|font:Courier New||B:0|When they're not scoring points on the soccer field or earning them in the classroom, high school juniors must prepare for the SAT. No matter how motivated your child is, itÆs a chore to sit down with one of those immense Barrons prep books and an egg timer. |CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||b:1|1/4^|font:Courier New||B:0|Unfortunately, after the reviewing and practice testing thereÆs also the task of choosing a college, and that means hunkering down with more dry research materials. Charging to the rescue, software companies have developed engaging and useful titles that take the monotony out of studying for the SAT and help take some legwork out of choosing the right college.|CR||CR||b:1|2/4^|font:Courier New||B:0|Without a doubt, SAT preparation can take your childÆs scores a long way up the percentile rankings. SAT software packages, however, can vary greatly in quality, so itÆs important to choose a product that is easy to use and capable of teaching the necessary math, verbal, and vocabulary skills.|CR||CR||CR||CR||b:1|3/4^|font:Courier New||B:0|In addition to test-taking strategies and sample tests, a good SAT program--just like a good SAT training seminar--should also build confidence and help the student feel the test is conquerable. |CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||b:1|4/4|CR|^|font:Courier New||B:0|Once you have the SAT conquered, put your PC to work finding the right college for your child. College-search programs save hours sifting through papers and brochures and help focus your search on just those colleges that will meet your particular needs and objectives. A good college search should go beyond just tuition costs and majors.|CR||CR||CR||b:1|1/3^|font:Courier New||B:0|Sandy Feig, a guidance counselor for 25 years who works at The Dalton School in Manhattan, recommends focusing on the needs and personality of the student as well. In an interview with Computer Life, Feig explained that software which asks only a few generic questions and then spews out a list of colleges from the University of Arizona to Yale is not ultimately helpful to a student. |CR||CR||b:1|2/3^|font:Courier New||B:0|Based on her advice, I judged college search programs on their ability to go beyond mere list making, and rated them on their ability to incorporate the individual as well as the pocketbook.|CR||CR||CR||CR| |CR||CR||CR||b:1|3/3|CR|^|font:Courier New||B:0||font:Courier New||B:0||font:Courier New||B:O|There's more than $35 billion available for college funding in the U.S. each year. Instead of fumbling through massive financial aid directories to get your fair share, try the resources of the Internet. America Online provides extensive financial aid information via the RSP Funding Focus (keyword FINANCIAL AID or RSP), and the World Wide Web can be a fruitful alternative to your local library.|CR||CR||B:1|1/4^|font:Courier New||B:O|Try some of these sites to spearhead your search for money that may be waiting for you:|CR||CR|* The Internet's Financial Aid Information|CR| Page (http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/afs|CR| /cs.cmu.edu/user/mkant/Public/FinAid/|CR| finaid.html)|CR|* The Federal Information Exchange (http:|CR| //web.fie.com/web/fed/)|CR||CR||B:1|2/4^|font:Courier New||B:O|* The Minority Online Information Service|CR| (http://web.fie.com/web/mol/)|CR|* "Don't Miss Out: The Ambitious Student's|CR| Guide to Financial Aid" (http://www.infi|CR| .net/collegemoney/toc1.html)|CR|* The Bookstore (http://www.infi.net/|CR| collegemoney/bkorder.html) |CR|* Student Financial Aid Information (http:|CR| //www.wellsfargo.com/per/perstu/stuaid/|CR| index.html)|CR||CR||B:1|3/4^|font:Courier New||B:O|* Mecklerweb InternetMall: Financial Aid|CR| (http://www.mecklerweb.com/imall/|CR| 4grntprp.html)|CR|* The Foundation Center (http://fdncenter.|CR| org/)|CR|* The Princeton Review (http://www.review|CR| .com/faid/7000.html)|CR||CR|--Marlene Goldman|CR||CR||CR||B:1|4/4^|font:Courier New||B:0||font:Courier New||B:0|Not everyone can go to Harvard, but Gus Reed, Assistant Dean of Undergraduates at Harvard University gave Computer Life some tips on improving your chances of getting in. Of course, Harvard looks at the obvious: test scores, high school grades, essay, and recommendations. But the clincher is the interview. ôItÆs a chance for students to show what theyÆre like off paper,ö Reed says.|b:1||CR||CR|1/2^|font:Courier New||B:0|He stresses that students should hold up their end of the conversation and appear relaxed and confident. If you interview on campus, make a point of talking to currently enrolled students; they provide a glimpse of what life is realy like on campus.|CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||b:1|2/2|CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR||CR|
