Guides to Resources

U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE)

http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/index.html

The OPE formulates federal postsecondary education policy and administers programs that address critical national needs in support of its mission to increase access to quality postsecondary education.

Some resources reachable by clicking on the content links in the middle column of the top of the home page include:

• Programs/Initiatives. Purpose, description, applicant eligibility, project types, and additional information for over forty programs.
• Program contacts. Names, email addresses, and telephone numbers for the programs/initiatives listed above.
• Reports and Resources. Links to MS Word and/or PDF versions of major resources.
• News
• Educational Planning - includes links to resources to assist in planning for college. Specifics include
  • helping find a college
  • saving for college
  • applying for federal student aid
  • verifying an institution's accreditation status
  • learning about career colleges and technical schools
• Student Resources - includes information on OPE programs for undergraduates and graduate students, as well as accreditation, career colleges/technical schools, college costs, and related resources.
• Policy Initiatives
• OPE Topics A-Z

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds

IPEDS includes links for finding colleges and universities, evaluation data and statistics, and submission of data to IPEDS (for authorized users with user IDs and passwords).

Federal Student Aid

http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/index.jsp

"Student Aid on the Web" provided by the U.S. Department of Education is a source of free information for students preparing for higher education.  It includes information on federal student aid programs, how to apply for student aid, and guidelines for completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

U.S. Department of Education's Financial Aid Page

http://www.ed.gov/finaid/

Another portal to financial aid information, this site includes information on the types of financial aid, monitoring your loans/grants, and loan consolidation, as well as a link to FAFSA.

Resource Exercises

• College Planning