Insider’s College Secrets Revealed!

The Peace Jam Foundation is an educational program that seeks to teach youth the leadership skills to help make a positive contribution to their local communities as well as to the world. The one-year program is designed for high school aged youth to study in-depth with a leading Nobel Peace Laureate. At the end of the curriculum, 4 students from each local Peace Jam organization meet with the visiting Nobel Peace Laureate. www.peacejam.org

Americas Top 10 Prestigious Schools

The top 10 prestigious schools listed here admit only top-of-the-line students, the cream of the academic crop. Here's what to expect if you're smart enough - and have enough tuition money.

1. Stanford University

Stanford California

Phone 650-723-2091

www.stanford.edu

There are a half-dozen universities in the United States with de facto Ivy League status. Though not actually members of the vaunted Ivy League, these schools are recognized as equal in stature to Dartmouth, Princeton, Yale, and other Ivies. without question, Stanford University is among this elite group.

2. Princeton University

Princeton NJ

Phone 609-258-3060

www.princeton.edu

Princeton University is arguably the most undergraduate-friendly member of the Ivy League. Other institutions at a similar level of prestige often promote their powerful professional schools in business, law, and/or medicine.

3. Cooper Union

New York NY.

Phone 212-353-4120

www.cooper.edu

Every student at the "prestigious" Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art receives a full-tuition scholarship. The only catch is that students may only major in art, architecture, or engineering.

4. Harvard College

Cambridge MA

Phone 617-495-1551

www.fas.harvard.edu

Harvard College's "academic reputation" precedes it. Home to a distinguished faculty and phenomenal world-class research facilities, Students lucky and talented enough to gain admission has the opportunity to pursue virtually any academic interest under the tutelage of some of the finest minds ever.

5. Yale University

New Haven CT

Phone 203-432-9300

www.yale.edu

Yale "is truly one of America's great schools," writes one college counselor. It's an assertion that's hard to debate. As a major national research center, Yale attracts many of the world's great scholars. But unlike other research institutes, Yale also devotes a lot of attention to undergraduates.

6. United States Air Force Academy

USAF Academy CO.

719-333-2520

www.usafa.edu

"It's not at every college that you can learn how to fight, eat, and fly all on top of academics," but that's the United States Air Force Academy in a nutshell. Every student here receives a full scholarship that includes tuition, room and board, health care, and a monthly living allowance. Cadets also enjoy leadership training that "is second to none.

7. United States Military Academy

West Point, NY.

Phone 845-938-4041

www.usma.edu

"West Point is unique in many ways: a military institution, a first-class university, and

A national landmark all rolled into one," explains one cadet. "Our motto is ' duty, honor, country,' and sometimes duty looms much larger than the rest. Life is hard here, but its difficulty makes it fulfilling." The West Point approach--to cram as much activity into one day as humanly possible--is "very tough."

8. United States Naval Academy

Annapolis, MD

Phone 410-293-4361

www.usna.edu

The U.S. Naval Academy offers a great education at a great price - it's free. Midshipmen have one of the "toughest academic programs around," yet the "outstanding" professors are "always willing and ready to help in every way possible." Classes are small and does full-time military and civilian faculty

teach members.

9. Brown University

Providence, RI

Phone 401-863-2378

www.brown.edu

Brown’s famous “open curriculum,” which has no requirements outside of one’s major, Is “more rewarding for those students who know exactly what they wish to pursue academically.” Those lacking the “incredible maturity” it takes “to balance all your courses and choose the right ones” can languish if they’re used to rigid structure. The university, however, prides itself on “helping under grads achieve their utmost potential.”

10. Columbia University

New York, NY

Phone 212-854-2522

www.college.columbia.edu

Columbia University holds one major trump card in its battle against Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, and the other members of the Ivy League: location. Students agree that, among CU's many assets, New York City is tops.

State Aid Programs For Students

There are close to 400 programs worth almost $3 billion dollars in financial aid available through all 50 states. Just because you don't have the money to pay for college doesn't mean your dream of a college degree will never happen. Even if you do have the money, financial assistance from one of these programs could make things a little easier for all concerned.

The advantage of many of these programs is that most people don't even know they exist, so your competition will be less. Each state has different requirements for their various programs, so you may need to do some checking on what specific programs might fit your needs.

Some programs are exclusive to residents of a particular state, whereas others have no limitations. In addition, some programs will award money to a student, and put no limitation on what school the student chooses to attend. In some cases, for teachers or health professionals, a service requirement may exist which says that the student will practice in a particular state after graduation for a certain period of time.

Contact each state below for a listing of available programs.

State Offices of Higher Education

Alabama
Alabama Commission on Higher Education,

P.O. Box 30200, Montgomery, AL 36130-2000
334-242-2274

Alaska
Alaska Commission on Post secondary Education,

3030 Vintage Blvd., Juneau, AK 99801
907-465-2962

Arizona
Arizona Commission for Post secondary Education,

2020 North Central, Suite 275, Phoenix, AZ 85004
602-229-2590

Arkansas
Arkansas Department of Higher Education,

114 East Capitol, Little Rock, AR 72201
501-371-2000

California
California Student Aid Commission,

P.O. Box 510845, Sacramento, CA 94245-0845
916-445-0880

Colorado
Colorado Commission on Higher Education,

1300 Broadway, 2nd Floor, Denver, CO 80203
303-866-2723

Connecticut
Department of Higher Education,

61 Woodland St., Hartford, CT 06105-2391
860-566-8118

Delaware
Commission on Higher Education, Carvel State Office Building,

820 N. French St., Wilmington, DE 19801
302-577-3240 Fax: 302-577-6765

District of Columbia
Office of Post secondary Education,

2100 Martin Luther King, Jr., Ave., SE, Suite 401,

Washington, DC 20020
202-727-3685

Florida
Florida Office of Student Financial Assistance,

255 Collins, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0400
850-488-1034 Fax: 850-488-3612

Georgia
Student Finance Commission,

2082 E. Exchange Place, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30084
770-414-3006 770-414-3224

Hawaii
Systems Group, 641-18th Ave., V201, Honolulu, HI 96816
808-733-9124

Idaho
Office of the State Board of Education,

P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0037
208-334-2270

Illinois
Illinois Student Assistance Commission,

1755 Lake Cook Drive, Deerfield, IL 60015
708-948-8550

Indiana
State Student Assistance Commission of Indiana,

150 W. Market St., Suite 500, Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-232-2350

Iowa
Iowa College Student Aid Commission,

200 Tenth, 4th Floor, Des Moines, IA 50309-3609
515-281-3501

Kansas
Kansas Board of Regents,

700 SW Harrison, Suite 1410, Topeka, KS 66603
913-296-3517

Kentucky
Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority,

1050 U.S. 127 South, Frankfort, KY 40601
502-564-7990

Louisiana
Office of Student Financial Assistance,

P.O. Box 91202, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-9202
504-922-1011

Maine
Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), Maine Education Assistance Division,

119 State House Station, One Weston Court, Augusta, ME 04333
1-800-228-3734 (In Maine)
207-626-8200 207-626-3263/2717 Fax: 207-626-8208

Maryland
Maryland Higher Education Commission, State Scholarship

Administration, The Jeffrey Building,

16 Francis Street, Suite 209, Annapolis, MD 21401-1781
410-974-5370 Fax: 410-974-5994

Massachusetts
Board of Regents of Higher Education, Scholarship Office,

330 Stuart Street, Boston, MA 02116
617-727-9420

Michigan
Michigan Department of Education, Student Financial Assistance

Services, Higher Education Authority,

P.O. Box 30462, Lansing, MI 48909
517-373-3394

Minnesota
Minnesota Higher Education Programs,

Capitol Square Building, Suite 400,

550 Cedar Street, St. Paul, MN 55101
651-296-3974

Mississippi
Mississippi Institution of Higher Education,

3825 Ridgewood Rd., Jackson, MS 39211-6453
601-982-6663

Missouri
Missouri Coordinating Board of Higher Education,

P.O. Box 1438, 3515 Amazonia St.,

Jefferson City, MO 65109
573-751-2361

Montana
Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education,

P.O. Box 20301, Helena, MT 59620-3101
406-444-6594

Nebraska
Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Post secondary Education,

140 N. Eighth St., Suite 300, P.O. Box 95005, Lincoln, NE 68508
402-471-2847

Nevada
Nevada Department of Education, Student Incentive Grant Program,

700 E. 5th Street, Carson City, NV 98701-9050
702-687-9200

New Hampshire
New Hampshire Post secondary Education Commission,

2 Industrial Park Drive, Concord, NH 03301
603-271-2555

New Jersey
New Jersey Department of Higher Education, Office of Student Assistance,

4 Quakerbridge Plaza, CN 540, Trenton, NJ 08625
609-588-3288

New Mexico
New Mexico Commission On Higher Education,

1068 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501
505-827-7383

New York
New York Higher Education Services Corporation,

Grants and Scholarship Information,

99 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12255
518-474-1137

North Carolina
North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority,

P.O. Box 2688, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2688
919-549-8614 Fax: 919-549-8481

North Dakota
University Systems,

600 E. Boulevard, Bismarck, ND 58505

701-328-2962

Ohio
Ohio Board of Regents, Ohio Student Aid Commission,

State Grants and Scholarship Department,

309 S. 4th Street, P.O. Box 182452, Columbus, OH 43218
614-466-7420 Fax: 614-752-5903

Oklahoma
Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education,

500 Education Building, State Capitol Complex,

Oklahoma City, OK 73105
405-524-9100

Oregon
Oregon State Scholarship Commission,

1500 Valley River Dr., Suite 100, Eugene, OR 97401
503-687-7400

Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency,

1200 N. 7th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102
717-720-2860

Rhode Island
Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority,

560 Jefferson Boulevard, Warwick, RI 02886
401-736-1100

South Carolina
South Carolina Commission on Higher Education,

333 Main Street, Suite 200, Columbia, SC 29201
803-737-2260

South Dakota
South Dakota Department of Education and Cultural Affairs,

Office of the Secretary, 7000 Governors Drive, Pierre, SD 57051
605-773-3134

Tennessee
Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation,

404 James Robertson Parkway, Suite 1950,

Parkway Towers, Nashville, TN 37243-0820
615-741-1346

Texas
Texas Coordinating Board on Higher Education,

Box 12788, Capitol Station, Austin, TX 78711-2788
512-483-6100

Utah
Utah System of Higher Education,

355 West North Temple, 3 Triad, Suite 550,

Salt Lake City, UT 84180-1205
801-321-7100

Vermont
Vermont Student Assistance Corporation,

P.O. Box 2000, Champlain Mill, Winooski, VT 05404
800-798-8722 802-655-4050

Virginia
Virginia State Council of Higher Education,

Office of Financial Aid, James Monroe Building,

101 North 14th St., 10th Floor, Richmond, VA 23219
804-786-4690 Fax: 804-225-2604

Washington
Higher Education Coordinating Board,

917 Lakeridge Way, P.O. Box 43430, Olympia, WA 98504
360-753-7800

West Virginia
West Virginia Higher Education Program, 1

018 Kanawha Blvd. East, Suite 700, Charleston, WV 25301
304-558-4614

Wisconsin
State of Wisconsin Higher Educational Aids Board,

P.O. Box 7885, Madison, WI 53707-7885
608-267-2206

Wyoming
Wyoming Department of Higher Education,

Hathaway Building, Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-6213

More Helpful Sites
to Make Your Education Easier!

Homework Helpers and Libraries Online, Plus Ask an Expert.

Stumped by "new math"? Need to know all the presidents and vice-presidents? The following web sites provide answers and resources to help you correctly complete your homework and have fun doing it!

Kid Info

http://www.kidinfo.com

Homework Central

http://www.homeworkcentral.com

Kids Click

http://www.kidsclick.org

Library Online
The library is as close as your fingertips. All you need to know are the following web addresses and click away!

Internet Public Library

http://www.ipl.org

Library in the Sky

http://www.nwrel.org/sky

Library Spot

http://www.libraryspot.com

Awesome Library

http://www.awesomelibrary.org

Information Please

http://www.infoplease.com

Ask an Expert

We have searched the web and found experts on a variety of topics that will gladly answer your questions by e-mail. Visit the following websites and submit your question to the appropriate expert.

Dr. Math: http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/

Grammar: http://www.grammarlady.com

Construction: http://www.siue.edu/ENGINEER/CONSTRUCT/conclub.htm

Health: http://www.goaskalice.columbia.edu/index.html

Science: http://sln.fi.edu/tfi/publications/askexprt.html

Astronomer: http://image.gsfc.nasa.gov/poetry/ask/askmag.html

Mad Scientist: http://www.madsci.org

Geologist: http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/docs

Ask Jeeves: http://www.ask.com

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