Dr. Kenneth Hartman, Director of admission and guidance services for the College Board's Middle States region, knows the power of the Internet. "You can get important information now that never was available before," he says.

The World Wide Web offers a wealth of information parents and students can use to help in their search for the right college. But Hartman says few families take advantage of this opportunity.

Hartman is the author of the Internet Guide for College Bound Students ($14.95 The College Board). The book shows parents and students how to search the Internet to find the information they need to make the right decisions about college. Much of this information in also available at Hartman's web site, Dr. Ken's Net Tips .

In addition to general tips for using the Internet, Hartman addresses the college financial aid picture. A good starting place to learn about various financial aid options is Signet Bank's College Money Matters.

At this site, parents can determine how much money they'll be expected to contribute to their child's college education and how much they should be saving now to meet that obligation. This site also reviews financing options such as various types of loans.

Scholarships are another financing option. Parents can conduct a free online scholarship search at the College Board Online.

Hartman also provides resources for helping to narrow the search for the right college. For example, to search for a college by certain preferences such as size and geographic location, try College Xpress.

But perhaps the most useful information in Hartman's book and on his web page is what he calls 'unofficial information.'

"This is the first attempt that I know of by anybody to go beyond the admissions rhetoric and actually show parents how they can verify, if you will, information that's provided by the college," Hartman says.

For instance, parents can go to college home pages and find class schedules to see who is actually teaching courses and learn whether the courses are taught by professors or graduate students.

They can check the campus public safety site to see the crime rate on campus and what types of crimes have occurred, or find information on the ethnic makeup of student populations.

Hartman recommends finding college homepages through the Christina DeMello Search . This is the oldest and first college home page search site, with more than 3,000 colleges listed.

Hartman also suggests sending email to students, faculty and administrators at a particular college to find out what they have to say about the programs and atmosphere at the college.

His book includes sample email letters, with questions such as, "How would you rate student services?" and "How would you describe the typical student at your college?"

You can find student and faculty email addresses by searching the college homepage for information on individual faculty members, various academic departments, or social and academic clubs on campus. Officers in college clubs will often list their email addresses.

If a student is interested in a particular area of study, he or she can write students at the college to find out about their experiences with that field of study. Or look for the address of the alumni association and contact former students who have a degree in your child's area of interest.

Hartman suggests asking if they believe their education prepared them for the work force, and about their job-hunting experiences after graduation.

Another useful source of information is the college newspaper. LINK, The College Magazine, lists many college newspapers. Parents can read back issues to learn about campus events, student concerns, and get an idea of the general climate on campus.

Hartman's book and web page also include a handy worksheet to help organize all this information to get a complete picture of what a college has to offer.

Internet Guide for College-Bound Students by Kenneth Hartman, is available for $14.95 from the College Board, through Amazon Books, or by calling 1-800-323-7155. You can also send email to Kenneth Hartman at khartman@collegeboard.org.