GLOSSARY OF TERMS

THE TOOLS

Glossary of terms

What follows is a quick reference guide for some of the terms you have encountered throughout this magazine, and will come across as you learn more about college in general. Sometimes it can seem like higher education has a language of its own, so if you find yourself hearing an unfamiliar word over and over again, remember to stop and do a little research. Simply punching the word or phrase into a search engine can help considerably in reducing the confusion!

Articulation agreement

An official agreement between two-year and four-year colleges that ensure classes completed at one school will be accepted when a student transfers to another school. This is very important for students who are planning to transition from one school to another; for instance, acquiring an associate degree before pursuing a bachelor’s degree.

Class rank

Although not all high schools offer a class rank, many do. It can be a useful metric for showing colleges how well you fared in comparison to your peers. If class rank is an optional part of your application, you should only include it if it reflects positively on you.

College application essay

An essay that a college requires students to write and submit as part of their application process. Some colleges offer applicants specific questions to answer, while others simply ask applicants to write about themselves. Colleges may refer to this as a “personal statement” and it serves to show them who you are as a person, and how you write. See page 14

College credit

Some advanced placement (AP) high school courses may provide you with college credits, which can be counted toward your future college degree. In other words, it’s an opportunity to start checking off college requirements before you ever set foot on campus.

Common App

A standard application form accepted by members of the Common Application association. It offers a way to organize your applications, keep track of progress, and eliminate some of the redundancy involved in individual applications. See page 20

Deferred admission

If you get into a school, but then something comes up and you are unable to start attending at the appointed time, a deferred admission may be granted. That means the school has agreed to let you begin enrollment the following semester or year.

Early action / early decision

Both early action and early decision are options to submit your application before the regular deadline. When you apply early action, you get a nonbinding response from colleges earlier than usual. In contrast, early decision is binding. If accepted, you must attend that college, so reserve this option for your first-choice school. If you don’t get accepted under either one of these options, don’t despair. Your application will roll into the regular decision process.

Entrance exams

Also known as college admissions tests, these are tests designed to measure students’ skills and help colleges evaluate how ready students are for college-level work. The ACT and the SAT are standardized admission tests, which is to say they measure the same things in the same way for everyone who takes them.

Expected family contribution

Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is an index number that college financial aid staff uses to determine how much financial aid you would receive if you were to attend their school. The information you report on your FAFSA form is used to calculate your EFC. The EFC will be changing its name to Student Aid Index (SAI) starting in the school year 2024 or before. See page 16

FAFSA

Before each year of college, apply for federal grants, work-study, and loans with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form. Colleges use your FAFSA data to determine your federal aid eligibility. See page 16

Financial aid

Money given or loaned to you to help pay for college. Financial aid can come from federal and state governments, colleges, and private organizations. See page 16

Internship

A work position intended to help the student, or intern, gain practical industry experience or satisfy college credits. Internships can help build useful career foundations and business connections, but not all internships are paid.

National candidate reply date (May 1)

After applying to several schools, you may find yourself in the fortunate position of getting to choose your favorite option from several that accepted you. This date is your deadline to let schools know whether or not you are accepting their offer of admission.

Registrar

The senior administrative executive within a college who processes registration requests, registers students and oversees their permanent records.

Rolling admission

An admission policy of considering each application as soon as it has been received, rather than setting a deadline. Colleges that use a rolling admission policy usually notify applicants of admission decisions quickly.

Scholarship

A grant or payment made to support a student’s education, awarded on the basis of academic or other achievement.

Transcript

The official record of your course work. Your high school transcript is usually required for college admission and for some financial aid packages.

Transfer student

A student who enrolls in a new college after having spent some time enrolled at a previous college.

Undergraduate

A college student who is working toward an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree. By contrast, a student working toward a higher degree (such as a master’s degree) is a graduate (or grad) student.

Wait list

In some instances, instead of an acceptance or rejection to a college, a student may be put on a wait list. Since not every student who gets into a particular college is going to accept enrollment there, spots may become available for students on the wait list. Those decisions are generally made later in the year.

Associate’s degree

A degree granted after a two-year course of study, especially by a community or junior college.

Bachelor of arts degree

A four-year college degree that covers standard general education requirements and then allows students to specialize in an area of interest, such as literature, history, language, or religion.

Bachelor of science degree

A four-year college degree that prepares students for graduate programs (Master’s and PhD) in science and engineering, or for some other STEM careers.

Liberal arts degree

A liberal arts degree includes the study of history, literature, writing, philosophy, sociology, psychology, creative arts and more. Students who earn a liberal arts degree learn to formulate effective arguments, to communicate well and solve problems.

Nonmatriculated student

A student who registers for and takes classes at a college but has not been admitted into a degree program.

Master’s degree

From the Latin “magister”, a master’s degree indicates completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a highorder overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice. A master’s degree generally comes after a bachelor’s degree.