how can I learn the basics of college? -- Virtually Advising Q+A

The Q: I don't know a thing about college. I have no idea what it means when someone asks "what's your major or minor?" I don't know nothing about it and I absolutely want to learn. Please help me in any way possible and let me know the basics of college.

The A: I could probably spend hours and hours (and hours) writing about the basics of college, but that would probably put you to sleep, and at any rate folks have already made millions doing the same thing on the Web and in print. So I'll start out by tossing some recommended reading your way. Once you've had a chance to browse through these sites (or flip through these magazine/books at a bookstore), write me back with any specific, lingering questions you have and I'll be more than happy to answer them.

On the Web, check out:

The College Board (www.collegeboard.com): This is the organization that puts together the SAT, a national test of your academic skills that most colleges use to help gauge how good a fit you are for them. The College Board's Web site has a lot more than just information about the SAT, though: It offers tips on how to plan for, apply to and afford the costs of college, and includes what may be the best online search tool out there to help you put together a list of colleges that match you best.

My College Guide (www.mycollegeguide.org): This site's a little more geared toward people who already have a basic knowledge of how college works, but I suspect you already know more about college than you think you do. My College Guide has a collection of pretty useful articles that address some of the key concerns folks have about the college admissions process, like choosing where to go, figuring out how good your chances are of getting in, etc.

In a large bookstore, browse through:

Peterson's Four-Year Colleges or The College Board College Handbook: They're both massive (and pricey), because they include basic information on a few thousand different colleges. What you're interested in, though, is the first few sections of the book, where the authors talk about the different things to think about as you go through the process of finding, choosing and applying to colleges.

The Fiske Guide to Colleges, The Insider's Guide to the Colleges or The Best 351 Colleges: These are all much smaller than the two books I mentioned above, since they provide more in-depth info on just a couple hundred colleges. What you'll be most interested in at this stage in the game, though, are the first 50-ish pages of each book, which provide some good, basic info about college admissions.

Lastly, pick up a copy of "America's Best Colleges," a magazine put together by the folks at U.S. News & World Report. (This one might be in the magazine section of the bookstore, rather than stacked with all the other college guides.) Although this puppy is best known for its extensive (and controversial) college rankings, ignore those for now and concentrate on all the great articles that make up the first third of the mag. (For a fee, all of these articles and the rankings are available online, too.)

That should be plenty to get you started. Since you did ask us specifically about major and minors, tho, I did want to answer that before I let you go: A major is, basically, your favorite subject at college. It's a group of classes that you take in order to give you a deep understanding of that subject, whether it be math, English, French, chemistry or whatever. Anywhere from a quarter to more than half of the classes you take in college will probably be within your major. At most schools, you don't need to major in a subject to be allowed to take classes in it. You're usually required to pick a major within your first couple years at college, though, to ensure you don't just end up spending four years floating from subject to subject with no real sense of direction.

The minor is just what the word implies: a mini-major. It's a set of classes that'll give you a basic working knowledge of a subject. If you're kinda intersted in a subject but not really, or your schedule doesn't allow you to fit it in as a major, you can often choose it as a minor instead.

Hope this helps get you started!

—Myles Helfand, General Advisor