Associate degree - A degree granted by a college or university after satisfactory completion of the equivalent of a two-year, full-time program of study.
Bachelor’s degree - A degree received after the satisfactory completion of a four or five year, full-time program of study (or its part-time equivalent) at a college or university.
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) - A series of examinations in undergraduate college courses that provides students of any age the opportunty to demonstrate college-level achievement, thereby reducing the costs and time to degree completion. The examinations are administered at colleges and some high schools (sponsored by College Board).
Common Application - The standard application form in the U.S. distributed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals to private colleges who are subscribers to the Common Application Group. Many non-subscribing colleges also accept the common application.
CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE - A form and service offered by the College Board and used by some colleges, universities, and private scholarship programs to award their own private financial aid funds.
Deferred admission - The practice of permitting students to postpone enrollment, usually for one year, after acceptance to the college.
Distance learning - An option for earning course credit off-campus via cable television, internet, satellite classes, videotapes, correspondence courses, or other means.
Double major - Any program in which a student completes the requirements of two major concurrently
Early Action - Students who apply under a college's early action plan receive a decision earlier than the standard response date but are not required to accept the admission offer or to make a deposit prior to May 1.
Early Admission - The policy of some colleges of admitting certain students who have not completed high school - usually students of exceptional ability who have completed their junior year. These students are enrolled full-time in college.
Early Decision - Students who apply under early decision commit to enroll at the college if admitted and offered a satisfactory financial aid package. Application deadlines are usually in November or December with a mid to late December notification date. Some colleges have two rounds of early decision. See the Early Decision/Early Action table for details.
Family Contribution - The amount of money that a family can reasonably be expected to pay toward a student's education as determined by a standardized needs analysis form.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - A form completed by all applicants for federal student aid in the U.S. In many states, completion of the FAFSA is also sufficient to establish eligibility for state-sponsored aid programs. There is no charge to students for completing the FAFSA, and it is available any time after January 1 of the year one is seeking aid.
Federal Perkins Loan - This program is supported by the U.S. government for U.S. citizens and provides for low interest loans, which are obtained through the school rather than the bank. They must be repaid.
Federal Plus Loan - Loans that can be taken out by parents for their child's college education banks or other lending institutions at varying interest rates.
Federal Stafford Loan - Low-interest loans made to students in which the lender is a bank or savings and loan association. These are guaranteed in each and through the federal government and are for U.S. citizens. They must be repaid.
Financial Aid - Scholarships, grants, loans, or work-study opportunities to help a student pay for university costs.
Financial Need = Cost of College Attendance – Family Contribution
Gap year - A year that a student takes between secondary school and university without formal university study.
Grant - Money that is awarded to a student that does not have to be repaid.
Independent Study - A course, usually in a student's major field, in which he/she studies one-on-one with a professor on a topic of their choosing.
Liberal Arts - The study of humanities (literature, the arts, philosophy), history, foreign languages, social sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences. Study of the liberal arts and humanities prepares students to develop general knowledge and reasoning ability rather than specific skills.
Major - The student's academic field of specialization. In general, most courses in the major are taken at the degree-granting institution during the junior and senior year.
Need-based financial aid - Financial aid given to students who have demonstrated financial need, calculated by subtracting the student's expected family contribution from a college's total costs. The expected family contribution is derived from a need analysis of the family's overall financial circumstances, using either a federal methodology to determine a student's eligibility for federal student aid, or an institutional methodology to determine eligibility for nonfederal financial aid
Open admission - The college admission policy of admitting high school graduates and other adults generally without regard to conventional academic qualifications, such as high school subjects, high school grades, and admission test scores. Virtually all applicants with a high school diploma or equivalent are accepted.
Rolling admissions - An admission procedure by which the college considers each student's application as soon as all the required credentials, such as school record and test scores, have been received. The college usually notifies an applicant of its decision without delay. At many colleges, rolling admission allows for early notification and works much like nonbinding early action programs.
SAT I - Test administered to high school juniors and seniors by College Board with verbal and math sections to measure reasoning ability. It is used as an admission criterion at most U.S. colleges.
SAT II - Multiple choice subject tests used to measure knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge. Up to three subject tests can be required and are used for placement purposes as well as admission.
Transfer student - A student who has attended another college for any period, which may be defined by various colleges as any time from a single term up to three years. A transfer student may receive credit for all or some of the courses successfully completed before the transfer.
Undergraduate programs - Programs that can be entered directly from high school. These are the programs that lead to Associate and/or Bachelor's degrees.
Wait list - A list of students who meet the admission requirements, but will only be offered a place in the class if space becomes available.
Work-study - On-campus jobs that can be subsidized by the U.S. federal government but can also be open for non-U.S. citizens. Students typically work 10-20 hours a week to help finance their education.
Reference: Please note that definitions are largely taken from past years' UISZC college counseling packet.
Bachelor’s degree - A degree received after the satisfactory completion of a four or five year, full-time program of study (or its part-time equivalent) at a college or university.
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP) - A series of examinations in undergraduate college courses that provides students of any age the opportunty to demonstrate college-level achievement, thereby reducing the costs and time to degree completion. The examinations are administered at colleges and some high schools (sponsored by College Board).
Common Application - The standard application form in the U.S. distributed by the National Association of Secondary School Principals to private colleges who are subscribers to the Common Application Group. Many non-subscribing colleges also accept the common application.
CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE - A form and service offered by the College Board and used by some colleges, universities, and private scholarship programs to award their own private financial aid funds.
Deferred admission - The practice of permitting students to postpone enrollment, usually for one year, after acceptance to the college.
Distance learning - An option for earning course credit off-campus via cable television, internet, satellite classes, videotapes, correspondence courses, or other means.
Double major - Any program in which a student completes the requirements of two major concurrently
Early Action - Students who apply under a college's early action plan receive a decision earlier than the standard response date but are not required to accept the admission offer or to make a deposit prior to May 1.
Early Admission - The policy of some colleges of admitting certain students who have not completed high school - usually students of exceptional ability who have completed their junior year. These students are enrolled full-time in college.
Early Decision - Students who apply under early decision commit to enroll at the college if admitted and offered a satisfactory financial aid package. Application deadlines are usually in November or December with a mid to late December notification date. Some colleges have two rounds of early decision. See the Early Decision/Early Action table for details.
Family Contribution - The amount of money that a family can reasonably be expected to pay toward a student's education as determined by a standardized needs analysis form.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) - A form completed by all applicants for federal student aid in the U.S. In many states, completion of the FAFSA is also sufficient to establish eligibility for state-sponsored aid programs. There is no charge to students for completing the FAFSA, and it is available any time after January 1 of the year one is seeking aid.
Federal Perkins Loan - This program is supported by the U.S. government for U.S. citizens and provides for low interest loans, which are obtained through the school rather than the bank. They must be repaid.
Federal Plus Loan - Loans that can be taken out by parents for their child's college education banks or other lending institutions at varying interest rates.
Federal Stafford Loan - Low-interest loans made to students in which the lender is a bank or savings and loan association. These are guaranteed in each and through the federal government and are for U.S. citizens. They must be repaid.
Financial Aid - Scholarships, grants, loans, or work-study opportunities to help a student pay for university costs.
Financial Need = Cost of College Attendance – Family Contribution
Gap year - A year that a student takes between secondary school and university without formal university study.
Grant - Money that is awarded to a student that does not have to be repaid.
Independent Study - A course, usually in a student's major field, in which he/she studies one-on-one with a professor on a topic of their choosing.
Liberal Arts - The study of humanities (literature, the arts, philosophy), history, foreign languages, social sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences. Study of the liberal arts and humanities prepares students to develop general knowledge and reasoning ability rather than specific skills.
Major - The student's academic field of specialization. In general, most courses in the major are taken at the degree-granting institution during the junior and senior year.
Need-based financial aid - Financial aid given to students who have demonstrated financial need, calculated by subtracting the student's expected family contribution from a college's total costs. The expected family contribution is derived from a need analysis of the family's overall financial circumstances, using either a federal methodology to determine a student's eligibility for federal student aid, or an institutional methodology to determine eligibility for nonfederal financial aid
Open admission - The college admission policy of admitting high school graduates and other adults generally without regard to conventional academic qualifications, such as high school subjects, high school grades, and admission test scores. Virtually all applicants with a high school diploma or equivalent are accepted.
Rolling admissions - An admission procedure by which the college considers each student's application as soon as all the required credentials, such as school record and test scores, have been received. The college usually notifies an applicant of its decision without delay. At many colleges, rolling admission allows for early notification and works much like nonbinding early action programs.
SAT I - Test administered to high school juniors and seniors by College Board with verbal and math sections to measure reasoning ability. It is used as an admission criterion at most U.S. colleges.
SAT II - Multiple choice subject tests used to measure knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge. Up to three subject tests can be required and are used for placement purposes as well as admission.
Transfer student - A student who has attended another college for any period, which may be defined by various colleges as any time from a single term up to three years. A transfer student may receive credit for all or some of the courses successfully completed before the transfer.
Undergraduate programs - Programs that can be entered directly from high school. These are the programs that lead to Associate and/or Bachelor's degrees.
Wait list - A list of students who meet the admission requirements, but will only be offered a place in the class if space becomes available.
Work-study - On-campus jobs that can be subsidized by the U.S. federal government but can also be open for non-U.S. citizens. Students typically work 10-20 hours a week to help finance their education.
Reference: Please note that definitions are largely taken from past years' UISZC college counseling packet.