ACT                                   

American College Test:  used by many schools instead of or in addition to SAT I.  Includes sections on English, Math, Reading, Science Reasoning, and Writing.

 

AP                                   

Advanced Placement: courses taken in high school that may qualify for college credit.

 

Award Letter                       

Letter from college spelling out its financial aid offer, including loans, grants, scholarships, and work study.

 

Class Rank                       

A measure of a student’s academic performance, relative to his/her high school class.

 

College Board                       

Administers to SAT, CSS Profile, AP Program

 

Common Application           

Application that is the same for over 200 schools that often require a school specific supplement as well

 

Cost of Attendance (COA)           

Tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplied, transportation, miscellaneous expenses.  Used in determining financial aid

 

CSS Profile                       

College Scholarship Services Profile.  Application for financial aid that is required by many private colleges and processed by College Board.

 

Deferred Admission                       

After being admitted, a student defers enrollment temporarily without needing to reapply. Policies differ- some colleges allow deferral for a semester, some for a year.  Approval is at the discretion of the Dean of Admissions.

 

Dependent Student           

A student whose parents’ financial status is evaluated in determining the student’s level of need based aid.  The FAFSA website lists questions used to determine dependency for federal financial aid purposes.

 

Direct Loan                        

Also called the Federal Ford Direct Loan Program.  Funding comes directly from the Program federal government rather than from private lenders.

 

Early Action (EA)           

Students apply early, typically in November and receive a decision in December.  The decision is non-binding; students may apply to toehr schools and do not need to notify the EA school until May.

 

Early Decisions (ED)           

Students apply to only one school (their first choice) in November and receive a decision in December.  The deadlines and decisions may be later for some schools.  The decision is binding”: students agree to enroll if accepted, assuming the school offers and adequate financial aid package.  Upon acceptance, students must send in a non-refundable deposit,             and withdraw applications for any other schools.

 

Expected Family Contribution (EFC)

A measure of a family’s financial strength based on their FAFSA

 

FAFSA                       

Free Application for Federal Student Aid- the application used by the government and by a majority of schools in making financial aid decisions (including loans)

 

Federal Work Study                        

A federally funded program that enables students to work party-time while in college

 

Grant                                   

Financial aid that does not have to be repaid

 

High School Code           

A six-digit number assigned to every high school, that students use when registering for             standardized tests and required on many college applications

 

Need-Aware                       

Schools that have limited financial aid resources, and thus consider need when making             admissions decisions

 

Need-Blind                       

Schools that make admissions decisions without considering the finances of applicants and offer some financial aid to an admitted student with demonstrated need

 

Pell Grant                       

Federal grant awarded based on need

 

Perkins Loan                       

Need-based Federal loan program

 

PLAN                                   

Pre-ACT taken in the fall of sophomore year.  The test measures current academic development, helps students explore career/training options, and is good practice

 

PLUS                                   

Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students.  Federal loan for parents of dependent             undergraduate children, without regard to need.

 

PSAT/NMSQT           

Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.  Taken             in the fall of sophomore and junior years, a practice for the SAT.  The junior year test is used to determine National Merit Scholars.

 

Rolling Admission           

Students are informed of the schools’ decision as soon as possible after the application is complete.  There are no fixed application deadlines.

 

SAR                                   

Student Aid Report.  A summary of FAFSA information including the EFC.

 

SIR                                   

Student Intent to Register form that is sent by admitted students to their chosen college             with a tuition deposit to secure their place.

 

SSR                       

Secondary School Report, which some colleges require from high schools.

 

Stafford Loan                       

Federal loan program, subsidized Stafford loans are need-based, but any student may qualify for an unsubsidized Stafford loan.

 

Unweighted GPA           

Computation of GPA on a 4.0 scale without accounting for Honors and AP courses.

 

Weighted GPA           

Adds credit on for Honors, AP