Educated Nation writes that UniversitiesAndColleges.org has compiled a "be-all end-all" list of free online college courses. These aren't degree-granting programs, but they're a great way to embark on or continue your intellectual journey, whether you're a high schooler who wants a glimpse into what college coursework is like or a graduate eager to expand your knowledge. Have a specific subject of interest? You can select from subjects such as History or Business and Economics. Want a taste of the Ivy League? Yale puts lecture videos of introductory courses online.

Here are some of the fantastic educational options available on the web:

• Stanford University offers downloadable courses and lectures that can be played on your iPod.

• Aspiring music students can get instruction through the Berklee School of Music's free music lessons.

• Check out business school by sampling classes from MIT's presitigious Sloan School of Management.

• MIT, the top tech school in the country, also has a considerable number of free undergraduate course materials.

• Study abroad just became free with podcasts and lectures from the UK's University of Nottingham.

For these awesome choices and many more, check out the full list here.

A degree may be the most significant thing you receive from your college, but at the University of Tampa, students get more than just a four-year education. Any graduate can hold their wedding reception in one of the school's three ballrooms (originally built as part of a luxury hotel) at no cost. Not every college has perks this lucrative, but as admissions becomes even more competitive (for both the applicants and the schools),these little extras sometimes make the difference between an accepted applicant who matriculates and one who doesn't. Check out some of the special benefits students enjoy at the following schools:

• Free (or discounted) transportation: Eco-friendly University of New England lets its freshmen choose between a $480 Gary Tiburon bicycle or a Zipcar gift card loaded with 28 hours of driving. Stanford University offers students $282 through its Commute Club for carpooling, public transportation, and biking. Students also receive $96 in Zipcar credit.

• Free laptops: At Wake Forest and Villanova University, students are given a free laptop when they enter as freshmen and it is replaced junior year by a new laptop that they can keep after they graduate.

• Free vacations: Cottey College, a two-year, liberal arts women's college, offers an all-expenses paid spring break trip to Europe for the senior class (in addition to free maid service and five-star cuisine for all its students).

• Maid service: Stereotypes of rotting take-out containers under unmade beds don't exist at George Washington University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, or Xavier University. These schools give their students complimentary maid service to keep on-campus rooms shiny and clean.
  

• Laundry service: At Davidson, students get their clothes picked up, washed, dried, pressed, hung, and dropped off free of charge. (Dry cleaning is extra, though!) Belmont University, Bryn Mawr College, and Xavier also offer free self-service washers and dryers so students don't have to worry about making change for the machine.
  

• Cheap recreation: For a $20 annual membership in the golf club, recreational golfers can rent equipment and use the private facilities at Syracuse University. At Stanford University, students only pay $25 a round (normally $110 a round for guests) at the school's famed golf course. Michigan Technological University also owns a ski slope where students can rip it up for free without having to pay for lift tickets.

Now that you're psyched about the opportunites offered by college fairs, make sure you're prepared to get as much out of the event as possible. It's easy to get distracted with a seemingly endless array of options or to get intimidated by the hordes of students in attendance, but you'll be able to network with the best of them if you go with a gameplan and keep in mind the following advice:

1. Go with some idea of schools to "visit", but stay open-minded. You don't want to show up with no clue about what to do or who to talk to, but don't limit yourself to a pre-determined list either. Make sure you get to talk to representatives from all the schools you're strongly considering, and leave some time to look around for interesting colleges you haven't yet considered (or perhaps even heard of).
2. Don't rely on your parents to ask questions, says one admissions counselor at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. You're the one who's going to be attending college so you should be responsible for taking charge of your own future.
3. However, don't ask obvious questions either. The Inside Scoop asks, "Can you imagine the agony of being a college rep standing behind a table for two hours, being asked repeatedly: 'What SAT Subject Tests do you require?' 'Do you offer financial aid?' 'What GPA do I need?' 'How far from NYC are you?'" Make the most of the fair by inquiring about things you can't figure out on your own through a Google search.
4. Focus on whether the school fits your needs, not whether your transcript fits a certain criteria. The College Solution quotes several admissions officers who bemoan the number of students overly concerned with statistics on the average SAT or GPA needed for acceptance. Though college admissions can certainly get competitive at some schools, representatives can't tell you on-the-spot whether your specific academic history is enough to get you in, especially when high schools have different ways of weighing. A whole range of other factors, including how you do on the application essay and interview, will determine the school's eventual decision.
5. Check out the freebies. According to Dave Carpenter of The Associated Press, counseling and resource centers at the NACAC college fairs offer free advice to students looking for specific information on subjects like standardized testing and loan options. This is your chance to get the admissions counseling that can sometimes cost thousands of dollars.
6. Write down your contact information. If you have a great conversation with a representative and are really interested in their school, make sure you leave the necessary information for them to get in touch with you later. Chris D'Orso, Assistant Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Stony Brook University, notes that many students nowadays prefer to take some information and to reach schools on their own, instead of writing down their contact information. This can be frustrating for an admissions officer who's interested in establishing a relationship with you.

For more tips on how to make the most of your college fair experience, check out this guide from the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

Image by Gould Library and used under a Creative Commons license.

In recent years, more and more students have gone online to explore their higher education options, but the "old school" college fair remains one of the most affordable, convenient opportunities to learn about prospective schools. What exactly are college fairs? According to Dave Carpenter of The Associated Press, they are "large, free gatherings of college admissions representatives who sit in convention halls, dispensing information and answering questions. Students and their parents go through aisle by aisle like at a supermarket, stopping at the booths of colleges that interest them." It may seem like a terribly traditional way of conducting your college search, but attending a college fair has several valuable benefits, such as:

• Enabling you to demonstrate interest. HowToGetIn.com says that networking can mean the difference between acceptance and rejection if you're in the running for a highly coveted spot. An admissions officer is more likely to accept you if you've talked to the school's representatives, left your contact information, and demonstrated your enthusiasm for the school. These are all signs that you'll be eager to attend if accepted, and colleges -- just like you -- want to avoid rejection.

• Saving your family money. Few families can shell out the dough for a two-week tour of the Ivy League, but a trip to the local convention center (for a free fair) is something that most can afford. Before you schedule potentially pricey college visits, get an initial feel for each campus by chatting with representatives. You'll be able to access information on top colleges and universities, all in one room, all at one time. Since the quality of schools in attendance is "unparalleled", says CampusCompare, you'll be exposed to diverse and prestigious institutions without having to leave town. Find out which schools will be in attendance by using the NACAC Exhibitor Search.

• Allowing you to practice for the real thing. Now's the time to get any performance anxiety out of the way. Come fall, you'll be writing essays, filling out applications, and selling yourself to colleges on paper and in real life. If you're nervous about speaking with admissions representatives during campus visits or alumni during admissions interviews, then attending a college fair will offer plenty of opportunities to get comfortable with these types of interactions.

Though the college decision process is winding down for graduating high school seniors, juniors are just gearing up for several months of tough choices as they narrow down lists of schools for fall application. You can get started now by checking out the schedule of college fairs offered by the National Assocation for College Admission Counseling, the largest organizer of college fairs nationwide. If you do some planning in the summer months ahead and create a schedule for college fairs and visits for the fall, you can enter your last year of high school prepared to tackle the admissions process with a lot more ease and much less stress.

If you're a last-minute applicant combing through the NACAC Space Availability Survey with no matches, there's another resource you can turn to if you're interested in studying in New England. The New England Board of Higher Education has published its Vacancy Survey Report, which includes results from 202 of 219 New England schools. An astounding 147 of them (or 70 percent of the schools polled) still have openings for the fall.

Vacancies are largely at four-year private institutions such as Quinnipiac University, Marlboro College, and Johnson and Wales University. Alongside these options are public universities, private two-year colleges, and community colleges, all of which represent a diverse range of options in the region. The report categorizes schools based on availability for freshman and transfer applicants, mentions programs (such as nursing) which have now closed enrollment, and also indicates if there is housing and financial aid available. It also conveniently lists schools in New England which are no longer accepting any applicants and have no further vacancies. (If you're considering calling up individual institutions, consult this "closed" list first.)

To check out the full survey results, download the report from the NEBHE website. NEBHE  strongly advises that late applicants get moving "because openings are limited at some institutions, especially in bachelor’s degree programs."