Valerie

-----Original Message-----
From: The Internet TourBus - A virtual tour of cyberspace
[mailto:TOURBUS@...] On Behalf Of Patrick Douglas Crispen

Encouraged by the "don't be a fool, stay in school" commercials, I can
honestly say that college was the best 13 years of my life. And as an
expert in registration and drop/add, I'm here to tell you that if you
or someone you know is thinking about attending college next Fall, NOW
IS THE TIME TO START APPLYING FOR ADMISSION AND FINANCIAL AID.

That's where today's TOURBUS stop comes in. The Embark home page at

<A HREF="http://www.embark.com/">
http://www.embark.com/ </A>

is a free, one-stop, higher educational portal that helps you find a
US community college, technical program, four-year college or
university, or graduate school that is right for you.

The Embark home page has four main sections: undergraduate schools;
business schools (MBA or executive education programs); international
students; and graduate schools. Click on the appropriate section and
you are taken to a page that shows you the five steps you need to
follow to become a professional college student like me:

1. Research
2. Prepare
3. Apply
4. Finance
5. Get Ready

This is where Embark shines. The wealth of information that Embark
offers in each of these steps is stunning. For example, in step one
(Research), Embark has a tool called "Matchmaker." By asking you a
series of questions about where you are interested in attending
college, what type of program of study interests you, and so on,
Matchmaker helps you find a college or group of colleges that is
specifically suited to you and your interests.

Cool, huh? And the Matchmaker is just ONE of the tools available in
the Research section!

Once you have found school or group of schools that interests you, the
next step is to prepare for and take the college entrance
examinations. Embark's "Prepare" section gives you free practice
tests for the SAT, ACT, GMAT, and GRE. The site also explains how
each test works and tells you where you can turn for test prep
tutorials and classes.

Once you have taken the entrance exams, the next step is to fill out
an admissions application (step three: Apply). Through Embark you
can apply to a BUNCH of colleges online and Embark's Apply section
gives you advice and information on how to improve your chance of
admission, how to write an admissions essay, and how to survive a
college interview.

Since a lot of parents ride our little bus of Internet happiness, I
have a feeling that the next section will probably be the most
popular: Step four: Finance. In the Finance section you can get
advice and information on how to pay for college, use tools to help
you find and apply for college loans, search and apply for
scholarships, and even find out how to manage what little money you'll
have left after the bursar's office gets done with you.

The final section, "Get Ready," gives you advice and information to
help you gear up for college, including how to save money when you buy
your textbooks, how to choose a computer, and so on.

Embark is *NOT* perfect. For example, Embark's Matchmaker doesn't
include every school in the US, so its results may exclude some
schools that might be a better match for you. Because of this, I
can't recommend that you use Embark as the sole tool you use in
determining which college to attend. However, Embark is an AMAZING
site, it has a wealth of information, and it is a wonderful place to
START researching and preparing for your new college career.

Oh, and yes, it did indeed take me 13 years to get my bachelors
degree. But, if it is any consolation, I will receive my masters
degree in 13 months. Now if only I could find a 13-week PhD program,
the symmetry will be complete. :)