Recommended Websites and Publications

The Mission of GEAR UP is to accelerate the academic achievement of cohorts of middle and secondary school at-risk students so that increasing numbers will graduate from high school, enroll and succeed in college. (We at GEAR UP EXPRESS define college as public and private four-year schools, two-year community college, business schools, and vocational schools.)

The following information is provided to allow parents and guardians an opportunity to make informed choices about post-secondary education and financial aid opportunities. We have also included websites that we believe will be of interest.

A word of caution: Some scholarship "finders" charge a fee. Please read the information carefully before you make any commitments. The following lists were assembled from the recommendations of educational professionals. Being on the list should not, however, be construed as a formal endorsement of any particular product or service by GEAR UP EXPRESS.

Contents:

GEAR UP EXPRESS School Websites
Financial Aid Information
Homework Help Websites
Florida Public Colleges and Universities
Florida Junior and Community Colleges

Madison Middle School
Address: http://www.dade.k12.fl.us/madison/default.html
Description: Contains information of school events, demographic composition, philosophy, and student achievement.

Westview Middle School
Address: http://www.dade.k12.fl.us/westview/jpark/index.htm
Description: Contains information of school events, demographic composition, philosophy, and student achievement. Our philosophy incorporates interdisciplinary components of team teaching. The underlying thrust of our philosophy fosters a climate of continuous development of the "Total Child," academically, socially, and physically. Our staff recognizes that each of us not only provides expertise in a given subject area; but also serve as role models, who are concerned about the "whole child." To promote the talents and abilities of students, a host of clubs and special activities are available for students to take part.

Miami Central Senior High School
Address: http://www.dade.k12.fl.us/mcentral/old/home.htm
Description: Contains information of school events, demographic composition, philosophy, and student achievement. The staff, parents and community of Miami Central Senior High School believe in providing a quality education, and providing the skills and training that will enable each student to become a responsible, productive, and contributing member of our global multicultural society. We commit ourselves to the development of each student, not only to achieve performance standards as measured by the required competency and achievement tests, but also to develop life standards that will, over the long term, enable full participation in the mainstream social and economic processes.

Miami Dade County Public Schools
Address: http://dcps.dade.k12.fl.us/
Description: Contains information on the Miami Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) system, e.g. FCAT scores, school calendar, MDCPS comprehensive reading plan, pupil progression plan, technology profile, Florida school indicators report, administrative resources, listing of Florida schools and links for homework help.

Florida Department of Education
Address: http://www.firn.edu/doe/
Description: State website representative of the Department of Education (DOE). Contains educational information for parents and students with links for DOE events, education and community partnerships, FCAT information, financial aid, choosing schools, school calendar, etc.

Financial Aid Information

Bureau of Student Financial Assistance
Address: http://www.firn.edu/doe/bin00065/
Description: The Bureau of Student Financial Assistance (BSFA) provides access to grants, scholarships and loans. The administration of these financial assistance programs rests on either the State Programs for grants, scholarships, and some Florida state loans, or on the guaranty agency for the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP).

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Address: http://aspe.os.dhhs.gov/cfda/ialph.htm
Publisher: General Services Administration (GSA)
Description: The Catalog describes all 1,454 federal domestic assistance programs and is published twice a year: in June and December. It contains information on all financial and non-financial assistance programs administered by the departments and establishments of the Federal government. As the basic reference source of Federal programs, the Catalog assists users in identifying programs that meet specific objectives of the potential applicant and obtaining general information on Federal assistance programs.

College Savings Plan Network
Address: http://www.collegesavings.org
Description: This site includes links to state-sponsored savings and prepaid tuition plans, two popular vehicles for college savings.

Collegeboard.com
Address: http://www.collegeboard.com/paying/
Description: Locate scholarships, loans, internships, and other financial aid programs from non-college sources that match your education level, talents, and background. Complete the profile form below and Scholarship Search will find potential opportunities from a database of more than 2,000 undergraduate scholarships, internships, and loan programs.

College is Possible
Address: http://www.collegeispossible.org/
Description: Thinking about college? You probably have a lot of questions: How does the application process work? What sort of college is right for me? How much will college cost? You've come to the right place. America's colleges and universities have prepared this site to guide you to the books, websites, and other resources that admissions and financial aid professionals consider most helpful. With planning, preparation -- and the right information -- college is possible for almost every American.

CollegeLink
Address: http://www.collegelink.com/clnk/scholarship/
Description: Free scholarship and search information, college search, applying to and paying for college.

CollegeNET
Address: http://www.collegenet.com/
Publisher: Scholarship data is provided by Wintergreen/Orchard House, an imprint of Riverside Publishing.
Description: The Mach25 database contains over 600,000 awards totaling over $1.6 billion. Mark the filters below to narrow down the number of awards displayed on your results page. CollegeNET will be awarding scholarships to students who apply through CollegeNET's ApplyWeb.

Developing Your Vision While Attending College
Publisher: American Indian College Fund and National Endowment for Financial Education
Address: Download in PDF format at http://www.collegefund.org/nefebooks.htm
Description: Four books are available: "Making the Decision to Attend College," "Paying for a College Education," "Managing Your Money," and "Choosing Your Path."

.edu
Address: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/dollars/scholar/search.htm
Description: The "U.S. World and News" search is divided into six categories of scholarships; ethnic, athletic, art, corporate, organizational, and military.

FASTaid
Address: http://www.fastaid.com/
Description: Private sector College Scholarship database. 20 years of Scholarship Research, Constantly updated. You will find College Scholarships here that you won't find anywhere else! Read what users are saying From Dan Cassidy author of "The Scholarship Book", "Worldwide Graduate Scholarship Directory" and "Worldwide College Scholarship Directory".

FastWeb
Address: http://www.fastweb.com/
Description: Find money for college! Search 600,000 scholarships worth over $1 billion. Get expert tips on financial aid, careers and more! Find your dream school with personalized matching against over 4,000 colleges. Get more information from colleges looking for you!

Going Right On
Publisher: The College Board
Address: http://www.collegeboard.org/pubaff/gronline/dwnload/html/grodown.html
Description: Download this free interactive software at the address above.

Mapping Your Future
Publisher: A coalition of state and private student loan guarantors
Address: http://www.mapping-your-future.org
Description: General information on college admissions and financial aid, with a special emphasis on student loans.

National Association for Student Financial Aid Administrators
Publisher: National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
Address: http://www.nasfaa.org
Description: Information on preparing for college academically and financially from campus financial aid administrators.

Planning Ahead
Publisher: The College Board
Address: http://www.collegeboard.org/planning/html/intro.html
Description: Designed for middle-school students and their parents. Features information on academic and financial planning, including a savings calculator.

Preparing Your Child for College: A Resource Book for Parents
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Address: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/Prepare
Description: This very popular book is now available only on-line.

PSAT/NMSQT
Publisher: The College Board
Address: http://www.collegeboard.org/psat/student/html/indx001.html
Description: This test is valuable preparation for the SAT. Find information and registration materials at this site.

Sallie Mae
Publisher: Sallie Mae
Address: http://www.salliemae.com
Description: Features interactive calculators to help families project future college prices and their expected family contribution.

Sallie Mae CASHE
Address: http://search.cashe.com/
Description: CASHE (College Aid Sources for Higher Education) is one of
the industry's most respected and comprehensive sources of financial aid resources for college. It's easy to use and delivers results within two hours! It's a good idea to keep the following in mind while completing the Student Profile Form.

The Scholarship Page
Address: http://www.scholarship-page.com/
Description: Since I was going to school to study Electrical Engineering, the site started out with mainly engineering scholarships, but it has grown since, and I hope that it will continue to grow.

Smart Student Guide to Financial Aid
Address: http://www.finaid.org/
Description: FinAid was established in the fall of 1994 as a public service. It's the most comprehensive annotated collection of information about student financial aid on the web. This site offers some of the best 'how to' guidance on securing financial aid." The site has won awards from the College Board, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the National Association of Graduate and Professional Students and the American Institute for Public Service.

Scholarship Resource Network Express
Address: http://www.srnexpress.com/index.cfm
Description: Scholarship Resource Network Express contains a database of over 8,000 programs with a distribution level of over 150,000 awards for undergraduate and postgraduate students worth a total of more than $35 million! This database also includes student loan forgiveness programs for those who have graduated from college and need alternatives for repayment.

Think College
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Address: http://www.ed.gov/thinkcollege
Description: This U.S. Department of Education website has special sections for parents whose children have not yet entered high school, high school-aged youth and their parents, and adults seeking to return to school.

Winning ways to get scholarships and grants By Adriane G. Berg
Address: http://moneycentral.msn.com/articles/family/funds/1468.asp
Description: Step by step guide to searching, applying, and getting scholarships and grants.

Financial aid for Hispanic Americans
Published: El Dorado Hills, Calif.: Reference Service Press, c1997
Description: A list of: scholarships, fellowships, loans, grants, awards, and internships open primarily or exclusively to Hispanic Americans.

Financial aid for African Americans
Publisher: El Dorado Hills, Calif. : Reference Service Press, c1997
Description: A list of: scholarships, fellowships, loans, grants, awards, and internships open primarily or exclusively to African Americans

Funding Your Education
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Description: Provides general information about the U.S. Department of Education's federal student financial aid programs. It is designed for high school students and others considering entering a postsecondary school for the first time.

Fund your way through college : Uncovering 1,000 great opportunities in undergraduate financial aid
Authors: Debra M. Kirby and Christa Brelin.
Publisher: Detroit: Visible Ink Press, c1992.
Description: Directory of financial aid sources for undergraduate education.

Getting Ready for College Early/Preparadnos a Tiempo para la Universidad
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Cost: Free
To order: Call 1-800-USA-LEARN or visit www.ed.gov/pubs/GettingReadyCollegeEarly
(for the Spanish version)www.ed.gov/pubs/GRFC_Span/grfcspan.html

Guide for Parents/Guia para los Padres
Publisher: National Association for College Admissions Counseling
Cost: Free
To order: Call 703-836-2222 or write 1631 Prince Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-2818

Looking for Student Aid
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Description: A short brochure covering sources of Free Information About Student Aid and using Scholarship Search Services

The Student Guide
Publisher: U.S. Department of Education
Description: Tells you about federal student financial aid (SFA) programs and how to apply for them. Education or training after high school costs more than ever, and you need to learn about as many sources of aid as you can. The best way to start is by checking the free information sources that follow.

Go Education at Go.Com
Address: http://education.go.com/cgi/education/request.dll?EDUCATION
Description: This site contains a reference toolbox containg a wide variety of links. looking for a vocabulary builder, you found it! The site is organized by Classrooms, Colleges, Learning Centers and Teacher Resources.

Go Kids at Go.com
Address: http://www.go.com/Center/kids/homework_help
Description: This exciting site lets students search for homework help using Ask prompts for kids.

Homework Center
Address: http://www.infoplease.com
Description: Specially designed for K-12 homework problems, their Homework Center provides you with authoritative references to help you answer your questions.

Homework Central
Address: http://www.homeworkcentral.com
Description: This site covers more than 8,000 topics for all grades. The staff uses a four-step process to make sure that all the topic areas have accurate, targeted links and resources.

Homework Help at Startribune.com
Address: http://www.startribune.com/education/homework.shtml
Description: You post a question, and teacher volunteers answer it, or provide a site that can answer it within 24 hours.

Homework Help at King County Library System
Address: http://www.kcls.org/hh/homework.html
Description: Search by topic, covers 19 subjects. Also has on-line library databases. Ask a Librarian option.

Kids Web
Address: http://www.kidsvista.com/index.html
Description: Presents students with a subset of the Web that is very simple to navigate, and contains information targeted at the K-12 level. Each subject section, contains a list of links to information that is understandable and interesting to school kids. There are also links to external lists of material on each subject which more advanced students can browse for further information.

The Math Forum--Ask Dr. Math
Address: http://www.forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math
Description: This site is a lifesaver, thanks to its Question & Answer service. Submit a question via e-mail or using the online form, and college math students will e-mail you the answer.

No Sweat
Address: http://nosweat.com
Description: With 3.4 million reference pages covering 2200 subjects, this is the biggest free homework helper on the Web. NoSweat.com is made up of Homework Central Jr. (first to sixth grade), Homework Central (seventh to twelfth grade), and Encyclopedia Central (college and beyond).

Pitsco's Ask an Expert
Address: http://www.askanexpert.com/askanexpert/
Description: A directory of links to people and Web pages to answer your questions. Twelve categories and over 300 sites.

The Shakespearean Homework Helper
Address: http://hometown.aol.com/liadona2/shakespeare.html
Description: Site helps students and parents learn more about Shakespeare, and finish homework that is due in a couple of days. I did not create this site to give your students the answers. I do not claim to have all the answers, just a desire to help folks learn more about the Bard. When you or your student sends in a question, I will send back an email with some sources to look at, or some ideas to consider.

1. Florida A&M University http://www.famu.edu/

2. Florida Atlantic University http://www.fau.edu/

3. Florida Gulf Coast University http://www.fgcu.edu/

4. Florida International University http://www.fiu.edu/

5. Florida State University http://www.fsu.edu/

6. University of Central Florida http://www.ucf.edu/

7. University of Florida http://www.uf.edu/

8. University of North Florida http://www.unf.edu/

9. University of South Florida http://www.usf.edu/

10. University of West Florida http://www.uwf.edu/

1. Brevard Community College http://www.brevard.cc.fl.us/

2. Broward Community College http://www.broward.cc.fl.us/

3. Central Florida Community College http://www.cfcc.cc.fl.us/

4. Chipola Junior College http://www.chipola.cc.fl.us/

5. Daytona Beach Community College http://www.dbcc.cc.fl.us/

6. Edison Community College http://www.edison.edu/

7. Florida Community College at Jacksonville http://www.fccj.cc.fl.us/

8. Florida Keys Community College http://www.firn.edu/fkcc

9. Gulf Coast Community College http://www.gc.cc.fl.us/

10. Hillsborough Community College http://www.hcc.cc.fl.us/

11. Indian River Community College http://www.ircc.cc.fl.us/

12. Lake City Community College http://www.lakecity.cc.fl.us/

13. Lake Sumter Community College http://www.lscc.cc.fl.us/

14. Manatee Community College http://www.mcc.cc.fl.us/

15. Miami-Dade Community College http://www.mdcc.cc.fl.us/

16. North Florida Community College http://www.nfcc.cc.fl.us/

17. Okaloosa-Walton Community College http://www.ocwcc.cc.fl.us/

18. Palm Beach Community College http://www.pbcc.cc.fl.us/

19. Pasco-Hernando Community College http://www.pasco-hernandocc.com/

20. Pensacola Junior College http://www.pjc.cc.fl.us/

21. Polk Community College http://www.polk.cc.fl.us/

22. Santa Fe Community College http://www.santafe.cc.fl.us/

23. Seminole Community College http://scc-fl.edu/

24. South Florida Community College http://www.sfcc.cc.fl.us/

25. St. Johns River Community College http://www.sjrcc.cc.fl.us/

26. St. Petersburg Junior College http://www.spjc.cc.fl.us/

27. Tallahassee Community College http://www.tallahassee.cc.fl.us/

28. Valencia Community College http://www.valencia.cc.fl.us/