Glossary of Terms | Common Abbreviations

GLOSSARY OF TERMS [ top ]
American College Testing Program Assessment (ACT): Test battery of the American College Testing Program, given at test centers in the United States and other countries on specified dates throughout the year. It includes tests in English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. Scores are reported as 1 to 36 as highest.

Associate Degree: Awarded by a college or university after satisfactory completion of a two-year program of study.

Award Letter: Document issued to a student financial aid recipient that indicates the type, amount, and disbursement dates of the funds awarded for the various financial aid programs.

Financial Aid Award Letter: A notice from a college or other financial aid sponsor that tells you how much aid is being offered. The award letter also usually explains how your financial need was determined, describes the contents of the financial aid package, and outlines any conditions attached to the award.

Bachelor’s, or Baccalaureate Degree: A degree received after the satisfactory completion of a four- or five year, full-time program of study (or its part-time equivalent) at a college or university. The bachelor of arts (BA) and bachelor of science (BS) are the most common baccalaureates. There is no absolute difference between the degrees, and policies concerning their award vary from college to college.

Candidates Reply Date Agreement CRDA): Allows students to defer attendance decisions at participating colleges until May 1. This enables students to hear from most of the colleges they have applied to before having to select one.

Certificate: An award for completing a particular program or course of study, sometimes given by two-year colleges or vocational or technical schools. [ top ]

College-Level Examination Program (CLEP): Provides an opportunity for examinees to demonstrate and receive college credit for competency obtained through life experiences. The test consists of five general examinations, and several covering specific subject matter. Some colleges grant credit to students who demonstrate competency on the exam.

College Scholarship Service (CSS): A service of the college Board that assists post-secondary institutions, state scholarship programs, and other organizations in the equitable distribution of student financial aid funds by measuring a family’s financial strength and analyzing its ability to contribute to college costs. CSS provides the Financial Aid Form (FAF) with which students may apply for nonfederal aid at some colleges.

Deferred Admission: Allows an accepted student to postpone admission for one year.

Dependent Student: A student who is dependent upon his parents or guardian for financial support or who does not meet the criteria for classification as an independent student.

Dependent Student: One who is dependent on his/her parents for financial support. Dependency status is determined by guidelines established by the federal government.

Expected Family Contribution: Amount that parents and the student can reasonably be expected to pay for post-secondary education. For dependent students this includes the sum of the amounts that reasonably may be expected from the student (and spouse) to meet the student’s cost of education and the amount that may be expected to be made available by his or her parents for this purpose.

Federal Pell Grant Program: Aid awarded by the federal government to be used toward tuition, room and board, books, fees, and other educational expenses. Pell grants need not be repaid. [ top ]

Federal Perkins Loan Program: Federally funded, low-interest loans made available by individual colleges and based on financial need. Repayment begins six months after graduation.

Federal Stafford Loan: This is a federal program based on need that allows students to borrow money for educational expenses directly from banks and other lending institutions (sometimes from the colleges themselves). The amounts that may be borrowed depend on the student’s year in school. Interest rates are variable.

Federal Work-Study Program: An arrangement by which a student combines employment and college study. The employment may be an integral part of the academic program (as in cooperative education or internships) or simply a means of paying for college.

Fellowship: A form of graduate financial aid that usually requires service- often in the form of time devoted to a research project.

Financial Aid Form (FAF): A need analysis form required by some colleges in addition to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Financial Aid Package: The total financial aid award offered to you. It may be made up of a combination of aid that includes both gift aid (which doesn’t have to be repaid) and self-help (work-study and/or loans) Many colleges try to meet a student’s full financial need but availability of funds, the institution’s aid policies, and the number of students needing aid all affect the composition of a financial aid package. [ top ]

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): A form completed by all applicants for federal student aid. In many states, completion of the FAFSA is also sufficient to establish eligibility for state-sponsored aid programs. There is no charge to students for completing the FAFSA. Forms are widely available in high schools and colleges, and may be filed any time after January 1 of the year for which one is seeking aid.

Gift Aid: Student financial aid that does not require repayment or require that work be performed. This includes grant and scholarships.

Grade Point Average (GPA): Indicates a student’s overall scholastic performance. It is computed by assigning a point value to each grade (for example, A=5, B=4, C=3, D=2, F=1), adding the total, and then dividing the total by the number of grades.

Grant or Scholarship: A type of financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid. Grants are often based on financial need. Scholarships may be based on need, on need combined with other criteria, or solely on other criteria such as academic achievement, artistic ability, talent in the performing arts, and the like.

Hope Education Tax Credit: A federal income tax credit of as much as $1,500 per student dependent annually; available to eligible taxpayers based on “out-of-pocket” tuition and fee expenditures, according to income eligibility guidelines.

Internship: A short-term, supervised work experience, usually related to your major, for which you may earn either academic credit or a stipend. [ top ]

Lifetime Learning Tax Credit: A federal income tax credit of as much as $1,000 per household annually; available to eligible taxpayers based on “out-of-pocket” tuition and fee expenditures, according to income eligibility guidelines.

Major: Area of concentration in a particular field of study. Usually students specialize in their majors during the junior and senior years at college.

Need Analysis Form: The starting point in applying for financial aid. These forms (FAFSA, FAF, and sometimes individual college forms) collect information about the student’s financial situation for the purpose of determining whether his or her family demonstrates financial need.

Need Based on Financial Aid: Gift and/or self-help financial aid given to students who have demonstrated financial need, calculated by subtracting the student’s expected family contribution from a college’s total costs.

Definition of Need: Cost of Attendance-Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
=Financial Need

Open Admission: The college admission policy of admitting high school graduates and other adults generally without regard to conventional academic qualifications, such as high school subjects, high school grades, and admission test scores. Virtually all applicants with high school diplomas or their equivalent are accepted. [ top ]

Parents’ Contribution: The amount your parents are expected to pay toward college costs from their income and assets. It is derived from need analysis of the parents’ overall financial situation. Your parents’ contribution and your contribution together constitute the total family contribution, which, when subtracted from your college expense budget, equals your financial need. Generally, you are eligible for financial aid equal to your financial need.

Personal Expenses: You’re probably used to paying for some of your personal expenses-clothes, toiletries, magazines, CD’s, movies. But once you’re at college, you’re also going to be responsible for laundry and dry cleaning bills, phone bills, accessories and supplies for your living quarters, and a lot of other little incidentals, which can add up to anywhere from $600 to more than twice that.

Profile Online: An electronic application option available for students required to complete in the CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE. By connecting to College Board Online at www.collegeboard.org, students can choose to register for a paper PROFILE application or complete the entire application online.

Quarter System: Divides the nine-month academic year into three equal parts of approximately 12 weeks each. Summer sessions, if any, are usually the same length. Credits are granted as quarter hours (three quarter hours = two semester hours).

Registrar: College official who registers students and collects fees. The registrar also may be responsible for keeping permanent records, maintaining student files, and forwarding copies of students’ transcripts to employers and schools. [ top ]

Residency Requirements: Length of time stipulated by colleges or universities that students must spend on campus taking courses. Also refers to the period of time, set by states, that families or students must reside in the state before being considered eligible for state aid.

Rolling Admissions: An admissions procedure by which the college considers each student’s application as soon as all the required credentials, such as school record and test scores, have been received. The college usually notifies applicants of its decision without delay.

SAT I: Reasoning Test - The College Board’s test of developed verbal and mathematical reasoning abilities, given on specified dates throughout the year. (The SAT was changed in 1994 and renamed SAT I: Reasoning Test.) The test is divided into two sections: verbal and mathematical. Each section is scored from 200 to 800. The SAT I s required by many colleges and sponsors of financial aid programs.

SAT II: Subject Tests - Formerly called Achievement Tests, these are administered in a variety of academic subjects and sometimes required by colleges for admission or for placement in freshman courses. Students often SAT II: Subject Tests at the end of their junior year or in the middle of their senior year.

Scholarship or Grant: A type of financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid. Grants are often based on financial need. Scholarships may be based on need, on need combined with other criteria, or solely on other criteria such as academic achievement, artistic ability, talent in the performing arts, and the like.

Semester System: Divides the academic year into two equal segments of approximately 18 weeks each. Summer sessions are shorter, but require more intensive study. [ top ]

Student Aid Report: Student’s official notification from the processing center of the results of his or her need analysis form. To receive payment, the student must submit the document to the financial aid office at the institution where he or she enrolls.

Student Expense Budget: A calculation of the annual cost of attending college that is used to determine your financial need. Student expense budgets usually include tuition and fees, books and supplies, room and board, personal expenses, and transportation. Sometimes additional expenses are included for students with special education needs, students who have a disability, or students who are married or have children.

Student’s Contribution: The amount you are expected to pay toward college costs from your income, assets, and benefits. The amount is derived from need analysis of your resources. Your contribution and your parents’ contribution constitute the total family contribution, which, when subtracted from the student budget, equals financial need. Generally, you are eligible for financial aid equal to your financial need.

Title IV Number: A six-digit federal code number that identifies a specific college to which you want your FAFSA form submitted.

Transcript: Official record of a student’s coursework at a school or college. A transcript is generally required as part of the college application process.

Tuition and Fee Waivers: Some colleges waive the tuition or tuition and fees for some categories of students, such as adults, senior citizens, or children of alumni.