The college admissions process can be confusing enough on its own, however the conglomeration of acronyms and FAQs that folks and students are required to understand can further complicate the procedure and addle the mind.
To lighten your load, we've compiled an accumulation of the most often-used admissions and financial terms and acronyms. In addition, we’ve provided the answers to some general questions.
College Admissions and Financial Aid Abbreviations and FAQs
AA – Associate of Arts Degree
ACT – American College Testing
Standardized test used for college admissions within the US.
AGI — Adjusted Gross Income – Gross income minus adjustments to income. Gross income includes your income, dividends, capital gains, business income, retirement distributions along with other income. Alterations in Income include such items as Educator expenses, Student loan interest, Alimony payments or contributions to some retirement account.
[What’s the main difference between the ACT and SAT?]
AS – Associate of Science Degree
BA – Bachelor of Arts Degree
BS – Bs Degree
CDS – Common Data Set —Some standards and definitions for advanced schooling data which are collected under the collaborative arrangements made between advanced schooling institutions and publishers, namely The school Board, Peterson's, and U.S. News & World Report and used in advanced schooling research.
CLEP – College Level Examination Program
Exams that test mastery of college-level material acquired in a number of ways – through general academic instructions, significant independent study or extracurricular work.
COA – Price of Attendance – A figure provided by colleges and/or college financial offices that estimates the total costs of attending that specific school for a period of twelve months. Contained in the estimate are reasonable expenses for example tuition, room and board, books and supplies, personal expenses, and transportation.
CSS – College Scholarship Service– An economic aid application that almost 400 colleges use to award scholarships and grants.
[Your CSS Profile Questions Answered]
DD – Darling daughter
DE – Dual Enrollment
[What Is Dual Enrollment?]
DRN – Data Release Number–A four-digit number that appears within the upper right-hand corner around the first page of your Student Aid Report (SAR). You'll need this number if you choose to let your college or career school to alter certain info on your FAFSA form.
DS – Darling son
EA – Early Action –Non-binding admission option
[What You should know About Applying For Early Decision vs Early Action]
ED – Early Decision–Binding admission option
[Comparison of Early Decision/Early Action Rates vs. Regular Decision]
EDII – Early Decision 2–Binding admission option that's essentially the same as Early Decision, but with later deadlines.
EFC – Expected Family Contribution
An index number generated by financial aid forms that colleges use to determine how much financial aid you'd receive if you were to attend their school. This is a figure that is representative of what a family is expected to be able to afford to pay for one year of a child’s college costs. The EFC is often the minimum that a family is expected to pay for college.
[How is Your FAFSA EFC Calculated?]
FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid
A form that may be prepared annually by current and prospective college students (undergraduate and graduate) in the usa to determine their eligibility for student educational funding.
[FAFSA FAQs: Answers To Your FAFSA Questions]
FERPA – Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act
[What is FERPA and really should I Waive My Right to View Recommendation Letters?]
FSA ID – Federal Student Aid ID
[What is the FSA ID and How Do I Create One?]
GMAT – Graduate Management Admission Test
GRE – Graduate Record Exam
HELOC – Home Equity Type of Credit
[Home Equity Line of Credit: What you ought to Know]
[All the methods Your Home Can Pay For College]
IB – International Baccalaureate
A two-year educational diploma program taught in schools in over 140 countries, primarily targeted at 16 to 18-year-olds. It provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into advanced schooling and is recognized by many universities worldwide.
IMHO – In My Honest Opinion
IPEDS – Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System
The federal government’s advanced schooling data collection program conducted annually through the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
LAC – Liberal Arts College
MA – Master of Arts Degree
MCAT – Medical College Admission Test
MS – Master of Science Degree
MSEP – Midwest Student Exchange Program
A multi-state tuition reciprocity program
[What is the Midwest Student Exchange?]
NPC – Net Price Calculator
Online calculator that allows colleges to provide prospects a personalized estimate of what their one-year net price to attend their school is going to be.
[What is really a Net Price Calculator?]
[The ‘New” Paying For College Paradigm]
OOS – Out of State
OP – Original post(er)
PSAT – The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT)
A standardized test administered through the College Board and co-sponsored through the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) in the United States.
[How to Prep For the PSAT]
RA – Resident Assistant–Trained peer leader who supervises those residing in a property hall or group housing facility.
RD – Regular Decision
[Understanding the different sorts of College Admission Deadlines]
REA – Restrictive Early Action
Admissions decision. Students are only allowed to apply Restrictive Early Action to one college, but they may not cannot simultaneously apply Early Decision. However, students who apply Restrictive Early Action can still apply Early Action to other schools.
SAR – Student Aid Report
A paper or electronic document that gives you some fundamental information about eligibility for federal student aid as well as listing your responses to the FAFSA questions.
[Reviewing Your FAFSA Student Aid Report]
SAT – Scholastic Aptitude Test
A group of standardized college admissions tests developed by the College Board, the main one measuring mathematical and verbal reasoning, yet others measuring knowledge in specific subject areas.
[SAT Prep Tips From An Expert]
SREB – Southern Regional Educational Board Academic Common Market
[What is the Academic Common Market?]
WUE – Western Undergraduate Exchange
Regional tuition-reciprocity agreement that enables students from WICHE ( Western Interstate Commission for Advanced schooling) states to join more than 150 participating two- and four-year public institutions.
[What may be the Western Undergraduate Exchange?]
What may be the Common App?
[10 Strategies for Coping with Common App Glitches]
What are 529 Plans?
[The Particulars of 529 College Savings Plans]
[Why a 529 Plan is the easiest method to Prepare Your Family For College Expenses]
What is a Parent PLUS Loan?
[How Do Parent PLUS and Student education loans Compare?]
What is a Pell Grant?
Federal Pell Grants would be the largest supply of federally funded grants. They're awarded solely according to your financial need (academic grades and extra-curricular activities aren't an issue). The utmost Pell Grant award for the 2023-18 academic year was $5,920.
[What is Financial Aid and Where Will it Originate from?]
What is Merit Aid?
The general term for grants, scholarships, and discounts that a college awards for an admitted student without regard to financial need. Merit aid might be according to service, academic or athletic achievements, special talents such as music, where the student lives or any other demographic characteristics.
[Everything You Need to Know About Merit Aid]
What is Rolling Admission?
Decision about who gets accepted that is on the first-come-first-served basis.
There isn't any restriction on the quantity of schools a student can apply to underneath the Rolling Admission option.
What kinds of questions ought to be asked on a college tour?
[Questions to inquire about on a College Visit]
[Insightful Questions to Ask an Admissions Officer]
What is Dual Registration?
Dual registration involves high school students enrolling in college courses for credit simultaneously that they are completing their high school work. They receive credit for that courses at both high school and college level. It is sometimes called dual credit, concurrent enrollment, dual enrollment or joint enrollment.
What is the Federal Work-Study Program?
This is a program that is available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students who demonstrate financial need when submitting their FAFSA. Students might be enrolled part-time or full-time, and eligibility is determined by information provided on the FAFSA and the specific college where the student will be enrolled.
[What is Work-Study and just how Does it Work?]
This is a list of colloquial names for colleges and universities.
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