Finances
The amount of money that colleges charge for teaching or instruction.
What is tuition?
A student's concentrated field of study.
What is a major?
A student's secondary field of study.
What is a minor?
Many colleges will require a non-refundable one of these.
What is an Application Fee?
Someone who has had a family member attend that school. This can boost your chances of being admitted.
What is a Legacy?
A sum of money given to a student for the purposes of paying at least part of the cost of college, and can be awarded to students based on students' academic achievements or on many other factors.
What is a scholarship?
A college student who is working towards an associate or a bachelor's degree.
What is an Undergraduate?
A two year degree granted after satisfactory completion of a study at a community/junior college.
What is an associate degree?
A standard application form accepted by all colleges that are members of this association. You fill out this application once and submit it to any one, or several, of the nearly 700 colleges that accept it.
What is the Common Application?
The official record of your course work at a school or college. Usually required for college admissions and for some financial aid packages.
What is Transcripts?
Financial aid based on financial need provided by federal or state governments, an institution, a foundation, or some other nonprofit funding source that does not have to be repaid.
What is a grant?
A school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree.
What is a Graduate School?
An academic degree awarded by universities upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.
What is a Master's Degree?
A policy of accepting any high school graduate, no matter what his or her grades are, until all spaces in the incoming class are filled. Almost all two-year community colleges have this policy.
What is an Open Admission Policy?
The date by which your application-whether it's for college admission, student housing or financial aid - must be received to be given the strongest consideration.
What is Priority Date or Deadline?
Financial aid based on the student’s achievements whether academic, athletic, musical, or other achievement.
What is merit-based aid?
A degree program offering instruction in the humanities, social sciences or liberal arts.
What is a Bachelor of Arts?
Students who complete a 4-year degree in a field related to math or a natural science usually receive this degree.
What is a Bachelor of Science?
These are designed to measure students' skills and helo colleges evaluate how ready students are for college-level work. The ACT and SAT are used in the United States.
What are Admission Tests?
When schools evaluate the applications and get back to students as they come in, instead of releasing all of the results at once.
What is Rolling Admission?
A form that all students complete to be considered for federal financial aid (many colleges also require it for their in-house aid).
What is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)?
The highest degree awarded by a graduate school or other approved educational organization. In most countries, it is a research degree that qualifies the holder to teach at university level in the degree field.
What is a Doctorate?
This program is designed to offer you the opportunity to refresh, pick up or master a subject or skill at the postsecondary level. They are usually offered at the undergraduate and graduate level. It is typically fewer credits and take less time to complete.
What is a College Certificate?
The list of applicants who may be admitted to a college if space becomes available. Colleges wait to hear if all the students they accepted decide to attend. If students don't enroll an there are empty spots, a college may fill them with students who are on this.
What is a Waiting List?
Applying earlier and hearing back earlier. Contractually obligating you to attend if accepted.
What is Early Decision?