As you learn about college and go through the application process, you may come across some new words and phrases. Here is a glossary of definitions that may help you make sense of them.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

 A

Academic Adviser: The person at a college who helps a student decide what classes to take, when to take them, how many credits to take, what major to pursue, etc.

Accredited: Colleges and schools must meet requirements in academic programs, facilities, teaching, etc., to be certified by accrediting agencies. Usually, colleges must be accredited for students to receive financial aid.

ACT: An organization that produces standardized admissions tests, including the ACT and PLAN. Some colleges use ACT scores to determine admission eligibility.

Admission Requirements: Students who want to attend a college must meet that college’s specific requirements to be considered for admission. These may include high school grade point average, standardized test scores, high school courses, etc.

Admissions Tests: See Standardized Admissions Tests.

Advanced Credit: Some colleges offer tests for advanced college credit. Students who receive a high score on these tests can earn credit in specific subject areas and may skip to higher-level courses.

Advanced Placement (AP): College-level courses (designed by the College Board) offered in high school. Students may take an AP test at the completion of these courses. Students with high scores on these tests can be placed in upper-level college courses and may receive college credit for beginning-level courses.

Advanced or Early Registration: A period of time set by colleges during which students can register early for classes.

Alumni: People who have graduated from a school.

Application Fee: A charge to process a student’s admission application. In some cases, this fee is waived if a student shows financial need.

Apprenticeship: Training programs that combine on-the-job training and coursework. The result is certified skills in specific trades. Apprentices are usually paid for their training.

Arts and Sciences: A group of academic studies that may include fine arts, languages, social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. The group may be called a division, college, or school; for example, the College of Arts and Sciences at State University.

Associate Degree: The degree granted by colleges after students complete a two-year, full-time program of required courses or its part-time equivalent. These degrees are offered by many kinds of colleges, including community colleges, technical colleges, and colleges and universities that offer bachelor's degrees.

B

Baccalaureate or Bachelor’s Degree: The degree granted by a college or university after students have satisfactorily completed a four- or five-year, full-time program of required courses or its part-time equivalent. Students usually receive a bachelor of arts or bachelor of science degree.

Bursar: The person or office in charge of money at a college. Students pay the bursar for tuition and room and board.

C

Campus: The grounds, class buildings, and residence halls of a college.

Career Plan: A set of steps to be followed over a period of time to get a desired job.

Catalog: A college’s book of general information about classes, faculty, costs, and admission and degree requirements.

Certificate: A document granted by colleges after completion of study for a specific occupation. Certificates usually require a six-month to one-year, full-time program of required courses or its part-time equivalent.

Chair: The highest administrator of an academic department, usually a professor.

Chancellor: Chief administrator of a college campus, called a "president" at some schools.

Co-educational: Both men and women being included in a program or facility, for instance, being able to attend the same college or live in the same residence hall.

College: A school offering studies that lead to an academic degree. A college can be part of a larger university system or stand alone. Colleges not in a university system usually do not offer graduate degrees.

College Board: Nonprofit association made up of college, schools, universities, and other educational organizations. College Board administers the SAT, PSAT/NMSQT tests, and Advanced Placement.

College Scholarship Service (CSS): This service processes a supplemental financial aid application called the Profile. Some colleges and universities require the Profile in addition to other financial aid forms. This is a College Board service that students must pay for.

Commencement: Graduation ceremony to recognize students who have completed degree requirements.

Community College: College that offers programs (usually two years or less for full-time students) leading to certificates or associate degrees. These programs prepare students for immediate employment or for transfer to a college or university offering bachelor’s degrees.

Commuter Student: A student who does not live on campus but travels to campus to take classes.

Competitive Admission Policy: See Selective Admission Policy.

Conditional Admission: A college may admit students who have not met all the admission requirements. To remain, these students must fulfill specified requirements before or during their enrollment.

Cooperative (Co-op) Education: A program in which a student combines employment and study in a career field.

Core Classes: Classes that all students in a major program or college are required to take.

Co-requisite: A required class or lab taken with a related course.

Correspondence Course: A class in which students receive lessons in the mail and send completed assignments to instructors. Correspondence is an example of distance education.

Course: Another name for “class.”

Course Number: Numbers assigned to courses to show their level of difficulty or depth/breadth of study. For example, a 100-level course is less difficult or narrower in scope than a 200-level course.

Credit: How schools measure a student’s progress toward a diploma or degree. The number of credits assigned to a course depends, in part, on how much time is spent in class each week. For example, most courses offered by colleges on semester calendars are worth three credits. Credits are also referred to as “credit hours” or simply “hours.”

Curriculum: The available courses in a program of study at a specific college.

D

DC Adoption Scholarship: Grant of up to $10,000 for students who were adopted from the DC Child and Family Services agency after Oct. 1, 2001, and students who lost one or both parents as a result of the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

DC Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (DCLEAP) program: Grant for DC residents of up to $5,000 toward attending public and private colleges and universities in the District or up to $1,500 toward the total cost of attendance at public and private colleges and universities in the United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

DC OneApp: The required application to receive DC financial aid (DCTAG, DCLEAP, DC Adoption Scholarship).

DCPS: District of Columbia Public Schools.

DC Tuition Assistance Grant (DCTAG) program: Grant for DC residents of up to $10,000 toward the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition at public four-year colleges and universities or up to $2,500 per academic year toward tuition at private colleges in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, private Historically Black Colleges and Universities nationwide, and two-year colleges nationwide.

Dean: The highest officer of a division, college, or school, such as dean of the School of Education. Deans usually report directly to a provost, chancellor, or the president of a college.

Deferred Admission: A college may accept a student but then allow the student to delay coming to the college for one year.

Degree: After finishing a program of study at a college, students receive an academic recognition. For example, a bachelor of arts degree from Howard University.

Department: An area of study in a larger college or school. Professors specialize in an area of study and teach for that area’s department. For example, French may be a department in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Discussion Section: When a small group of students meets to discuss the lecture portion of a class. Discussions are often led by a graduate student called an associate instructor or teaching assistant.

Distance Education: Classes taught over satellite or local television, by videotape or CD, through the Internet, and by correspondence. Some may be regularly scheduled; others may be taken when most convenient for the student’s schedule.

Doctorate: The highest university degree, also called a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.). Physicians usually receive a doctorate of medicine (M.D.), while lawyers receive a juris doctorate (J.D.).

Dorm/Dormitory: See Residence Hall.

Dual or Concurrent Enrollment/Dual Credit: Some colleges enroll high school students in college courses that may fulfill both high school and college graduation requirements. Students must gain permission from the high school principal or guidance counselor and admission to a college.

E

Early Admission: Students can take the necessary standardized tests and apply early in their senior year for admission to some colleges. If you choose to apply for early admission and are accepted, the institution guarantees you a place, and you promise to attend the institution.

Elective: An optional, instead of required, class.

Enroll: To become a student at a university by registering for courses and paying tuition and fees.

Exemption: A course requirement that is fulfilled by passing an exam in the subject.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC): Analysis on how much money a family can contribute toward education expenses.

Extracurricular Activities: Nonrequired activities that occur outside the classroom.

F

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

Faculty Adviser: See Academic Adviser.

FAFSA: See Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Fee Waiver: A written statement that says that the student does not have to pay a certain fee. Some scholarships give fee waivers for tuition.

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

Financial Aid Counselor: A college staff member who helps students and parents fill out financial aid forms and processes financial aid money.

Financial Need: Difference between the cost of attending college and the Expected Family Contribution. A student’s (or family’s) financial need determines how much financial aid will be awarded.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): The required application for federal, state, and institutional financial aid.

Full-Time Student: A student who carries a minimum number of credits or hours to be considered “full time” by a college. The number of credits considered to be a full-time load varies but usually is at least 12 hours.

4-1-4 or 4-4-1: Calendar used by some colleges. There are two regular semesters of four months, with one month-long session between or following them.

G

General Education Requirements: The broad-based body of classes colleges (often four-year colleges) expect their students to take.

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

Graduate: A person who receives a certificate, degree, or diploma from a school.

Graduate Assistant (GA): A GA helps a professor with research or works for an academic department. GAs usually receive a salary and reduced tuition.

Graduate Student: A student who has earned 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; it is not repaid.

Greek Organizations: Student organizations named by Greek letters. These organizations may be academic, social, or charitable. Members of social Greek organizations (such as fraternities and sororities) frequently live together in a “Greek house.”

Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL): See Stafford Loan.

H

Higher Education: See Postsecondary Education.

Honoraries: Organizations to which students are nominated for membership based on high grades, outstanding school service, or both.

I

Independent College: A college or other school that is supported with private money but not supported financially by the state. Some independent colleges have a religious affiliation or are single-gender schools.

Independent Study: Studying a subject for credit without regular classroom instruction. This may refer to on-campus courses that you take independently or through distance education.

Individualized Major: See Student-Designed Major.

Informational Interview: A meeting with an experienced person to gain knowledge or understanding. This can be used to find out about a job or career, such as the training and responsibility involved.

Instructor: A nontenured teacher at a college.

Intercollegiate: Any competition or activity taking place between different colleges.

Interdisciplinary: Programs or courses using knowledge from two or more academic areas.

Interest Inventory: An exercise or set of exercises used to identify possible areas of career interest.

Internship: Experience gained by students working at jobs on or off campus. Students get practical experience in their area of study.

Intramural Sports: Athletic activities between a school’s students.

J

Job Shadowing: Time spent with someone who is at work. This time is used to better understand what people do in their job.

Junior College: See Community College.

K

L

Language House: A student residence where a foreign language is studied and spoken. Students who want to learn German might live in a “German house.”

Liberal Arts: A school or course of study that focuses on developing students’ general knowledge and reasoning ability instead of specific career training; the result is often considered to be a well-rounded, general education in the arts and sciences.

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

M

Major: A focused area of study. Students take many classes in their major, gain specialized knowledge, and earn a degree in that area.

Master’s Degree: An advanced college degree earned after a bachelor’s degree, usually taking at least two years for a full-time student to complete.

Matriculate: To register or enroll in a college.

Minor: An area of interest studied at the same time as a major. It is rarely in the same department as a major and requires fewer classes than a major.

N

National Direct Student Loan (NDSL): See Perkins Student Loan.

National Merit Scholarships: Competitive scholarships that are limited in number and offered by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Winners are determined by PSAT scores and other criteria.

Need Analysis Form: A form, filled out by the student and/or family members, used to determine the amount of financial aid the student can receive. The FAFSA is the federal need analysis form.

O

Office Hours: In education, hours set aside by an instructor to meet with students.

Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE): Office that sets statewide policies, provides resources and support, and exercises accountability for all public education in DC.

Ombudsperson: In education, a person who acts on behalf of students and others in the college community who have difficulties with the college.

Open Admission Policy (Open Door Policy): Admission policy in which anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent can take classes.

Orientation: Programs to help new students and parents get to know a college. Orientation usually takes place before or at the beginning of the academic year.

OSSE: See Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

P

Part-Time Student: A student enrolled in a number of course credits that is less than full time. Usually, this is less than 12 credits a semester.

Pell Grant: A federal financial aid grant program that is not paid back. Students apply by filling out the FAFSA.

Perkins Student Loan: A low-interest loan for students who show financial need. It must be repaid after graduation. Students apply by filling out the FAFSA.

Ph.D.: See Doctorate.

PLAN: Test taken (often in sophomore year of high school) to prepare for the ACT.

PLUS (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) and/or Federal Direct PLUS: Financial aid to parents, processed through a bank, other lending agency, college, or university to help pay for college. These loans must be repaid with interest. Repayment begins 60 days after the loan is issued to the parent(s).

Portfolio: A file of materials created by a student that displays and explains skills, talents, experiences, and knowledge gained throughout life. Portfolios are often used when applying for a job.

Postsecondary Education: Education after high school at a public, independent, technical, community, or junior college or university.

Preadmission Summer Program: College programs offered to freshmen before fall classes. Courses may be skill-building or regular college classes.

Preprograms: Course sequences for undergraduate students to prepare for graduate work in the same area. Examples include prelaw and premedicine.

Prerequisite: Beginning class (usually required) that prepares students for a more advanced class.

Private College: See Independent College.

Professor: A teacher at a college (often tenured).

Profile Application: A supplemental application required by some colleges for school-based financial aid. This form must be completed and mailed to the College Board’s College Scholarship Service. Some colleges require it earlier than the FAFSA.

Program: Set of required courses for a degree in a major area of study.

Proprietary Schools: Colleges that operate as profit-making institutions. These colleges provide students with training in specific career fields.

Prospectus: A booklet of general information about a college or program.

Provost: A college’s chief academic officer (sometimes called an academic dean). A provost often reports directly to the president of a college or university.

PSAT/NMSQT: A high school test that measures critical reading, writing, and math skills and prepares students for the SAT. It also determines eligibility for the National Merit Scholarship.

Public College: College or other school supported by the state; the state pays part of the school’s operating costs.

Q

Quad: A group of four residence halls or academic buildings.

R

Registrar: Person (or office) in a college who manages class schedules and academic records.

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

Religious Affiliation: Private colleges associated with religious organizations. For example, Georgetown University is affiliated with the Catholic church.

Remedial Course: A course that teaches basic skills needed to succeed in college courses. These skills are often in the general areas of math, writing, reading, etc.

Requirements: A set of conditions that must be met to do something, such as be accepted to a college, complete a degree, etc.

Residence Hall (Dormitory): A campus building where students live. Food service and social and educational activities are provided. Some colleges require students to live in residence halls for a certain amount of time.

Residency Requirements: Most colleges require that students spend a certain amount of time on campus taking classes or living on campus. This term can also mean the minimum amount of time a student must live in the state to pay in-state tuition, which (for public colleges) is lower than the tuition paid by out-of-state students.

Resident Assistant (RA): A trained student who lives in a dormitory to coordinate programs and activities. RAs may also help students with problems in the dorm or counsel students about campus difficulties.

Rolling Admission: Schools with this admission practice accept applications throughout the year and decide whether or not to admit students as soon as they receive the required materials.

Room and Board: The cost for living in residence halls or other campus housing (room) and receiving meals from the housing food service (board).

S

SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test): A standardized admission test published by the College Board. Some colleges use SAT to determine admission eligibility.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): Completion of courses according to school standards. Satisfactory academic progress must be shown to receive financial aid and continue in school.

Scholarship: Financial aid awarded for academic and other achievements (music, athletics, etc.). Scholarships do not have to be paid back.

Selective Admission Policy: An admission policy in which a college only admits students who meet certain requirements (sometimes referred to as Competitive Admission Policy).

Stafford Loan and Direct Ford Loan: Student financial aid processed through a bank and/or college. A student must be enrolled in a college degree program at least part time to receive a Stafford Loan. Susbsidized loans must be paid back with interest after a student leaves college. For unsubsidized loans, interest is paid by the student during college. Students apply by filling out a FAFSA.

Standardized Admissions Tests: These tests (such as ACT and SAT) are designed to measure knowledge and skills and are used to predict achievement in college. The test score may be considered along with other factors for admission to the college.

Student Activities: See Extracurricular Activities.

Student Aid Report (SAR): Summary of information that details a family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and financial aid eligibility. Families receive this after submitting a FAFSA.

Student Body: All students who attend a particular school.

Student Center or Student Union: A building on campus designed for a variety of uses by students. A bookstore, dining facilities, administrative offices, game rooms, etc., may be located here.

Student-Designed Major: At some colleges, students can plan an individualized major. Such programs must be approved by appropriate college administrators.

Student Loan: See Stafford Loan.

Study Abroad: Programs in which students go to college for some time in another country while making regular progress toward their diplomas or degrees.

Subject Area Tests: Standardized tests given by ACT or the College Board in specific high school subjects, such as biology, foreign languages, etc. Colleges look at these test scores when making decisions about course placement or admission to a specific program. Many programs do not require these tests.

Subsidized Loan: Loan based on financial need in which borrower does not pay all the interest. Usually, interest is not charged until repayment begins.

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

Support Services: Services provided by most colleges to help students in areas such as academics, veterans affairs, adult and special needs.

T

Teaching Assistant (TA): A graduate student paid by the college to teach undergraduate classes. A TA may teach introductory classes, grade papers, or lead discussion sessions and may also be called an associate instructor.

Technical College: Colleges that offer programs (usually two years or less for full-time students) that prepare students for immediate employment or transfer to a college or university offering bachelor’s degrees. The emphasis at these colleges is usually on hands-on training in a specific career area.

Tenure: Guaranteed employment status given to teachers and professors after successful completion of certain requirements within a certain time period.

Trade: An occupation requiring skilled labor, such as an electrician or tool and die maker.

Transcript: The official record of a student’s educational progress; it may include listings of classes, grades, major area, and degrees earned.

Transfer Program: College program that prepares students to complete a degree at another college. Junior, community, and technical colleges often have transfer programs to prepare students to continue their education at colleges and universities offering bachelor's degrees. Transfer programs often award associate degrees.

Transfer Student: A student who changes from one school to another. Grades and credits from the first school may or may not be counted at the second. Schools may not accept all the credits earned at another school.

Tuition: The cost of classes or credits at a school.

2 + 2 Program: A program offering an associate degree that will transfer directly toward a bachelor’s degree in the same field of study. These programs may be within the same college or between two colleges and may be known by other names.

U

Unconditional Admission: Students who meet all of a school’s admission standards are given this status.

Undergraduate: A college student working on a bachelor’s or associate degree or certificate.

University: A postsecondary institution that has several colleges or schools, grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, and may have research facilities. Universities are more comprehensive than colleges, although the two terms are often used interchangeably.

Unsubsidized Loan: Loan in which borrower is charged interest immediately.

Upperclassperson: Student who is a junior or senior but has not yet received an undergraduate degree.

V

Vocational College: A school that specializes in training for different professions and skilled trades.

W

Waiting List: A list of students who will be admitted to a college only if there is space available. Students placed on a waiting list are usually notified if they are admitted, typically in May or June.

Waiver: An exemption from normal procedures or requirements. For example, to receive a “class waiver” means not having to take a class.

Work-Study: A form of financial aid in which students earn money by working part time at their college. Students apply for work-study by filling out the FAFSA.

X

Y

Z