How to Use GAcollege411

GAcollege411 has been designed to accommodate the needs of a wide variety of students. GAcollege411 is useful from the time you start thinking about college, through your college career, and into your professional career. Some sections (we call them modules) may be more useful to you than others, depending on your situation.

The following information gives you an overview of the major modules of the web site that are available across the top of the page. You can always navigate through the different modules by just clicking on the tabs. When you open up a specific tab, you will see links related to that module on the left side of the screen. These links will give you more detailed information on the module you are currently viewing.

Career Info

• The Introduction to Career Information provides an overview of the career center and information as to how each section of the career module operates and what they mean for students.
• The Career Key provides a survey to help you find careers that match your interest. This will be helpful when looking at different colleges and the majors they offer.
• The Student Career Matching Assistant will help you find a career based on your interests, skills, and preferences. Once you find jobs in which you are interested, the assistant will provide you with a list of related majors and colleges that offer those majors. You can add your results to your portfolio for easy management and future reference.
• In List of Careers you will find a comprehensive listing of careers organized by type.
• The Fastest Growing Careers module provides some information on — you guessed it — the fastest growing careers in Georgia.

Student Planner

• The High School Planner helps high school students plan their high school education to meet college entrance requirements. It allows students to track their high school coursework and compare it against the admissions requirements of their schools of interest.
• The Student Planner Timeline provides students with a general guideline of the financial aid and college application process. It begins with the 8th grade, and follows the process through the senior year of high school.
• College Entrance Requirements provides the basic requirements for Georgia colleges and universities.
• The College Test Prep module offers FREE comprehensive test preparation for the SAT and other college entrance tests.

GA Colleges

• Comparative View allows you to compare campus profiles so you can determine which schools have the features that interest you.
• Campus Tours provides online tours of Georgia colleges, universities and technical colleges. It includes statistical data, photos of campuses, links to official campus sites, and other useful information. You can also choose between viewing information for undergraduate schools or graduate schools.
• Matching Assistant allows you to select criteria that you would like your prospective college to meet. Once you have made your selections, GAcollege411 will display all matching Georgia colleges and universities.
• Distance Search allows you to search for Georgia colleges and universities near a specific zip code.

Applications & Transcripts

• College Admissions allows you to apply online to the campus or campuses of your choice. You can complete and submit your admissions application from the GAcollege411 web site. This module also helps you manage the applications you are working on and those you have submitted.
• The FAFSA module allows you to transfer certain data from your GAcollege411 profile to the FAFSA on the Web financial aid application.
• The Transcript Manager allows high school students in Georgia to electronically request their official high school transcript and submit it with their application when they apply online through GAcollege411.
• The Loan Applications module allows you to download application forms for student loans from the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC). Online applications will be available soon.
• The Scholarships & Grants Applications module allows you to download application forms for scholarships and grants administered by the Georgia Student Finance Commission (GSFC) including the HOPE Scholarship. Online applications will be available soon.
• The Accel Program provides Georgia high school students the opportunity to earn college degree-level credit hours as they simultaneously meet their high school graduation requirements by providing grant assistance toward their cost of attendance at eligible public or private colleges/universities and technical colleges in Georgia.
• The Service Cancelable Loan section provides access to loans that can be repaid through service in a field identified by the Georgia Legislature as a "critical need."

Paying For College

• Financial Aid 411 provides an overview of financial aid, including the different types of financial aid, eligibility information, and how to get it. It also provides a timeline for the college application process and outlines, among other things, important financial aid deadlines and milestones. A Repayment Guide is included to provide you with important information on repaying your student loans.
• Scholarships & Grants provides an overview of the different type of scholarships and grants for which you may be eligible. A powerful Financial Aid Search tool is included to help you search for scholarships and grants.
• Savings Programs provides an overview of the different types of savings plans available.
• Tax Savings informs you of some of the state and federal government tax benefits that help make higher education affordable.
• The Loan Programs module provides information on the different types of loans that are available for students and parents to help pay for higher education.
• Tools & Calculators provides some powerful tools to help you determine how much you may be eligible to borrow as well as how much you should borrow.
• The Publications & Forms module provides a convenient location to find all the necessary publications and forms needed to manage your financial aid.

GA College Savings Plan

• The GA College Savings Plan module provides overview information on Georgia's 529 savings plan and links to learn more about the program, sign up for an account, or manage your account.

Adult Learner

• The Adult Learner module provides assistance to the nontraditional student who is seeking to begin or resume higher education. Adult students are often referred to as "nontraditional students" due to their unique circumstances, life experiences, and wide array of educational needs.

My 411

• The My Profile module stores the information you enter about yourself. Make sure to keep your information as accurate and up-to-date as possible. The profile will be used to automatically populate your applications and search for potential scholarships that match your profile
• The My Career Portfolio is your private and personalized portfolio of the career exploration you conduct within GAcollege411. The career portfolio automatically saves certain details from your career searches so that you can continue to refine your search.
• The My Student Portfolio allows you to establish and maintain a private, personal profile of your academic achievements, activities, and volunteer work.
• The My Colleges module will store and allow you to access any college you have added to GAcollege411 from any other module. These colleges will be used in worksheets and tables in other modules of this site. You may add or delete colleges from this list at any time.
• The My College Applications module will track where you stopped entering your information. It will link you to all applications you currently have in progress for colleges and universities with an online application on GAcollege411. It will also provide the date and confirmation number of your submitted applications.
• The My Recruiter module allows you to submit the personal information from your Profile to any of the schools in GAcollege411. Once you have added a school to your Recruiter, your information will be made available to them
• The My Transcripts module allows students to view the date their transcript was sent, the confirmation number of their transcript request, and the status of their transcript. Through the Transcript Manager, students can also verify that their transcript has been received by a particular college.
• The My Financial Aid module allows you to manage your loan applications, your scholarships and grants with GSFC, and your loans in repayment with GSFC.
• The My Mail module allows you to send and receive e-mail with your GAcollege411 e-mail address.

To get the most out of GAcollege411, be sure to create an account and visit all of the modules of the web site. If you have general questions about the site, you may want to check out our Frequently Asked Questions. Within each of the modules, there is an "Ask an Expert" link on the left hand side of the page. If you have questions specific to the module you are in, you can find telephone numbers and e-mail addresses to contact one of our experts for help.