What are our favorite sites for college search, you ask?  We've scoured the internet for a sampling of sites to get you started, whether you are applying to the US, UK, Canada or Australia.  Read on, information seekers.

For colleges in the United States:

• The college search tool at BigFuture (brought to you by the College Board) is an excellent place to start.  Identify your criteria - do you want a school with a marching band, a major in oceanography, and housing for international students? - and voila, a comprehensive list from a database of almost 4,000 colleges is ready for your review.
• The Peterson's website provides search tools for both colleges and scholarships, by the authors of the well-known guide (Peterson's Four-Year Colleges).
• At CollegeData, try the College Match feature to enter a long list of criteria for the best matches for you.
• MyCollegeOptions.org not only has a large database of colleges, but provides access to over 60,000 scholarship listings.  After you sign up and create a personal profile, the site will search its database for the best matches.
• CollegeNavigator is the U.S. Department of Education's search site.  If you have tired of everything that the other sites have to offer, you will love the ability to dig deep into the statistics on this site. 

 For universities in the UK:

• Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)  is the search and application portal for UK universities. Search for courses, subject, location or an details on a particular university.  The UCAS Parent Guide, a great summary for parents and students to review together, is available on the UCAS website Guides and Resources page.
• The Complete University Guide can be used together with UCAS when researching UK universities.  It is source of League tables as well as a guide to individual universities. 
• QS University Rankings is a UK site, and has a section dedicated to undergraduate institutions.  There are World University Rankings, Rankings By Faculty, Rankings by Subject, Rankings for Asia, Latin America, and the "BRICS" countries, and more.
• THE World University Rankings, another UK site, rates universities according to 13 performance indicators in each of five attributes: Teaching, Research, Citations, Industry Income, and International Outlook.
• Interested in visiting one or more UK universities on their Open Day?  There's a website dedicated to Open Days that you can use.
• If you have decided to apply to universities in the UK, and are interested in either Oxford, Cambridge, or certain courses, for example law or medicine, you may be required to take certain tests.  Visit the Admissions Testing Service site, as well as the websites for the universities and courses in which you are interested, to find out more.
  
  

For universities in Canada:

• The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada has its own website and represent nearly 100 Canadian universities.
• Education au-in Canada is a website of the Council of Ministries of Education as well of the Foreign Affairs and International Trade department of the Canadian government.  The site is a great place to start, as it will guide you through how to attend university in Canada as well as what is like to study there. 

For universities in Australia:

• QILT is the acronym for Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching. Follow the link to this Australian government website which allows you to search and compare thousands of undergraduate study areas.  It also offers information on teaching and learning performance, student satisfaction, and graduate outcomes.
• Study in Australia is another government website, but it is specifically targeted to prospective international students. Use the site to search for courses, institutions and scholarships, and to learn about studying and living in Australia.

This list would not be complete without mentioning CollegeLab, which is a fee-based, online service offered by some Independent Educational Counselors to facilitate collaboration on all aspects of the college admissions process.  If you are fortunate enough to have access, use it!  You can also use CollegeLab's tools by purchasing a monthly or annual subscription. DISCLAIMER: Alicia Lindgren is the CEO of CollegeLab.