The College Search can be a fascinating journey.

And much of the experience is yours, and yours alone.  But, to assist you in your quest, you may find some unexpected friends.  These allies come in varied shapes and sizes.  I’m talking – of course – of blogs and tweets and books and websites.

BLOGS: Academics like to write.  And they like to think they are good at writing.  Luckily, they generally are.  There is a plethora (SAT word!) of interesting blogs that relate to college admissions, and college life, in general.  http://onlineuniversityrankings2010.com/2010/top-50-college-admission-administration-blogs/ lists just that – a fairly diverse list of college blogs, divided into four groups: Administration, Admissions, Advice, Scholarships and Financial Aid, and Grad School Admissions.

TWEETS: Twitter accounts can come and go, and Twitter is not for everyone.  But I find it often provides quick leads to important, timely information.  Some of the Twitter accounts that I follow regularly include: @USHigherEdu @Chronicle @mycollegeguide and @Talkingteenage.  But the most relevant info for you is probably going to come from the tweets coming from the schools you are interested in.  The hardest part, in some cases, is identifying which twitter account (or Facebook page, for that matter) is the “official” one for the College.  There are often multiple choices and it may be hard to ascertain which is the one you should follow.

BOOKS: Currently on my desk are three great books relating to the College Search – “The Fiske Guide to Colleges”, the Princeton Review’s “K&W Guide to Colleges for Students with Learning Disabilities or ADHD” and “Don’t Stalk the Admissions Officer”.  But there are College guides of all shapes and sizes – serious and lighthearted, books about admissions and books about financial aid, guides sorted by major and guides sorted by geography.

WEBSITES: There are certain links you will see over and over again on my Facebook page.  I tend to think of the two “anchors” to be the New York Times (www.nytimes.com) and the Chronicle of Higher Education (www.chronicle.com).  Both have daily education news and weekly articles and blogs about the admission process.  But I notice that a third site, http://www.insidehighered.com, gets a lot of play on my page – with good reason.  It’s another great source of education news and admission info.  But, much like the Twitter accounts, the most relevant websites for YOU will probably be the College websites for the schools you are looking at.

The blogs and tweets and websites are free.  The books are not, but are a small investment in the bigger picture.  And all of them – the blogs, the twitterers, the websites and the books – are all there to help guide you to your destiny.  I wish you safe passage.

As always, I welcome your comments, your ratings, your Facebook posts and your emails.  I can be reached at CCRMichael@gmail.com, on Facebook at “College Counseling for the Rest of Us”, on Twitter @MichaelCCR and by cell at 908-403-3819.