September is the beginning of college application season and though it's a difficult process for applicants, it's pretty tough on their parents too! Whether you're a parent of a soon-to-be college kid or a counselor at school, these 8 helpful resources will help you be better equipped to help them.

1. 8 Horrific College Application Nightmares (& How to Deal)

A compilation of horror stories from college applicants, this article gives some pretty helpful advice for those tackling college apps season for the first time. From tales on school selection and technical difficulties to deadlines and procrastination, this thorough article is amusing and informative!

2. 5 Tips for Staying Organized During the College Application Season

To increase your efficiency, getting organized is an absolute must. Give these 5 tips to your outgoing students, but to go the extra mile as an advisor, try following the first 3 tips to be on the same page as all your students.

3. How to Prepare for College During Your Senior Year of High School

Speaking of getting organized, this resource gives you a great timeline to follow during the last summer, fall, winter and spring semesters of high school. This breakdown will help you and your kids be aware of application deadlines and scholarship opportunities, and stay on top of everything that's going on.

4. Applying to College: FAQs

The College Board has a basic fact sheet where you can find answers to their most commonly asked questions. How do kids start the application process? How many colleges should your students apply to? Is it okay to use the same material on different applications? You can find answers to all that and more!

5. College Prowler

Need help figuring out which colleges to consider applying to? Look up schools by majors, location and test scores on College Prowler, and find reviews from real students! It's a great website to start scoping out potential colleges and universities if you're unsure of where to start.

6. 4 Great Questions for your College Tour Guide

The best way to narrow down the colleges to apply to is to actually visit the campuses! These are 4 key questions that you should ask your college tour guide (with brief explanations on why each question is important).

7. YouVisit: Colleges & Universities

Getting to difference campuses can be very difficult, especially if it involves air travel. You can find a number of schools on YouVisit, a site that offers virtual tours free of charge online! Even if you've already visited the schools you're interested in, this site can be a handy comparison tool to help you further narrow down your choices.

8. Peterson's Guide to College

Peterson's is dedicated to helping students succeed in their lifelong educational journey. By providing accurate, dependable and practical tools and resources, Peterson's provides guidance to help parents, students, educators and service members reach their goals.

BookPal is giving away a set of 4 Peterson's 2015 reference books (Four-Year Colleges; Two-Year Colleges; How to Get Money for College; and Scholarships, Grants & Prizes) from Sept. 2-9, 2014 to help you and your soon-to-be college kids!! Enter for a chance to win by retweeting our College Prep Giveaway post on Twitter.

BookPal, the leading bulk book and eBook distributor, is dedicated to offering school administrators, educators and parents discounts on books in bulk. Browse our Literacy & Education bookshelf for bulk books for schools, classroom book sets for cheap and bulk eBooks.

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