When Tyler Boris was in high school, he wanted someone other than his school counselor to help him narrow down his choices for prospective colleges.
“I hated my high school counselor,” the psychology sophomore said. “They assigned students to a school based on the number of people who applied to each school. It was a biased approach.”
But www.wiredscholar.com, a Web site catering to families of future college students, might have helped Boris make his decision.
The site, a division of Sallie Mae with headquarters in Reston, Va., uses interactive tools and information to help families pick the appropriate school for their child based upon many factors - especially the costs of attending a four-year institution.
“There are many sites available which help students pick a school based upon GPAs and ACT scores,” e-commerce managing director Michael Darn said.
“Our site also does that, but is different because it provides valuable information on how to acquire a loan, financial aid, scholarships and work study programs, Darn said.”
Parents and students might find these cost reducing resources by inputting the students’ criteria into the site, and searching for schools with ideal campus settings, undergraduate enrollment, combined tuition fees, room and board and average costs per major.
But MSU Admissions Director Pamela Horne said there are numerous sites available that are similar to www.wiredscholar.com. She said the sites are great in helping undecided students pick a school.
“I really don’t hear that much about those sites from incoming students, as much as I provide them with similar sites,” she said. “Today’s students will actually go to the college or university they are interested in.”
The site was created in April 2000, and has more than 4,000 colleges in its database - from community colleges to Ivy League schools.
The site provides information on how to contact the scholarship provider, and once the appropriate scholarship is found, it is up to the student to apply for the scholarship. Information on how to avoid scholarship scams also is available.
“Anyone charging for a scholarship search is probably a fake,” Darn said. “The information they are giving out can be accessed by the public.”
Although MSU provides various services for students seeking financial aid options, some students find such Web sites to be helpful.
No-preference freshman Julie Tarse said the costs for living away from home are constantly mounting.
“College expenses are ridiculous,” she said. “If I got financial support from information on a Web site, maybe I wouldn’t hear so much nagging from my parents.”
