Ambassadorial Scholarships: No membership is required in Rotary International, but you are required to attend at least one orientation if it is offered in your region. This site provides just one of hundreds of examples of scholarships offered by organizations for local or regional students.
• FinAid Scholarships for Average Students: We’re not sure that “average” students might want to apply for these great scholarships, which focus on community activities, entrepreneurship and creativity.
• National Black Police Association Scholarship [PDF]: This scholarship’s guidelines may not fit you, but that means that you inability to apply narrows the odds for those who do fit the guidelines. This is just one example of a number of associations that offer scholarships that are “easy” to obtain if you fit the specifications.

Conclusion

Although some scholarship opportunities may seem easy, the odds against you winning many “easy” scholarships may be against you. Therefore, work smart, consider the odds and find scholarships that fit your personality, goals, talents, abilities and your family and health history to lower those odds.

The following resources contain more tips to follow to put the odds of winning in your favor — making your search for a scholarship truly easy:

• Eight Steps to Winning a Scholarship: Offered by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administration.
• Less Competitive Scholarships: FinAid provides tips on how to make scholarship competitions less competitive. With the odds averaging about one in eight for an average four-year college scholarship, FinAid suggests you find scholarships that are less competitive — because fewer students qualify for them. They show you where to find them.
• Upping Your Odds of Winning: An excellent article provided by U.S. News & World Report. Pay special attention to the “Zig where you expect your competition will zag” option on writing essays. This is a hint on how to strengthen essay-writing skills.

How many people has the RIAA sued for sharing copyrighted content? We may never know. In February 2006, the RIAA stopped reporting the number of copyright infringement lawsuits it has filed. As of that date, 17,587 people had been sued. Despite all their efforts, RIAA has still lost on a large scale and most people who illegally download music still don’t care about copyright laws. Nowhere else is this attitude more prevalent than in college. College-aged men and women continue to download music at startling rates. Campuses all around the country, from expensive Ivy League schools, to less expensive state institutions are dealing with increased pressure from the RIAA to catch students illegally downloading. Here is a visual look at RIAA’s war against college students who share files online.

Click the infographic below to enlarge

The SAT Reasoning Test (formerly called the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test) is a standardized test for U.S. college admissions. The SAT is owned, published and developed by the College Board, which is a non-profit organization that claims the SAT can determine whether or not a person is ready for college. But, how valid is this test, and how well do you need to score to enter the college of your choice. Even further — do you really need to take the SAT?

The SAT consists of three major sections: critical reading, mathematics and writing. Each section receives a score on the scale of 200-800, and all scores are in multiples of ten. Total scores are calculated by adding up scores across the three sections. All total, the test contains three hours and forty-five minutes of actual times section, although most test times run over four hours. This time includes administration of the test, including orientation, material distribution and completion of non-test sections such as the biography.

Students usually receive their scores about three weeks after taking the test, or six weeks for mailed paper scores. In addition to a score, students receive a percentile of each scaled score, and students and colleges — in the past — have placed a high value on both the scores and the percentiles. In some cases, a point or two or a percentage point might mean the inability to attend a college of the student’s choice.

Over the past decades, many critics have accused the SAT designers of cultural bias toward the white and wealthy. Additionally, in 2005, MIT writing director Les Perelman plotted SAT essay lengths versus essay scores on the new SAT and found a high correlation between longer essays and higher scores. The argument here is that the longer essay could be gauged as a good essay, even without reading it, as the longer essay consistently brought higher scores.

Since SAT test preparation is a highly lucrative field, since the College Board charges for the test, and since many students feel intimidated by the test, a growing number of liberal arts colleges have responded to criticisms of the SAT by joining an SAT optional movement. These colleges do not require SAT scores as an admissions requirement.

To learn more about SAT scores and percentiles, what they mean, how colleges use them and the support versus criticisms of the test, we’ve prepared a list of links for your convenience. All these links are current, and include some of the latest test scores as well as historic numbers in some links. This list is categorized, and each link is listed alphabetically within those categories.

Tests Score Information

• Average SAT Scores for Colleges: This article and chart show that the average SAT score to get into many schools has risen over the years. While the SAT was originally designed to provide students with equal opportunities, those ideals, according to this site, seem to have fallen by the wayside. This list is divided into scores by test category.
• College-Bound Seniors 2009: College Board offers state-by-state information on how 2009 college-bound seniors scored across the nation.
• IES Fast Facts: The National Center for Education Studies provides tables that show the SAT mean scores of college-bound seniors by race/ethnicity from 1990-91 through 2007-08. . Between 1997–98 and 2004–05, the mathematics SAT average score increased by 8 points, but it declined by 5 points between 2004–05 and 2007–08. The critical reading average score was 3 points lower in 2007–08 than in 1997–98.
• Ivy League SAT Scores: Harvard, Yale and More: University Language Services provides a run-down on average SAT scores for all major Ivy League schools.
• NYU SAT Information and Statistics: New York University’s science department blog provides information about why they continue to use the SAT as well as offering score trends. According to this information, fifty percent of high school seniors usually score somewhere between 1400 and 1500 on the three combined sections. The score ranges listed here are meant to show the “median 50 percent” applicant score range for each college, a list that includes many Ivy-League choices.
• SAT Score-Use Practices by Participating Institution [PDF]: This file contains a list of schools that require at least some portion of the SAT test, offered by the College Board.
• SATscores.US: This site is dedicated to making SAT scores and percentile rates for colleges, universities and Ivy-league schools transparent.

Percentile Rank Information

• Composite SAT Percentile Ranks for Males, Females and Total Group [PDF]: Learn about 2009 college-bound senior statistics on percentiles for test totals of all three categories in the SAT.
• Critical Reading, Mathematics and Writing Percentile Ranks by Gender and Ethnic Groups [PDF]: Offered by the College Board, this information covers 2009 college-bound seniors.
• SAT Percentile Ranks, 2009 College-Bound Seniors [PDF]: College Board offers these statistics, which show percentiles by all three test categories.
• SAT Percentile Ranks for Males, Females and Total Group – Critical Reading [PDF]: This list, compiled by College Board for 2009, provides information on how young men and women stack up according to total percentile ranks for the critical reading portion of the test.
• SAT Percentile Ranks for Males, Females and Total Group – Mathematics [PDF]: This list, compiled by College Board for 2009, provides information on how young men and women stack up according to total percentile ranks for the math portion of the test.
• SAT Percentile Ranks for Males, Females and Total Group – Writing [PDF]: This list, compiled by College Board for 2009, provides information on how young men and women stack up according to total percentile ranks for the writing portion of the test.
• SAT Test Scores of Nontraditional Test-Takers [PDF]: These test scores rank seventh- and eight-graders and adults who took the SAT.

Arguments for SAT

Although most of these links lead back to the company that offers the SAT, the colleges that continue to use this test as a measurement for student abilities can be assumed to support the SAT as well.

• Differential Validity and Prediction of the SAT [PDF]: A defense on the differential validity for the new SAT, which was introduced in 2005.
• Validity of the SAT for Predicting First-Year College Grade Point Average [PDF]: The results show that the changes made to the SAT did not substantially change how well the test predicts first-year college performance.
• What the SAT-optional Colleges Don’t Tell You: While the SAT-optional movement is gaining strength, is it the right way to go, and are colleges being honest about their motives? Find out.

SAT Optional Arguments

• Achievement Versus Aptitude Tests in College Admissions: In 2001, Richard C. Atkinson, the president of the University of California, argued against using the SAT I as a means to measure student abilities in college. This document contains statistics as well as alternative solutions.
• FairTest: This site belongs to the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, and it includes fact sheets, a list of colleges with SAT-optional environments and other information that argues against the SAT and other standardized tests.
• Should SATs Matter? Time Magazine covers Atkinson’s fiery speech (linked above) and questions the validity of the SAT.
• The anti-SAT argument reaches Wake Forest University: This story is about how this North Carolina university is revamping its policy to attract a more diverse pool of applicants.

What do you look for in a prospective college or university? If you research accreditation, size and location of the school, then you’re doing great. But, you might also want to learn more about the professors who teach at the school of your choice. Are they published? Is their work cited in other scholarly publications? Are they famous — perhaps, even infamous?

The following list of twenty-five most famous college teachers who currently teach today contains presidents, prime ministers, poets, economists and activists. Some professors are well-established and internationally known and teach at Ivy League colleges. Others are quickly making names for themselves in fields that may interest you, and still other teach at smaller colleges. The list is in alphabetical order by surname, and each link leads to a Web page that displays his or her status.

1. Albright, Madeleine
   • Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service, Washington, D.C.
   • Mortara Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy
   • Madeleine Albright was the first woman ever to hold the post of U.S. Secretary of State from 1997-2001. Before this stint, in 1982, she joined the faculty of Georgetown University as a research professor of international affairs and director of women students enrolled in the foreign service program at the university’s School of Foreign Service. On May 13, 2007, two days before her 70th birthday, Albright received an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
2. Angelou, Maya
   • Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
   • Reynolds Professorship of American Studies
   • Angelou is an American autobiographer and poet who has been called “America’s most visible black female autobiographer.” Angelou has been highly honored for her body of work, including being awarded over 30 honorary degrees and the nomination of a Pulitzer Prize for her 1971 volume of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water ‘Fore I Diiie. Since 1991, Angelou has taught at Wake Forest University as recipient of the first lifetime Reynolds Professorship of American Studies, and since the 1990s she has made around eighty appearances a year on the lecture circuit. The Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest University School of Medicine is addressing one of the most compelling demographic trends in modern American history — the increasing diversity of the U.S. population.
3. Armstrong, J. Scott
   • Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
   • Professor of Marketing
   • This professor is internationally known for his pioneering work on forecasting methods. He is author of Long-Range Forecasting, the most frequently cited book on forecasting methods, and Principles of Forecasting, voted the “Favorite Book — First 25 Years” by researchers and practitioners associated with the International Institute of Forecasters. Recently, Armstrong challenged the former vice president to a 10-year bet, in which $10,000 from the two would be set aside in escrow as Gore pits his forecast of how much global temperature will increase during that time against a so-called “naive model,” in which temperature would be expected to stay the same.
4. Ayers, Bill
   • College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago
   • Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar
   • William Charles Ayers became even more famous than usual when a controversy arose over his contacts with candidate Barack Obama during the 2009 presidential campaign. Ayers is known for his current work in education reform, curriculum, and instruction. However, he was involved with the development of the Weather Underground in the 1960s, and this involvement has come back to haunt him. Ayers earned an M.Ed from Bank Street College, an M.Ed from Teachers College, Columbia University and an Ed. D from Teachers College, Columbia University.
5. Aznar, Jose Maria
   • Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Policy at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
   • Distinguished Scholar in the Practice of Global Leadership
   • Aznar served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. Born in Madrid in 1953, Aznar studied law at the Complutense University of Madrid, and by 1990 he was confirmed as leader of the People’s Party. On 19 April 1995, Aznar’s armored car prevented him from being assassinated by an ETA bomb. In his Georgetown position, he teaches two seminars per semester on contemporary European politics and trans-Atlantic relationships in the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service. Additionally, he teaches a course on political leadership, convened by Professor Carol Lancaster, with former Polish President Kwasniewski.
6. Carter, Jimmy
   • Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
   • University Distinguished Professor
   • After serving as the thirty-ninth president of the United States, James Earl Carter, Jr. became University Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and founded The Carter Center. Actively guided by President Carter, the nonpartisan and nonprofit Center addresses national and international issues of public policy. The Carter Center fellows, associates, and staff join with President Carter in efforts to resolve conflict, promote democracy, protect human rights, and prevent disease and other afflictions. On December 10, 2002, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to Mr. Carter “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts…”
7. Chomsky, Noam
   • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
   • Institute Professor and Professor Emeritus of Linguistics
   • Chomsky is well known in the academic and scientific community as one of the fathers of modern linguistics. Since the 1960s, he has become known more widely as a political dissident, an anarchist and a libertarian socialist intellectual. Chomsky earned a BA in 1949 and an MA in 1951 from the University of Pennsylvania. Among his achievements and memberships, Chomsky is a member of the Faculty Advisory Board of MIT Harvard Research Journal.
8. Craven, Jay
   • Marlboro College, Vermont
   • Professor of film studies
   • Jay Craven is a Vermont film director and screenwriter, known for telling local stories on a modest budget, often with award-winning results. He has adapted several of the novels of author Howard Frank Mosher to film, and uses local actors — including a regular troupe of Vermont actors within Tantoo Cardinal and Rusty DeWees; however, he also has worked with Rip Torn and Kris Kristofferson. Craven also runs Kingdom County Productions, his own production company and founded Catamounts Arts, a Vermont community arts organization in 1975
9. Gates, Henry Louis, Jr.
   • Harvard University
   • W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Studies
   • Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., one of the nation’s pre-eminent African-American scholars, is an American literary critic, educator, scholar, writer, editor and public intellectual. As a prominent black intellectual, Gates has focused throughout his career on building academic institutions to study black culture. Additionally, he has worked to bring about social, educational, and intellectual equality for black Americans. While Gates already has made a name for himself, he became very well known when he was arrested at his home by Cambridge police investigating a possible break-in in 2009. Charges were dropped, but the arrest garnered such national attention that it led to an invitation by President Barack Obama to the White House for a beer to discuss race relations.
10. Gore, Al
    • Middle Tennessee State University
    • Teaches course, “Community Building: A Comprehensive Family CenteredApproach.”
    • Al Gore, former Vice-President and environmental activist, joined the faculty of Middle Tennessee State University in January 2001, and he holds similar teaching appointments at Columbia University, New York, and Fisk University, Nashville. At MTSU, he is a visiting professor under the auspices of the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies. The Gore Research Center on the Middle Tennessee State University campus houses the official papers of Gore’s late father as well as those of a number of other individuals.
11. Grandin, Temple
    • Colorado State University
    • Professor of Animal Science
    • Perhaps more well known for her autism, Dr. Grandin also has made her mark as a a philosophical leader of the animal welfare movement. Her business website has entire sections on how to improve standards in slaughter plants and livestock farms. In 2004 she won a “Proggy” award, in the “visionary” category, from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Grandin has also been featured on major television programs, such as ABC’s Primetime Live, the Today Show, and Larry King Live. Dr. Grandin is a designer of livestock handling facilities that have been used throughout the world. All this from a woman who could not talk until she was age three.
12. Green, Dennis
    • San Diego State University
    • Teaches course, “Community Building: A Comprehensive Family Centered Approach.”
    • Former coach of the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals, Green now teaches the Sports Business Management MBA program’s Strategic Management course. Green graduated cum laude with a BA in finance from The University of Iowa. According to Green, he was planning to be a high school teacher if his football career didn’t pan out. During the semester, students will work on a major project where they will develop a group presentation suggesting a viable solution to the stadium improvement issue currently facing the city of San Diego and the San Diego Chargers. The proposed solution will be based on classroom interaction with local experts involved with the issue and their own research conducted outside the classroom.
13. Johnson, Daniel K. N.
    • Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado
    • Associate Professor in Economics and Business
    • This associate professor has made his claim to fame with what was, at first, an exploratory project in 2000. He wanted to see whether economic variables could predict the medal winnings for each country in the 2000 summer Olympics. For each summer and winter Olympics since that year, Mr. Johnson’s medal count predictions have been remarkably accurate — to 97 percent. He was written up in the Wall St. Journal in 2008, and he has offered his predictions for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Johnson earn his MSc at London School of Economics, and his Ph.D. at Yale University in 1998.
14. Lee, Spike
    • Kanbar Institute of Film & Television at Tisch School of the Arts in New York City
    • Artistic director of the Graduate Film Program and the Amy and Joseph Perella Chair
    • Widely regarded as a premier African-American filmmaker, Lee is a forerunner in the ‘do it your self’ school of independent film. His debut film, the independently produced comedy She’s Gotta Have It, earned him the Prix de Jeunesse Award at the Cannes Film festival in 1986. He attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, and received his Master of Fine Arts degree in film production at the New York University’s Tisch School of Arts in Manhattan. Lee has won an Emmy Award and was nominated for two Academy Awards.
15. Lessig, Lawrence
    • Harvard Law School
    • Director of the Edmond J. Safra Foundation Center for Ethics, Professor of Law
    • Before his current position at Harvard, Lessig founded Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society and taught at the University of Chicago Law School. Lessig earned a BA in economics and a BS in management from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in philosophy from Cambridge, and a JD from Yale. He has received honorary degrees from The University of Amsterdam, Athabasca University, and The Georgian-American University. has won numerous awards, including the Free Software Foundation’s Freedom Award, and was named one of Scientific American’s Top 50 Visionaries. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society.
16. Liebler, Michael Lynn
    • College of Liberal Arts & Science, Wayne State University, Detroit
    • English Professor, Senior Lecturer
    • M. L. Liebler recently was honored for his support for local writers and poets with the prestigious 1020 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Awards. The award is bestowed by Poets and Writers magazine to authors who give generously to other writers. Liebler has been at Wayne State University since 1980, and travels around the world — as far as Russia — to perform music and poetry for the State Department. In 2005, he was named The first Poet Laureate of St. Clair Shores, Mich., his hometown. Liebler received his master’s degree from Oakland University.
17. Maltin, Leonard
    • School of Cinematic Arts at University of Southern California
    • Adjunct Faculty
    • Maltin is an American film critic and film historian. He has authored several mainstream books on the cinema, focusing on nostalgic, celebratory narratives. Maltin is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s shortest movie review; his two-star review of the 1948 musical Isn’t It Romantic? consists of the word “No.” Leonard Maltin teaches the popular Film Symposium course that features screenings of current releases followed by interviews with writers, actors, producers, directors and other industry professionals, many of whom are USC alumni.
18. Mankiw, N. Greg
    • Harvard University
    • Macroeconomics professor
    • From 2003 to 2005, Mankiw was the chairman of President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisors. His publications are ranked among the most influential of the over 22,000 economists registered with RePEc. He has written two popular college-level textbooks: one in intermediate macroeconomics, and the more famous Principles of Economics. More than one million copies of the books have been sold in seventeen languages. His blog has managed to gain a readership that extends far beyond students of introductory economics.
19. Mann, Michael E.
    • Department of Meteorology and Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Pennsylvania State University
    • Professor, Director of Earth System Science Center
    • Mann was appointed professor at Pennsylvania State University in 2009, and since 2005 has been director of the university’s interdepartmental Earth System Science Center. He previously taught at the University of Virginia, in the Department of Environmental Sciences from 1999–2005. He is best known for his paleoclimate ‘hockey stick’ reconstructions of climatic fluctuations over the past several millennia, based on evidence from tree rings, ice cores, corals and other physical proxies. Such reconstructions have been the subject of some controversy, and in November 2009, Mann’s correspondence with fellow climate researchers was among those that were released in the Climatic Research Unit hacking incident. Critics picked the emails apart; but in February 2010, Penn State announced that his “results were sound and has been subsequently supported by an array of evidence.”
20. Ostrom, Elinor
    • Indiana University
    • Professor of Political Science; Co-Director, Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis; Professor of Public and Environmental Affairs, Part-Time; Co-Director, Center for the Study of Institutions, Population, and Environmental Change
    • This Indiana University professor was awarded the 2009 Nobel Laureate in economic sciences for a lifetime of groundbreaking research, teaching and scholarship. She represents the first woman to win the prize in economics, which has been awarded since 1969. Her major contribution is her challenge against the conventional wisdom that common property is poorly managed and either should be regulated by central authorities or privatized. In 1999 Ostrom also became the first woman to receive the prestigious Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science and in 2005 received the James Madison Award by the American Political Science Association.
21. Petta, Jason
    • Princeton University
    • Assistant Professor in Physics
    • This assistant professor in physics at Princeton University made a name for himself in 2009, when he demonstrated a method that alters the properties of a lone electron without disturbing the trillions of electrons in its immediate surroundings. Why do this? To develop the new future of superfast computers with near limitless capacities for data. Petta earned his Ph.D. in physics in Cornell University in 2003, and has since won numerous honors for his work. In 2009, President Obama named him as one of 100 beginning researchers who were recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
22. Rushdie, Salman
    • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
    • Honorary Visiting Professor in the Humanities and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
    • Salman Rushdie is a famous author who was forced into hiding under the protection of the British government and police after the publication in 1988 of his fourth novel, The Satanic Verses. This book lead to accusations of blasphemy against Islam and demonstrations by Islamist groups in India and Pakistan. Today, he is out of hiding and was made Distinguished Fellow in Literature at the University of East Anglia in 1995. He also was awarded the Austrian State Prize for European Literature in 1993 and the Aristeion Literary Prize in 1996, and has received eight honorary doctorates.
23. Schiesari, Nancy
    • University of Texas at Austin
    • Lecturer
    • Schiesari carries accolades for over thirty documentaries and feature films broadcast for England’s Channel 4, BBC, ABC, National Geographic and PBS. She was nominated for a 2002 Television Emmy for outstanding cinematography on The Human Face (producer John Cleese). Among her work as a cinematographer is Barbara Sonneborn’s Academy Award nominated documentary, Regret to Inform. Her latest accolades include the a Cine Golden Eagle Award (1994), Dean’s Fellowship (1997), the Texas Council for Humanities Grant (1998), a Texas Film Production Grant (1998), and a nomination for the Rockefeller Foundation Film/Video/Multimedia Fellowship (2000).
24. Steitz, Thomas Arthur
    • Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University
    • Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
    • Steitz was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Ada Yonath for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome. Steitz also won the Gairdner International Award in 2007 for his studies on the structure and function of the ribosome which showed that the peptidyl transferase was an RNA catalyzed reaction, and for revealing the mechanism of inhibition of this function by antibiotics. Steitz studied chemistry as an undergraduate at Lawrence University and received a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University in 1966. He then did his postdoctoral research as a Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellow at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology at Cambridge University during 1967-1970.
25. West, Elliott
    • University of Arkansas
    • Distinguished Professor of History
    • West is a specialist in the social and environmental history of the American West. He has twice been chosen as his university’s teacher of the year and is author of several books. Two of his books, Growing Up With the Country: Childhood on the Far-Western Frontier and The Way to the West: Essays on the Central Plains received the Western Heritage Award. The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers, and the Rush to Colorado received five awards including the Francis Parkman Prize and PEN Center Award. In 2001 West received the Baum Faculty Teaching Award, and in 2009 he was one of three finalists for the Robert Foster Cherry Award recognizing the outstanding teacher in the nation.

Now that college is looming (or is already here), it’s time to change faces and move into social media networks that work for college and future employment success. Think of these changes as student ‘branding,’ or making yourself stand out with efficiency, networking and leadership. You can do it all with these fifteen essential social media sites for college students.

The links below are categorized for your convenience. They all contain social aspects, where you can touch base with students or other individuals who have the same goals.

Organization

1. Box.net: Yes, businesses use this site, and you might think about using it, too, to share content with peers, other students and even with your alumni friends. While this application is similar to GoogleDocs, you have mobile access with Box.net as well as fax agreements, the ability to print and ship using FedEx and much more. Box.net offers a free trial and a free ‘lite’ service. The next step up is less than ten dollars per month.
2. Evernote: This site is insanely easy to use…so much so that  it can become addictive. Use it to keep notes (never lose a phone number again!), save ideas and get inspired. You can snap a photo of a business card with your phone and have an easy way to store and access contacts, plan trips, research Web sites and clip pages directly from your browser and more. You even can send your tweets directly into Evernote.
3. Remember the Milk: Manage your tasks from anywhere, get your email, SMS or IM reminders, share your tasks and even mange these tasks offline. You can integrate Remember the Milk with your Google Calendar and add tasks from iGoogle or gain access from your phone. Sign up for free, take advantage of Remember the Milk apps as well as third-party widgets that have noticed the milk.
4. SpiderOak: SpiderOak offers a different approach to online backup by combining a suite of services into one consolidated tool — free online backup, synchronization, sharing, remote access, and storage. This difference is further measured in their zero-knowledge privacy policy, which is the first one ever employed in this setting. Their flexible design allows you to handle data from any operating system (Mac, Windows and Linux) or location (external drives, network volumes, USB keys, etc.) by using just one centralized account.

Save or Make Money

1. CampusBooks: While this is not the only site to buy and sell textbooks, we like this application because it uses an iPhone app, price tweets, price alerts and the ability to compare prices. Not only can you save up to 95 percent on textbooks, you have one of the largest supplies of textbooks online through this site. Be sure to sell your textbooks as soon as possible after using them…the next edition will knock the price down on your used book by as much as half or more.
2. Gradefund: Go ahead, invite mom and dad to this one as well as all the aunts, uncles, grandparents and more. They have the money, hopefully, to sponsor grade levels (as low as five dollars) and send it to schools or directly to you depending upon the sponsor’s preference. The higher your grades, the more money you or your school receives for your education. This is a great thing, especially if you go to an expensive school. You also can look for corporate sponsorships, where you can compete for corporate funds. What better way to get noticed well before you enter the job market?

Socialize Professionally (or not)

1. LinkedIn: Ah, this site is for adults, right? Right. It’s a great way to begin networking for your career even while you attend college classes. Sign up for free and begin to browse through contacts. Get introduced, but only after you fill out your profile page completely with a resume, references and more. You can even join several quality groups, such as groups specifically for minority students to connect. Use widgets to tie your social life into your professional life, but make this connection only if you want professionals to know about your social life.
2. Ning: No matter your interests or location, you can find a network here that might cater to your desire for blogging, connecting, motivation, business prospects and more. While you can create your own site, Ning already offers sites that may appeal to a busy college student. You can stay in touch with people at home or build new relationships at your school. The sky is the limit with Ning.
3. Twitter: You may already be on Twitter. If so, take a good look at your tweets to see if they represent who you are and your aspirations. If not, then create a new account and start over. After you notify all the contacts you want to keep, you can close that previous account forever. Use Twitter to send information to your LinkedIn account, to stay on top of your Evernote stickies and to keep informed with Remember the Milk. There’s so much more you can do with Twitter…but, you know all this, right?

Training, Internships and Jobs

1. Cramster: This social networking system is not a tutoring system. It is an alternative that does not sacrifice quality. Cramster, first, is free — which makes it far different than tutoring. Even if you choose a Gold or Platinum membership, it will cost less than ten dollars per month. Get together with other students who are studying the same subjects, network at any time and provide assistance in exchange for a rewarding and memorable study experience. While you still may need tutoring, Cramster can help you smooth over those rough spots and provide you with a way to easily remember the answers for that next quiz.
2. Education Community: If you are interested in climate change, globalization, infrastructure booms and digital technology, you might want to use this site to network and to gain access to over twenty-five free downloads of the same design software used by professionals worldwide, including Autodesk. Autodesk software and educational training resources will help you learn industry trends like digital prototyping, building information modeling, digital entertainment creation and sustainable design — all being used to turn these global challenges into opportunities. Training is involved, along with a design showcase for your work. Registration to join this site is free.
3. InternshipRatings.com: Use this resource to rate, research and compare internships in various industries across the U.S. While becoming an intern is thrilling, sometimes overwhelming and challenging, it also can be a real pain. Find out which internships are the best from those who have been there, done that. You can search by location, industry or by company name to learn more for your research. Ask questions and share your own experiences to develop a network as well.
4. Zumeo: You may enjoy this career network site, where you can get matched to internships as well as jobs. Learn more about your strengths, get connected with people who can help you get ahead and get matched to relevant jobs. Build a great peer student network here so, as alumni, you can help each other out after college, too. This social site also sports recruiters, universities and employers who want to connect with you as much as you want to connect with them.

Travel

1. CouchSurfing: CouchSurfing is an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries and territories around the world since 2004. CouchSurfing members share hospitality with one another. ‘Surfers,’ or travelers, are able to participate in the local life of the places they visit. CouchSurfing has built a system of safety features to help keep their community safe. They are a self-moderating community, which means they work like a neighborhood watch program with references, verification and vouching. Of course, you always can decline and offer or a request, but this is one of the best ways for college students to travel safely alone.
2. Zimride: Zimride offers a simple way to find friends, classmates and coworkers who want to share a ride with you. The focus of this site is on college, university and corporate communities; therefore, Zimride is able to build the critical mass of users necessary to sustain Zimride as a reliable form of transportation. Safety? Zimriders can view profiles for common networks, interests and friends before deciding to share a ride. Like CouchSurfing (listed above), you always can say no, but this is one of the safest ways to share a ride around.