As you prepare your child for college, there are many resources that can help you all along the way. Some of the college search websites that our McCaskey Counselors use are: CollegeBoard, State Colleges of PA website, Career Cruising, Petersons, Cappex, College Prowler, College Data, and Education Planner. Using timelines and checklists are helpful to some people as they start this process as well. Some of our students are looking for career/technical/business colleges: make sure that you explore Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, right in our backyard, that most of our students could attend for FREE: no tuition nor room and board costs!

As students start to complete their college applications, many private colleges use the Common Application where you can use the same application for over 450 colleges. Many of the historically black universities also have a common application for their colleges as well.

As students complete their applications, they will need to know McCaskey’s CEEB code, their counselor’s name, and school address.

For the recommendation letters requested by colleges, make sure that you give your teachers and others at least two weeks to write these. Here are some suggestions to help you as you request these letters.

As a junior, it is good to also start the process of exploring scholarships. There are various websites that list a variety of national scholarships which you should explore, be familiar with and know their deadlines before you start your Senior year. Please also explore our local scholarship page that we keep updated each year.