School Resources & Learning Center

Accredited Schools Online is dedicated to student success. Whether K – 8, high school or college and beyond, we create in-depth, expert-driven guidebooks that tackle key academic and finance-related issues. Many of our guides also address important student health and safety concerns, or help student groups with specific educational and career goals find the information and resources they need to succeed.

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ACT Prep for College-Bound Students

The ACT is a comprehensive exam that helps institutions determine whether a student is prepared to study at the college level, by testing competency in English, math, reading, science — and an optional writing section. Examinees looking to learn more about this test and gain insider knowledge can find that info in this guide.

Budgeting for College Students

For many students, college brings newfound control over money and finances. This freedom, however, also comes with responsibility. You’ll have to make sure you have enough funds to cover basic needs and potential emergencies, but you’ll also want to have a little on the side to just have fun. Get expert tips on how to create a realistic budget and stick to it. You can also learn more about several apps that help make budgeting simple and easy to understand.

College Admissions Guide

For any high school senior (or parent), the college admissions process can seem long and onerous. When do you start, what do you compile, and how do you send all the right stuff at the right times? Our experts provide a detailed rundown of the college admissions timeline complete with tips to get things done early and done right.

College Options for Students without a GED or High School Diploma

Many people don’t get a chance to finish high school for various reasons but that doesn’t mean the door to higher education is forever closed. There are a few different options you can pursue, even if you don’t currently have a GED or high school diploma. Find out what those options are and what you’ll need to do to get back on track.

Extracurricular Activities, College Acceptance & Getting Hired

College acceptance and the job market are competitive. Applicants to schools and jobs are looking for just the right edge to put them ahead of the pack, and quite often, she or he who has the most extracurricular activities wins. Not any extracurricular activity will do, however. Students should cultivate and carefully curate the outside activities that will matter most to both admissions officers and hiring managers. This guide will help students determine which activities matter most, how many activities are too many, how to present those activities in the best light possible and why extracurricular activities matter so much.

Freshman Mistakes

Managing your credits, choosing a major, building up a new social network while still making time to study. There are a lot of new experiences to navigate during the first year of college and a lot of chances to slip up. Discover the most common freshman mistakes and get expert tips on how you can avoid them.

Graduate School Guide

A comprehensive guide to graduate school, including making the decision to go, the types of degree programs available, and how to get the most out of your experience. Also read about the highest return on investment degrees, find scholarships, and read advice and tips from grad school experts.

GRE Fast Study Guide

Whether it takes a while to decide on an academic discipline or the application deadline is sneaking up fast, many potential grad students find themselves in a time crunch when it comes to studying for and taking the GRE. If you’re in this boat, have no fear: This guide provides a truncated study schedule, checklist for getting organized, and expert advice from an examinee who managed a perfect score.

Guide to Studying Abroad

Studying abroad gives college students the opportunity to experience life-changing growth and one-in-a-lifetime experiences in another country as they gain college credit. Going away to another country for an entire semester or longer takes planning and organization. This guide offers comprehensive lists, timelines, a sample budget and more to ensure the study abroad experience goes smoothly.

Landing a Dream Career in STEM

Some of the highest-paying careers today can be found in STEM industries: science, technology, engineering and math. Find more information on the hottest jobs and industries, how organizations and educators are advocating for and promoting women and minorities in these fields, and get resources for landing or furthering a rewarding STEM career with this guide.

MOOC Guidebook

By offering free online courses without limit to how many students can participate, MOOCs offer students a unique opportunity to gain knowledge and education in a nearly unlimited variety of topics. Rather than being offered for college credit, most MOOCS are offered by many esteemed institutions in the spirit that knowledge should be shared and free. There are some exceptions, however, and some MOOCs do offer the opportunity to gain a credential. This guide explores all kinds of MOOCs and offers advice on getting the most out of them.

Online Colleges that Don’t Require the SAT or ACT

Some students just aren’t good test-takers even though they have a GPA that would suggest otherwise. And many people argue standardized tests aren’t good predictors of college success. Those are just a couple reasons why more and more colleges are using test-optional admission policies. If you’re worried about your SAT or ACT scores, find out more about how test-optional admission policies work and what you’ll need to do when applying to a college without those scores.

Online Colleges with Open Enrollment

When it comes to grades and SAT/ACT scores, not all students are at the top of their class. For some, straight As and perfect scores come naturally but for others, the results can be more of a mixed bag due to a variety of reasons. Everyone, however, can benefit from a college education, even if their GPA and standardized test scores are less-than-stellar. For this reason, many colleges have open enrollment policies, which grant admission to anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent. Learn more about open enrollment colleges, including how the application process works and which online colleges welcome all students with open arms.

Online School Guidebook

Extensive online education opportunities exist for elementary school, middle school, high school and college students. Most k-12 students have access to public or private online school, while virtually every college offers one or more online degree programs. Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) such as Coursera and edx provide yet another way for students to learn online. This guide provides k-12 and college students and parents online school resources along with tips, tricks and information on getting the most out of an online school experience.

Preventing Plagiarism

Students across the country plagiarize, whether intentionally or not. Some knowingly copy large sections of text to cut corners, while others grab portions of a text thinking it’s academically ok. For students, there may be confusion. For educators, the challenge is stopping it from happening. This guide dives into plagiarism, how to understand it as a student, and how to prevent it as an educator.

SAT Prep Guide for High School & College Students

Before diving into post-secondary degrees and all the learning opportunities awaiting their arrival, all college hopefuls must take a standardized test used by admission offices and scholarship panels. The SAT, or Scholastic Assessment Test, is the most popular option in America (alongside the ACT) as evidenced by the 1.7 million high school seniors who sat for the exam in 2015. It may seem scary at first, but students who take time to understand the test, develop strategies, and prepare thoroughly need not worry. This guide aims to help with those goals.

School Fundraising

Budget cuts have led to an increased need for school and classroom fundraising. These events can be beneficial in many ways. In addition to raising necessary funds, it can also be a great way to teach students of all ages valuable skills and also help foster a sense of community. This guide includes tips and strategies from various experts and educators as well as several resources to help teachers, parents, and others plan and spearhead a successful school fundraiser event.

Student Public Speaking Guide

No matter what you’re majoring in, as a college student, you’ll be expected to give a presentation at some point during your time at school. This makes college the perfect time to conquer public speaking anxiety, and this guide can help get you started with support, useful resources, tips and expert advice on giving impactful, dynamic presentations and delivering concise, interesting speeches.

Bullying Awareness Guidebook

Bullying affects students at all academic levels and manifests any a variety of different forms – physical, psychological, cyber and more. The following guide looks at bullying in-depth, uncovers patterns, prevention techniques, includes resources, and, most importantly, offers key advice and tips from multiple experts in psychology and education.

Emergency Preparedness in School

Natural disasters and other emergencies can happen at any time, and schools are responsible for the safety of their students and staff when the time comes. This guide offers an in-depth look at natural disaster risk across the country, with detailed preparedness steps and resources for earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, tornadoes and active shooter events. This guide also features college student preparedness checklists, information and options for grab-n-go emergency kits, and advice from our school safety expert.

First-Year College Student Mental Health

The excitement of going off to college for the first time is undeniable. Freshman students have so much to look forward to, including new classes, new friends and living apart from their families. Along with that excitement, other emotions are bound to creep in, emotions such as homesickness and loneliness. These feeling are normal, but when they lead to depression, it’s time to get help. This guide helps freshman college students how to navigate new territory and how to deal with common emotions that are experienced by most new college students.

Helping Students Cope with Grief

Students, particularly in college, undergo tremendous growth and change in school as they move towards graduation. It’s quite possible that during this time of growth and maturation, they may be faced with a loss that leads to grieving. Whether it’s the loss of a pet or something more serious such as the loss of a parent or friend, students need help and resources to enable them to manage their grief and not give up on their academic aspirations.

Student Eating Disorder Resources

Stress can be a leading factor in developing an eating disorder, and college students experience their fair share of it. Moving away from home, making new friends and an unfamiliar routine can all lead to disordered eating behavior. Students can use this guide to identify the symptoms of an eating disorder in themselves and others, learn how common eating disorders are treated and find out where to get help on campus and in their community.

Student Guide to Managing Chronic Conditions at School

Millions of students attend school while managing a variety of chronic health conditions, including epilepsy, diabetes, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, lupus and more. While some of these conditions are more severe than others, there are important steps students can take to stay healthy and thrive in their learning environments. This guide offers tips, tools and valuable resources for managing chronic health conditions at school.

Student Nutrition & Fitness Guide

As witnessed by the shocking statistics on childhood obesity, students of all ages are striving to find the balance between healthy eating and physical activity. This guide explores the issues involved and offers wellness solutions and resources with special sections for K-12 students and college students.

Students & First Time Voters

Voting is one of the easiest and most powerful ways for Americans to make their voices heard, but it can be a confusing and even intimidating process for first-timers. Get to know more about voting rights and requirements, dispel common myths, learn the ins and outs of political parties and get tips from an election expert here, and prepare to exercise the right to vote with confidence this election season.

Zen Living: Fitting Yoga, Meditation & Mindfulness into Your School Schedule

Most students experience some level of stress at school, but students deal with stress in many different ways. While some may choose to eat unhealthy, stay up late, or engage in other unhealthy activities, there is a better way. School is a great place to practice Zen living and engage in healthy lifestyle practices such as yoga, meditation, mindful eating and holistic wellness. Learn more about the mind/body connection for students and find out how students are achieving and staying in the Zen zone, and how you can, too.

Financial Aid for Minority Students

Paying for college may seem a tough task for anyone. However, governments, organizations and private companies offer scholarships to help students defray the cost of higher education. This guide explores scholarship and other funding options for minority students, including resources to help them discover what’s out there, where to look, and when and how to apply.

Guide to Affordable Schools

What makes a school affordable? The first step is to understand what exactly goes into the cost – tuition, room, board and other fees. The second is learning all payment options available and how those can work together to minimize expenses. Learn from experts about the real cost of college and how scholarships, grants and some financial aid savvy can keep bills low and the likelihood of a degree much higher.

Online School Financial Aid

Financial aid remains the primary way for students to pay for a college education. But what about online learning? Do students with online education on the mind have the same financial aid options as those in a fully brick-and-mortar degree program? Yes, and no. Learn the keys to landing the right aid for online school.

Identifying Unscrupulous Student Loan Tactics

Student loans account for the second largest type of debt in America, with more than 44 million borrowers currently owing a combined total of nearly $1.5 trillion. Many students are using financial aid to make attending college possible, which means that there are more possibilities for lender abuses. In addition to mounting lawsuits against servicing agencies, complaints filed by borrowers are also on the rise. Approximately 770 complaints were received from January through March in 2016, while 3,284 were received during the same period in 2017. Prospective students or current borrowers looking to understand the world of student lending and loan repayment will find valuable information in the following guide, including how to spot predatory lending habits and illegal behaviors and what to do about them.

Native American Student Scholarships & Resources

Native Americans have some of the highest high school and college dropout rates of all demographic groups. Couple this with the fact that only a small portion of Native American students enroll in college in the first place, and it’s not hard to understand how they are underrepresented in institutions of higher learning. The reasons for this are many and complicated, but often boil down to the lack of academic and financial resources available to many Native American students. On the positive side, there are special scholarships and grants available to Native American students, along with support from advocacy groups. The purpose of this guide is to provide an overview of the scholarships and grants available, as well as potential help through tribal colleges for Native American students.

Scholarships & Financial Aid for Hispanic Students

While Hispanic learners are expected to make up almost 50 percent of all K-12 U.S. students by 2040, they still lag behind other ethnic and racial groups when it comes to achieving a post-secondary education. Black, white and Asian people hold a higher percentage of bachelor’s degrees than Hispanics currently, but many organizations are in place to help Hispanic students achieve their higher education goals. This guide offers support and guidance for Hispanic, first generation, migrant and undocumented students including scholarship information, how undocumented students can get help paying for school, and the unique challenges and opportunities available to first-generation students and students from migrant worker families.

Scholarships & Financial Aid for Veterans and Dependents

Those who have served the country honorably should not have to go into debt or take on a financial burden to receive a college education. While veterans have important aid for attending college in the form of the GI Bill and related benefits, the GI Bill doesn’t always cover all a veteran’s college expenses. Additionally, while servicemember dependents have some college funding benefits available as well, they don’t usually cover all costs. That’s where other financial aid, such as scholarships and grants, can fill in some gaps. Learn how veterans and benefits can get all the funds they are entitled to in order to attend college, and look over dozens of scholarships in this comprehensive guide to scholarships and financial aid for veterans and dependents.

Scholarships & Financial Aid for Women

Women who are looking for scholarships, grants and financial aid that doesn’t have to be paid back have some interesting and useful resources available to them. It’s crucially important to understand how and when to apply for financial aid and scholarships, and how to stand out from the rest of the applicants. This guide offers a large list of grants, fellowships and scholarships for women, including those for STEM majors, leadership, single mothers and nontraditional students. Find out how to apply for scholarships for women and what’s required to receive a grant or fellowship.

Students with Disabilities Financial Aid Guidebook

Students with disabilities run into many of the same hurdles as most other students when it comes to finding the money to attend school. That’s why understanding financial aid options and finding scholarships specifically for students with disabilities is so important. This guide offers a comprehensive listing of scholarships specifically for students with disabilities, listed by disability, along with tips, tricks and expert advice on obtaining financial aid beyond scholarships as well. Readers will also hear from deaf and hard-of-hearing scholarship recipients on what to look for when choosing a school to best meet your needs.

Making Sense of the Athletic Recruiting Process

Many students have grown up playing a team sport they are passionate about and don’t want to stop playing their sport just because they’re graduating from high school. Out of the millions of athletes playing high school sports, however, less than 600,000 will go to play on in college, and only a fraction of those will end up on a NCAA Division I team. It’s important to remember, however, that there are hundreds of great colleges in other athletic divisions offering the opportunity to embark on a college athletic career. It’s important to keep an open mind and be well informed when making the move to college athletics. This guide offers student athletes and their parents a comprehensive look at the different college athletic divisions and their requirements along with a step-by-step plan to make those college sports dreams a reality.

ESL/ELL Resources for Teachers, Parents and Students

Students who are English Language Learners (ELL) make up 9.3 percent of the U.S. public school population, according to 2013-14 estimates. At the same time, less than one percent of public school teachers are qualified ESL instructors. For students to get the education they need—both in English language and other academic subjects—teachers, parents and the students themselves must team up and take advantage of the resources available. This guide provides over 50 online ESL resources along with crucial information for ELL students, their families, and teachers.

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First-Year College Student Survival Guide

Students drop out of college after the first year for many reasons, but it doesn’t have to be that way. With the proper support, life skills and tools in place, freshmen students can survive and even thrive their first year of college, which makes it more likely they will return for their sophomore year. Find tips, expert advice, and valuable resources to help first-year college students make it through their freshman year.

Guide for Students with Disabilities

Students with disabilities face a number of unique challenges when it comes to higher education. Do their target schools have the right accommodations in place? Can they get discounts on hearing aids or other tools to help make their learning environment more welcoming? Lots of questions. This guide looks at the tools, technology and resources that facilitate academic success for more than a dozen separate disabilities.

Higher Education for Military Veterans

Each year, thousands of troops make the transition from active service to civilian life. These new veterans, as well as many others, have a number of resources available to help them earn a college degree. Veteran and education benefits expert Ron Kness discusses the GI Bill, Yellow Ribbon Program and more than dozen other resources for the aspiring veteran student.

Low Income Student Guide

College students from low income families may face challenges and hurdles above and beyond those faced by their classmates. What challenges do these student face, and how are schools helping? What can these students do to ensure their success now and in the future? We discuss this with an expert and offer practical solutions for low income students.

Multicultural & Diversity Guide

College students receive a richer and more meaningful education when they gain exposure to students from other cultures and backgrounds by attending an inclusive school. Their horizons are widened, and they learn how to practice tolerance and interact with a variety of people. This guidebook discusses the many benefits of attending a school with a diverse student body and offers dozens of multicultural and diversity resources on campus and in the community.

Online Learning at Christian College

Christian colleges offer students a higher education centered on faith. But how do they treat online education? Do online students have the same religious benefits or requirements as their campus-based counterparts? We asked two experts with first-hand experience taking or teaching online courses at religious colleges and universities. Learn the basics and read the details that matter.

Resources & Scholarships for Single Moms & Dads in School

Being a single mom or dad takes energy, determination, and love. Single moms and dads who strive to earn a college degree deserve respect, but there are also many challenges associated with being a student and a single parent. Fortunately, there are many systems in place to help them reach their goals, including scholarships and other forms of financial support. Find out how single parents are getting their college degrees and learn about the organizations helping them get there.

Guide for Transgender College Students

Transgender college students can face many hurdles when it comes to accessing basic student services, safe spaces and typical college experiences. They also experience discrimination and harassment at alarming rates. This guide will help trans students know their rights, what to do if they face discrimination and how to find a school environment that acknowledges and supports their gender identity.

Studying with ADHD

College students who have been diagnosed with ADHD struggle to stay focused, motivated and organized, which can make studying and earning good grades a real challenge. But adjusting one’s study habits and routine can make a world of difference. This guide discusses how the different types of ADHD affect learning and retention, and also offers strategies on how to overcome the most common studying obstacles for students with ADHD.