College-bound high school students take note: Two new sites on the Internet's World Wide Web could prove helpful in the coming school year.
One Web site, launched by the U.S. Department of Education, provides easy access to information about admissions and financial aid. Known as Project EASI, for Easy Access for Students and Institutions, the site offers information on applying for student aid, repaying student loans, finding financial resources by state, and learning about entrance exams.
The site will eventually allow students to complete financial-aid applications and obtain official estimates of their families' expected contributions. Borrowers will also be able to make loan-balance inquiries and consolidate loans on-line.
The site's Internet address is http://easi.ed.gov.
Another Web site, from the New York City-based College Board, allows users to register for the Scholastic Assessment Test or access financial-planning information. Students will find information on exams, courses for standardized tests, and a database of colleges and universities.
That site can be found at http://www.collegeboard.org.
With all the college information now available on-line, a recent report on the advantages of technology comes as no surprise.
A study released by the graduate school of the City University of New York says access to computers at home can turn at-risk students away from dropping out and toward jobs and college. The study reports that formerly at-risk students who received home computers and on-line tutoring made significant educational gains.
The report was part of a collaborative project between the university's Stanton/Heiskell Center for Public Policy in Telecommunication and Information Systems, NYNEX Corp., and the New York City board of education.
One college, meanwhile, is offering prospective students a "technology guarantee."
Michigan State University in East Lansing promises "an intensive, quality-based technological experience" for undergraduates, to be followed by "affordable lifelong technological access" and two postgraduate years of free electronic mail. The college also has promised to double hours of interactive instruction by fall 1998.
The offer follows the school's tuition guarantee, which promises freshmen their tuition will not rise higher than the projected inflation rate during their four undergraduate years.