Acronym Mania!
This test has gained wide acceptance by a broad range of institutions in recent years and is given during the school year at test centers. This tests English, mathematics, reading, and science reasoning. The score is the average of all four tests; the maximum score is 36.
ACT
An admissions decision. You’re in! You are being offered a place to the college to which you applied. Your high school may also receive notification.
Accepted!
The number and percentage of students returning for the sophomore year.
Retention Rate
This is the way colleges and universities deliver their news about student eligibility for Pell Grants, Institutional funding, Stafford Loans, and Work Study.
Financial Aid Award or Financial Aid Package
It is the largest urban university system in the United States. It was founded in 1961 and comprises 24 campuses: eleven senior colleges, seven community colleges, one undergraduate honors college, and seven post-graduate institutions.
CUNY (City University of New York)
National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test — This test, given in October, duplicates the kinds of questions asked on the SAT but is shorter and takes less time. Usually taken in the junior year, the test also acts as a qualifying instrument for the National Merit Scholarship Awards Program and is helpful for early college guidance.
PSAT
An admissions decision. You are not in. The decision is made by the college or university admissions committee and is forwarded to you.
Denied or Rejected
A year or a semester or an intensive experience equal to a course and considerable interaction between the student and the culture.
Study Abroad
More “free” money, these awards are based on excellence in academics, leadership, volunteerism, athletic ability, and other areas determined by the granting organization, which can be a college or university, an organization, or an individual.
Merit-Based Scholarships
It is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, spanning 64 campuses across the state. The system divides its campuses into four distinct categories: university centers/doctoral-granting institutions, comprehensive/university colleges, technology colleges, and community colleges.
State University of New York
Reasoning Test — Also known as “board scores” because the test was developed by the College Board. This test concentrates on verbal, mathematical reasoning, and writing abilities and is given throughout the academic year at test centers. The maximum combined score for the three sections is 2400.
SAT
This admission decision indicates that you are not in yet, but may be admitted if an opening becomes available. Schools rank in order of priority.
Wait List
This is an experience-based opportunity, most often scheduled during breaks in the academic calendar, whereby a student receives credit for a supervised work experience related to his or her major.
Internship
The College Board created this program to assist post-secondary institutions, state scholarship programs, and other organizations in measuring a family’s financial strength and analyzing its ability to contribute to college costs. This form is submitted to some 300 private colleges and universities when seeking financial aid from these institutions.
CSS Profile (College Scholarship Service)
This program is a partnership between the State of New York and its independent colleges, which provides economically and educationally disadvantaged residents the possibility of a college education.
Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP)
These subject-specific exams are given on the same test dates and in the same centers as the SAT I. More emphasis has been placed on these tests in recent years, not only because they are used for admission purposes, but also for placement and exemption decisions.
SAT IIs (Subject Tests)
The admissions decision is being moved to a later date. This could also apply if the student was admitted with prerequisites that can include submission of additional documents, a summer course, an articulation agreement and/or enrollment in a support program upon matriculation.
Deferred Admission or Conditional Admission
This phrase refers to sororities and fraternities. These organizations often have great impact on the campus social life of a college or university.
Greek Life
These are all the types of financial aid.
Grants, Scholarships, Loans, and Work-Study.
This program is for students who are New York State residents and who are attending a post-secondary educational institution in New York. It is managed by the Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC), which is a New York State Agency.
Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)
This is the federal government’s instrument for calculating need-based aid.
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)
This happens on occasion and most typically happens when a student’s grades drop significantly after the student is admitted. If there are extenuating circumstances behind this, it should be explained. Also, if the student is suspended from school and/or dishonest on his or her application the consequence may likely lead to this.
Revoked Admission
This may be required to ensure that a student starts in the right classes for their academic background and program. If this indicates that you a student needs additional preparation before they enter classes that count toward their program, they may need to take one or more developmental courses.
Placement Test
Admissions decisions made without reference to a student’s financial aid request, that is, an applicant’s financial need is not known to the committee at the time of decision.
Need-Blind
This gives undocumented and other students with pending status access to New York State‐administered grants and scholarships that support their higher education costs.
(Senator Jose Peralta) New York State DREAM Act