Check out these informative articles that you might have missed.

With college application season here, advice and tips abound for students and their families. I’ve pulled together some of these helpful posts and articles on applying to college and the truth about the rising cost of college.

Filling out the Common App Robin Mamlet and Christine VanDeVelde at College Admission have created a terrific, free, step-by-step guide for completing the Common App, which you can download here. They even explain why specific questions are being asked. This guide is essential for anyone just getting started or who’s underway but unable to finish.

College admissions and social media After reading this New York Times article by Natasha Singer about the online research colleges are doing on their applicants, you might strongly suggest your high school student cleans up their social media presence.

But not so fast. Jeannine Lalonde, on her University of Virginia Admissions blog, “Notes from Peabody,” offers insight on why colleges really don’t spend their time checking out every applicant’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages. Then read her follow-up post on when they might search the Internet during the application process.

Rejection-proofing the application Okay, there’s no way to guarantee an acceptance, but there are ways to avoid getting knocked out of the applicant pool immediately. Cristiana Quinn shares the four things to do to prevent your application from being dismissed on the spot in her article on GoLocalWorcester.com.

Picking between a public or private college While private colleges generally have lower sticker prices than public ones, Niraj Chokshi, of the Washington Post, addresses the fact that costs are rising faster at public colleges than private ones, and what that means for students.

Share your thoughts and links to helpful articles you’ve found in the comments section below.