Resources: Primary Data and No-Cost Help

Primary data, published by the institutions themselves

Common Data Sets
Search for any university plus "Common Data Set." Acceptance rates, mid-50% test scores, what each school says it weighs in admissions, and financial aid figures, published by the university itself. The single most useful no-cost resource in this entire process.
College Scorecard collegescorecard.ed.gov
US Department of Education data on cost, graduation rates, and post-graduation earnings by school and by field of study.
Net price calculators
Every US college receiving federal funding is required to host one. Sticker price is rarely what a family pays, and running these early changes which schools belong on a list.
Federal Student Aid studentaid.gov
The authoritative source on the FAFSA, federal grants, and loans. Nothing here should ever be paid for.

Programs that cost families nothing

QuestBridge questbridge.org
Matches high-achieving students from lower-income households with full four-year scholarships at 55 partner colleges.
College Advising Corps collegeadvisingcorps.org
Places recent graduates as full-time advisers in under-resourced high schools.
Matriculate matriculate.org
Virtual advising from current undergraduates for high-achieving students from lower-income backgrounds.
ScholarMatch scholarmatch.org
College counseling, scholarships, and persistence support for first-generation students.
uAspire uaspire.org
Specialist help with affordability and financial aid award letters, which is where many families actually get stuck.
Khan Academy khanacademy.org
Official digital SAT practice, built in partnership with the College Board, at no cost.

Fee waivers

Application fees are waivable far more often than families realize. The Common Application waives fees for students meeting any one of nine indicators, and the student self-certifies. NACAC publishes separate waiver forms, and both the SAT and ACT have their own waiver programs that also cover additional score reports.

A student applying to twelve schools at roughly $75 each is looking at $900 in fees alone. Check eligibility before paying any of it.

Professional bodies

IECA iecaonline.com
Independent Educational Consultants Association. Membership requires stated experience and adherence to a code of ethics, and it maintains a searchable member directory.
NACAC nacacnet.org
National Association for College Admission Counseling. Publishes the Statement of Principles of Good Practice and runs no-cost college fairs, in person and virtual.
HECA hecaonline.org
Higher Education Consultants Association, a second professional body with its own ethical standards and directory.

A note on other ranking sites

Several sites rank this category. Some are useful. Others are operated by firms that place themselves at the top without disclosing ownership, and at least one names paid sponsorship among its published ranking factors while describing itself as independent.

A reasonable test before trusting any of them, this site included: can you tell who owns it, does it say whether money changes hands, and does it show you where each figure came from. We have tried to pass our own test.