Free tools that actually help

Explore careers & what they pay

• CareerOneStop Interest Assessment (opens in new tab) · 30 questions match your interests to real careers. (Our Careers lesson walks you into this.)
• CareerOneStop Skills Matcher (opens in new tab) · start from what you're already good at instead.
• My Next Move (opens in new tab) · plain-English career profiles: what you'd do all day, what training you need, what it pays.
• Occupational Outlook Handbook (opens in new tab) · the government's data on every job: pay, growth, and required education. The real numbers on pay and growth.
• MIT Living Wage Calculator (opens in new tab) · what it actually costs to live in your county. Compare it to a career's pay before you commit.
• Apprenticeship Finder (opens in new tab) · real apprenticeships near you: earn a paycheck while you train, graduate with zero debt.

Compare colleges & programs

• College Scorecard (opens in new tab) · the U.S. Dept. of Education's comparison tool: real graduation rates, real costs after aid, and what graduates actually earn. Check EVERY school here before you apply.
• BigFuture (College Board) (opens in new tab) · search colleges by what matters to you; includes admission requirements per school.
• Net Price Calculator Center (opens in new tab) · find any college's calculator for what YOUR family would pay, usually far below sticker price.
• Average Cost of College (opens in new tab) · the honest numbers on what college costs, by type of school.
• CollegeCalc (opens in new tab) · quick cost lookups and comparisons.

Financial aid. Start here

• StudentAid.gov (FAFSA) (opens in new tab) · THE front door to federal aid. File the FAFSA in the fall of senior year. Earlier is better, and it's always free.
• Federal Aid Estimator (opens in new tab) · estimate your aid BEFORE senior year, in about 10 minutes. Great reality check as early as 9th grade.
• What you need for FAFSA (opens in new tab) · the documents checklist, so filing takes an evening, not a month.
• Pell Grants (opens in new tab) · free federal money (never paid back) worth thousands per year. Check the current maximum here.
• QuestBridge (opens in new tab) · high grades + lower income? This can mean a FULL scholarship to a top college. Apply junior year.
• AmeriCorps (opens in new tab) · serve for a year, earn a real education award for college.

Scholarship searches (all free)

• BigFuture Scholarship Search (opens in new tab) · the College Board's database; a solid first stop.
• Fastweb (opens in new tab) · huge database that matches scholarships to your profile.
• CareerOneStop Scholarship Finder (opens in new tab) · the Department of Labor's list. Filter by state.
• Scholarships.com (opens in new tab) · another large matcher; cast a wide net.
• Cappex (opens in new tab) · scholarships plus college matching, with a focus on first-generation students.
• Unigo (opens in new tab) · includes the quirky essay contests anyone can win.
• Scholarship America (opens in new tab) · one of the largest nonprofit scholarship providers.
• CollegeScholarships.org (opens in new tab) · guides by state, background, and field of study.

Free test prep & academics

• Khan Academy Digital SAT Prep (opens in new tab) · the official free SAT prep. As good as paid courses, costs nothing.
• ACT Academy (opens in new tab) · the ACT's own free prep and practice tests.
• Kaplan free ACT practice (opens in new tab) · extra full-length practice runs.
• ASVAB Practice Tests (opens in new tab) · thinking military? Your ASVAB score decides which jobs you qualify for. Prep for it like the SAT.
• Accuplacer Practice (opens in new tab) · community colleges use this placement test; a good score skips remedial classes that cost money and credits.
• Khan Academy (opens in new tab) · free lessons in every subject, the tool for raising grades in a class that's fighting you.
• Expii (opens in new tab) · math and science explained lots of different ways until one clicks.
• Brilliant (opens in new tab) · challenging STEM problem-solving (free tier) for stretching beyond class.
• MIT OpenCourseWare (opens in new tab) · actual MIT courses, free. Sampling one looks great on applications, because it's genuinely impressive.
• Classic Learning Test (CLT) (opens in new tab) · an alternative admission test some colleges accept, with its own scholarships (opens in new tab).

North Carolina corner

We're based in NC, so here's the local gold. (Not in NC? Search "your state + promise program" and "your state + dual enrollment". Most states have versions of these.)

• Career & College Promise (opens in new tab) · NC high-schoolers take real community-college classes FREE while still in high school. One of the best deals in the state.
• NC Promise (opens in new tab) · $500-per-semester tuition at four NC universities. Not a typo.
• Carolina Covenant (opens in new tab) · qualify, and UNC-Chapel Hill promises you graduate debt-free.
• Edgecombe Community College programs (opens in new tab) · including high-school student opportunities (opens in new tab).
• Edgecombe County CTE (opens in new tab) · career & technical education programs in the county schools.