Matchmaking isn’t limited to dating – it can also lead to the best educational fit. On Appily, for example, you’ll answer questions about what size college you’re interested in, which majors pique your curiosity and how far from home you want to be. You can then peruse a list of schools that fit your criteria, and compare the various options. Another tool, College Raptor’s College Match Guide, takes into account factors like your GPA, potential major, SAT and/or ACT test scores, culture and family income.

In other words, these tools do a lot of the legwork for you, narrowing down a huge pool of options into a small list. “They get kids to start thinking about, ‘What are the best matches?’” says Jason Vallozzi, founder of Campus to Career Crossroads. “College is a matchmaking process. Many people go about it by chasing the name of an institute,” rather than taking the time to figure out what’s the best fit for them – which is why these tools can prove helpful.

There’s no other way to phrase it: College is expensive. In fact, 66% of college students told College Ave that costs were surprisingly high.

Utilizing calculators as soon as you consider certain colleges can help make your bill less startling. Net price calculators – which must be featured on the websites of colleges that participate in federal financial aid programs – provide an estimated cost of attendance (including tuition and required fees, books and supplies, housing and food, and other related expenses). “It can help families say, ‘Wow, we’re looking at a cost of $80,000 a year, and we have two kids,’” Vallozzi says. “It can be a great way to avoid the heartache when you get a tuition overview and are floored at what you’ll need to pay.”

According to the College Ave survey, 56% of students borrow student loans. If you’re among them, try using this student loan calculator, which breaks down in-school payment, post-school monthly payment and the total interest, depending on how long you take to pay it off.