Research Aviation College Options

Now that you have a general idea of what college characteristics are important to you when choosing a college. You can start your research and collect information on schools that meet your educational/career goals and individual needs.

The following options will help you research colleges:
•	Search My AvScholars' Collegiate Directory Register and search My AvScholars: Aviation Colleges Directory to identify schools that match your goals. This directory provides detailed profiles on various colleges that offer aviation, aerospace, space exploration, engineering, mathematics, science, and other academic programs. The school profiles include complete contact information, academic programs offered, admission requirements, financial aid offered, and more.

•	Talk to Your High School Counselor High school guidance counselors are good resources to help you prepare and apply to colleges. They should have a wide variety of college guidebooks and literature on various post-secondary schools. Your counselor can also tell you about academic courses and standardized tests you should take to prepare yourself for the college admission process. In addition, your counselor can provide you with some general information about applying for college, financial aid, and local scholarships.
•	Review College Guidebooks There are various college guidebooks profiling postsecondary schools throughout the United States and other countries. The school profiles often include complete contact information, academic programs offered, admission requirements, financial aid offered, and more. College guidebooks are available at your local library, high school counselors’ office, and national/local bookstores. There are also various web sites that have databases that you can search for colleges.
•	Attend College Fairs During the school year, many high schools, school districts, organizations, and colleges host college fairs for college-bound students. At college fairs, students receive information about many colleges during one large event. During the fair, representatives from a variety of schools are assigned tables where they place applications, school catalogs, response cards, handbooks, and literature for students to gather. The representatives are also there to answer students and parents’ questions. Your high school guidance counselors or teachers should have some information about scheduled college fairs in or around your city.
•	Ask Family and Friends Ask your family, friends, neighbors, and teachers about their college experiences and recommendations. They may have friends in the career field you are interested in pursuing.

Request College Applications and literature
After you have identified colleges in which you would like to learn more about their school and academic program(s), you should contact the college and request a college catalog, literature, application, and any other information about attending their school. You can request this information by calling or writing to the colleges’ admissions office. The most common way of obtaining an application is to visit the colleges’ web sites. From their web site, students can usually download a hard copy of an application (PDF file) or complete the online application form.

Before you start downloading and printing an application from any college’s web site, make sure the information and application is current. If the web site specifies an application deadline for the previous year, the application and/or eligibility requirements may have changed. If you encounter this problem, request a print application directly from the college’s admissions office by writing, emailing, or calling.

Develop a Short List of Schools.
Once you receive the colleges’ applications and information, you should carefully read through the information, take notes on your likes and dislikes, and write down your questions and comments. Don't base your choices on the information packets alone! Some of the color brochures/catalogs can be misleading. After reviewing each school’s information, you should compare the colleges against one another and then against your educational and career goals. Once you made your comparisons, you should narrow your list of schools to your top five choices.

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Visit the School(s).