College-bound or not, senior high school students need to find out about options that will make the view beyond that first job brighter. These days even part-time training and education can go along with full-time work.<> For college-bound students, between Thanksgiving and the end of the year they will need to complete applications to meet winter deadlines (usually in January or February).

Now is the time to look at all the options and finish writing for college information. Often the individual college website provides all the information for both full-time and parti-time programs as well as for financial aid.

Your senior may want to keep a "Senior List of College Answers" with a row for each college and a column for each aspect - size, distance, cost, etc.

The Best College for You, published by the Princeton Review (not related to Princeton University) and Time Inc., lists costs, admission standards, location, and other particulars of 1,220 colleges. Another good reference is the Princeton Review's The Student Access Guide to the Best Colleges by Tom Meltzer, Zachery Knover, and John Katzman, Villard Books, New York. Be sure to get the latest editions of these and other sources in your library.

Next, bring up the internet information on colleges. One address for both parents and students to fisit is Petersons.com, which has good tips for admissions essays and exntrance tests. Also on this site is College Quest which offers profiles of every accredited undergraduate program in the U.S. When you are down to a small list of possible choices, the individual school website will provide more answers. The next stop will be sites that can help with applications.

Theadmissionsoffice.com is a good starting place. Also bring up collegenet.com which includes the chance to create an "Applyweb" account at the site to store your information for applications.

Many high school students put off deciding about college or work. But if saving up money for college could be part of the plan, you still need specific informaton about what those college expenses are. Most students I have known who delayed college for a year, told me later that the year didn't help their financial situation much. The year off had expenses of its own - cars, credit cards, and clothes, so they were not ahead by much after a year's work.

College is for learning about life's choices as well as preparing for a career. Of graduates who go off to college, 90 percent will change their major before they finish. While the average university has over 100 majors, most freshmen will not be able to name more than 20. Parents need to be patient as their students explore.