GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ADVANCED PLACEMENT (AP) – A test given to high school students, usually at the end of their junior or senior year, after they have completed certain AP or Honors course.  Many colleges give advanced standing and/or credit for these College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) sponsored tests.

BACCALAUREATE DEGREE – The Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science or any other bachelor’s degree granted by a college/university for a program that typically requires four years of full-time study.

BULLETIN/CATALOG – A detailed information book used by prospective students to learn about the policies, procedures, curricula, and courses available at a particular college.

CANDIDATE’S REPLY DATE AGREEMENT (CRDA) – Sponsored by the College Entrance Examination Board, this agreement establishes a common date, May 1, that is the earliest time a participating college may require an accepted applicant to notify the college whether he/she plans to attend.

COLLEGE – A school of higher learning, offering an academic degree, may be public or private and can be two-year or four-year.

COLLEGE-LEVEL EXAMINATION PROGRAM (CLEP) – An opportunity to obtain college credit regardless of where or how prior learning occurred.  Exams are administered in many subjects monthly.  Each college decides how much credit it will award.

COLLEGE WORK STUDY – An award of part-time employment for students who demonstrate financial need. 

COMMON APPLICATION FORM – A single application form that is accepted by hundreds of private institutions.  After completing the original application, you make copies and submit these copies to the Post-High School Counseling Office that will process them to the institutions, which accept the Common Application.  Participating colleges pledge to view this common application as equal to their own application.  Go to: www.commonapp.org

COMMUNITY COLLEGE – A two-year institution of higher learning that provides academic courses, which lead either into the work world or on to a four-year college program.

CONSORTIUM – Several colleges and universities in an area often join together in a consortium or cooperative association, which gives students the opportunity to use the libraries or take courses at all member institutions.  Consortium members often present joint lecture programs or unusual courses.

CORE CURRICULUM/GENERAL EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS – A group of courses, in varied areas of the arts and sciences, designated by a college as one of the requirements for a degree.

CREDIT HOUR – The system of assigning a given number of credits to a particular college course, usually based on the standard principle of one credit per hour per week per term of class meeting, e.g. English meets for three hours/week for a semester for three credit hours.

DEFERRED ADMISSION – Deferred Admission is a plan, which permits a student, once accepted, to postpone enrollment for one year in order to pursue other plans.

EARLY ACTION ADMISSION – Early Action is a plan offered by a few schools that invites early application but does not require the student to attend if accepted.  Application deadline is usually in early November.

EARLY ADMISSION – An exceptional student would terminate his or her high school education after the junior year and enroll in college.  Early Admission is generally highly selective.

EARLY DECISION – Early Decision, a plan offered by a select number of colleges, allows a student to apply to only one school for an early admission judgment between November and mid-January.  If accepted, the student is obligated to attend.  The student may submit other applications during this period, but only one can be Early Decision.

FINANCIAL AID FORMS – These are information forms completed by the student and his/her parents when seeking financial aid from a college.  The forms are submitted to a central processing service which determines the amount a family is expected to pay (family contribution), and supplies this information to the college.  Students can obtain these forms from the Guidance Office in January of their senior year.  A FINANCIAL AID WORKSHOP is presented in January to help parents and students understand the financial aid process.

FINANCIAL AID FORM, THE NEW AND EXPANDED (FAF) – This form was developed by College Scholarship Services of the College Board.  It may be obtained from them or the Guidance Office.  Most private colleges require it in addition to the FAFSA.  It asks for much more specific information.

FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE – Assembled by the financial aid office, the financial aid package contains an estimate of the total amount of financial aid a student is to receive.  It may include scholarships, grants, work, and loan funds from a variety of sources.

FINANCIAL NEED – The difference between the cost of attending a post-secondary institution and the family’s ability to pay for those costs.

FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA) – The form that must be completed by all students and parents who apply for federal student aid.  It is the only form that can be used to apply for Minnesota State Grant funds and, at most post-secondary institutions, for institutional funds. (www.fafsa.ed.gov )

FULL-TIME STUDENT – A student who takes at least 12 credit hours per semester.  One must be a full-time student to qualify for most financial aid.

GRADUATE SCHOOL – Program enrolled in after graduation from a four-year college program, usually for concentrated preparation in a field of study.

GRANT – An outright award to the student, based on academic excellence or financial need.  The student does not have to repay this money.

LOAN – A form of assistance that requires repayment after graduation at a low rate of interest.

MAJOR – A particular subject or area in which a student specializes in college

MINOR – Similar to a major, but requiring fewer credits.

NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP – The National Merit Scholarship is a private scholarship program for undergraduate study offering college money to several thousand of the nation’s most outstanding students each year.  Students qualify for the scholarship by taking the PSAT/NMSQT in October of their junior year.  Only the students who represent the upper one half of the top one percent of high school graduates in their state are selected as Semi-finalists and thereby become eligible to continue in the competition for scholarship opportunities. 

NEED-BLIND – The philosophical position that a college accepts a student on the basis of his or her meeting specific requirements without regard to the student’s ability to pay.  The understanding is that the school’s Financial Aid Office will assemble an appropriate package for that student.