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Lifelong Education and Learning

Lifelong education and learning opportunities made available through the Fairfax County Public Library.

College Planning

Good Starting Points

  • Common Application (Common App)
    Complete one online application and submit it to multiple schools. More than 900 colleges and universities accept the Common Application. Note: Requires free registration.
  • SCHEV
    The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, provides information about preparing for, choosing and paying for a college education.
  • Test Preparation
    For online practice tests and tutorials for students, see LearningExpress Library database.

Choosing a College

  • Affordable Colleges Online
    Provides information on online degree programs and ranks programs using the website's own system. Rankings include most affordable by type, best overall by type, having the highest return on investment, etc.
  • American Institutions of Higher Education
    Links to the websites of two- and four-year colleges and universities arranged geographically by region. Provided by Wikipedia.
  • Campus Tours
    Tour U.S. college and university campuses on this site featuring mobile device- and GPS-ready interactive maps with panoramic virtual reality.
  • College Search
    Search by region, major, sports, admissions policy, size, setting (urban/rural), coed or single sex, or other criteria. Produced by the College Board.
  • College Scorecard 
    Search schools that offer a Certificate, Associate's or Bachelor's degree. Compare their fields of study, costs, admissions, results, and more. Some of the data covers all students at the institution. Other data including debt and earnings is based on students who received federal financial aid. From the U.S. Department of Education. 

  • Graduate Programs

    • Find a Law School
      The Law School Admission Council (LSAC) provides directories of law schools, including those approved by the American Bar Association (ABA).
    • Peterson's Graduate Schools
      Users can search for graduate programs by institution name, major, location or other keywords.
  • Institutions and Programs Accredited by Recognized U.S. Accrediting Organizations
    Search the Council for Higher Education Accreditation database of over 8,200 institutions, more than 44,000 programs, and recognized accrediting organizations in the United State and abroad.
  • Military Schools
    Today's Military describes the education options available in military service academies, senior colleges and maritime academies. Provides links to websites for further details.

  • Peterson's College Information
    ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Find a college, online program, or certificate program. Search the database by school or area of study along with type of degree and optional keyword.

  • Study Abroad

    • Center for Global Education
      Find information on education programs abroad, links to colleges and universities worldwide and access to the SAFETI (Safety Abroad First — Educational Travel Information) Clearinghouse.
    • Study Abroad
      Directory of study abroad programs, which is searchable by country or subject area of study. Provided by GoAbroad.com.
  • Virginia Colleges and Universities
    Provides links to Virginia public and private college and university websites and displays their accreditation status. Maintained by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.
  • Virginia Education Wizard
    Learn how to enroll in one of Virginia's many community colleges, transfer to a four-year college or university, plan a career path, pay for college and more.
  • Virginia Private Colleges
    The Council of Independent Colleges in Virginia, provides information about admissions, financial aid and tuition assistance grants (TAG) at private colleges in Virginia.

College & University Rankings

Paying for College

  • 529 Plans (Qualified Tuition Programs)
  • Federal Student Aid
    Learn all about financial aid and how it works. Apply for aid with the online FAFSA form. Also available in Spanish. From the U.S. Department of Education.
  • FinAid
    A free and extensive resource for all types of financial aid information on the Web.
  • Scholarships
    • Avoiding Scholarship Scams
      The College Board provides tips on how to recognize and avoid financial aid scams.
    • FastWeb
      Offers free scholarship searches. Note: The user must register by providing a personal profile.
    • QuestBridge National College Match Program
      Helps outstanding low-income high school students obtain scholarships and admission to leading colleges. Apply online. Requires free registration.
    • ROTC Programs
      Participants in the Reserve Officer Training Corps program receive a paid college education in exchange for a commitment to service in the military after graduation.
    • Scholarship Search
      Locate scholarships and other financial aid programs from non-college sources. Produced by the College Board.
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