College Words

Academic Year: The school year, which usually runs from September to June.

Accredited: A certification by an independent review board that a college meets certain academic and other standards. Usually, students may only receive financial aid if they attend an accredited college.

Achievement Tests: Standardized tests given by the College Board in specific high school subjects, used by colleges when admitting students.

ACT: A standardized admission test used by many colleges.

Advanced Placement (AP): High-level courses taken in high school. Students who pass the Advanced Placement test at the end of the course may receive college credit for the course, or may be placed in a higher-level course than other students.

Application Fee: The fee charged by a college to process a student's application.

Associate's Degree: A degree granted by some colleges after students complete a two-year, full-time course of study, or its part-time equivalent.

Bachelor's (Baccalaureate) Degree: A degree granted by a college after students complete a four-year, full-time course of study, or its part-time equivalent.

Bursar: The college official responsible for collecting tuition and other fees.

Campus: The buildings and grounds of a college.

Chair: The highest administrator of an academic department at a college.

Coeducational: A college or program that includes both men and women.

College: A school offering studies that lead to an academic degree. A college may be part of a larger university.

College Board: A non-profit membership organization composed of over 4,500 schools, colleges and universities that provides a number of services relating to college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, and enrollment. It is best known for administering the SAT, the PSAT/NMSQT and the Advanced Placement program.

College Work-Study (CWS) Program: A form of financial aid where students work part-time at their college, for example in a library or dining hall.

Community College: A college that offers programs (usually two years or shorter) that prepare students for immediate employment, or for transfer to a four-year college or university.

Competitive Admission: A policy in which a college admits only the best students who apply.

Cooperative (Co-Op) Education: A program in which students combine study in a career field with employment in that field.

Credit: A way of measuring students' progress in a course of study, usually measured in hours. Usually, a course carries the same number of credit hours as the number of hours that the class meets per week over the course of the semester.

Curriculum: The available courses in a program of study.

Dean: The highest official of a division, college or school.

Declare a Major: To officially tell a college the program in which you intend to study.

Deferred Repayment: A loan that students do not have to begin paying back immediately after leaving school.

Deferred Admission: A policy in which a college may accept a student, but allow the student to delay attending for one year.

Degree: An academic title received after successfully completing a program of study, such as a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Department: A specific area of study within a larger college or school.

Doctorate: The highest degree offered by a university; also called a Doctorate or Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.). Physicians receive a Medical Doctorate (M.D.), and lawyers receive a Juris Doctorate (J.D.).

Elective: An optional class.

Faculty: The teachers, professors and instructors who teach at a school.

Federal Pell Grant: A college federal financial aid grant program for students who show financial need. Students apply by filling out the FAFSA.

Federal Perkins Student Loan: A low-interest loan for students who show financial need. Students apply by filling out the FAFSA.

Federal PLUS Loan (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students): Financial aid processed through a bank, other lender, or college to help pay for college. These loans must be repayed with interest and cannot be deferred.

Federal Stafford Loan / Direct Ford Loan: Student financial aid processed through a bank and/or a college. A student must be enrolled in a college degree program at least part-time, and the loan must be paid back with interest after the student leaves school. Students apply by filling out the FAFSA. Formerly called the Guaranteed Student Loan.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG): A federal grant for students with exceptional need. Students apply by filling out the FAFSA.

Federal Unsubsidized Stafford / Direct Unsubsidized Ford Loan: Similar to a Federal Stafford Loan, except interest is paid by the student during college.

Fee: Money charged by a college in addition to tuition for fees provided to a student, such as for lab materials or recreational facilities.

Financial Aid: Federal, state, college and private programs to help students pay for college costs. Financial aid can be in the form of grants and scholarships, loans, or work-study programs.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): The application required for most federal, state and college financial aid. Students must file their applications between January 1 and March 1 of every year they plan to attend college.

Full-Time Student: A student taking at least a minimum number of credit hours designated by the college for full-time status.

General Education: Classes that all students must take regardless of major.

Gift Aid: Financial aid that is not repaid, such as grants and scholarships.

Graduate: A person who receives a degree or diploma from a school indicating that he or she has successfully completed a program of study.

Graduate Student: A student who has received a bachelor's degree and is working on an advanced degree, such as a master's or doctorate.

Grant: Financial aid based on student need that is not repaid.

Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL): See Federal Stafford Loan.

Internship: A program in which students receive class credit for working at jobs related to their major.

Junior College: See Community College.

Liberal Arts: A course of study that focuses on general knowledge and reasoning ability instead of a specific career.

Loan: Financial aid that must be repaid with interest after a student leaves school.

Major: A subject area in which students earn a degree.

Master's Degree: An advanced college degree earned after a bachelor's degree, which normally takes two years for a full-time student to complete.

Open Admission Policy: An admission policy in which anyone with a high school diploma or equivalent can attend a college.

Orientation: A program at the beginning of a school year to help new students become familiar with a school.

Part-Time Student: A student enrolled in less than the number of course credits required for full-time status.

Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test / National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT): A high school test administered by the College Board that measures verbal and math skills and prepares students for the SAT. It also determines eligibility for National Merit Scholarships.

Provost: The chief academic officer at a college, responsible for faculty and courses.

Public College: A college supported by a state government, which pays for part of the school's operational costs.

Registrar: The school administrator who manages class schedules and academic records.

Registration: Officially enrolling in classes for the upcoming grading period.

Residency Requirement: The minimum amount of time that a student must have lived in a state in order to be eligible for a lower tuition rate for in-state students.

Rolling Admission: A policy where some colleges decide whether to admit students as soon as their applications are received.

Room and Board: The cost for living in a college residence hall (room) and receiving meals in a college dining hall (board).

SAT: See Scholastic Aptitude Test.

Scholarship: Financial aid awarded for academic or other (music, athletics, etc.) achievements, that does not have to be paid back.

Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT): A standardized admission test used by many colleges, administered by the College Board.

Semester: One of two grading periods during an academic year, each about 15 weeks long. Some colleges divide the school year into three trimesters instead.

Standardized Admissions Tests: Tests (such as the SAT or ACT) taken in high school, designed to measure verbal and mathematical knowledge or skills. Most colleges consider test scores along with other factors when deciding whether to admit a student.

Technical College: See Community College.

Transcript: The official record of a student's educational process, usually including classes taken, grades received, major, and degrees earned.

Transfer Student: A student who moves from one school to another. The new school may or may not accept all of the grades and credits from the first school.

Trimester: One of three 10- to 12- week grading periods in the academic calendar used by some schools.

Undergraduate: A student working on a bachelor's degree.

University: A postsecondary institution which consists of several colleges or schools, which grants graduate degrees, and which may have research facilities.

Waiting List: A list of students who will be admitted to a college or school if there is space available.