College Admissions Terms
ACT - A standardized college admission test. It features four main sections: English, math, reading and science — and an optional essay section.
ADMISSION TESTS - Also known as college entrance exams, these are tests designed to measure students’ skills and help colleges evaluate how ready students are for college-level work. The ACT and the College Board’s SAT are two standardized admission tests used in the United States. The word "standardized" means that the test measures the same thing in the same way for everyone who takes it.
ARTICULATION AGREEMENT - An agreement between two-year and four-year colleges that makes it easier to transfer credits between them. It spells out which courses count for degree credit and the grades you need to earn to get credit.
ASSOCIATE DEGREE - A degree awarded by community colleges and technical colleges upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years. (Associate of Arts; Associate of Science).
BACHELOR DEGREE - A four-year college degree granted by a University either private or public. (Bachelor of Arts; Bachelor of Science).
CLASS RANK - A measurement of how your academic achievement compares with that of other students in your grade. This number is usually determined by using a weighted GPA that takes into account both your grades and the difficulty of the courses you’ve taken.
COLLEGE APPLICATION ESSAY - An essay that a college requires students to write and submit as part of their application. Some colleges offer applicants specific questions to answer, while others simply ask applicants to write about themselves. Colleges may refer to this as a “personal statement.”
COMMON APPLICATION - Some schools allow you to use the Common Application to apply to several schools using the same basic form. Please be careful and note that there are several different components to the Common Application and it is beneficial for you to sit down with your counselor to make sure you are on top of things. You will also need to link your Common Application to your Naviance account, which you can do after you have completed the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) waiver within the Common Application. For more information on the Common Application, please visit www.commonapp.org.
CUMULATIVE RECORD - The complete record for all courses and grades earned during high school. Your high school transcript contains your cumulative record.
DEFERRED ADMISSION - Permission from a college that has accepted you to postpone enrolling in the college. The postponement is usually for up to one year.
EARLY ACTION - An option to submit your applications before the regular deadlines. When you apply early action, you get admission decisions from colleges earlier than usual. Early action plans are not binding, which means that you do not have to enroll in a college if you are accepted early action. Some colleges have an early action option called EA II, which has a later application deadline than their regular EA plan.
EARLY DECISION - An option to submit an application to your first-choice college before the regular deadline. When you apply early decision, you get an admission decision earlier than usual. Early decision plans are binding. You agree to enroll in the college immediately if admitted and offered a financial aid package that meets your needs. Some colleges have an early decision option called ED II, which has a later application deadline than their regular ED plan.
FAFSA - The FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid – used by aid providers to determine the amount of the student’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is the amount that they expect the student’s family could contribute toward the student’s college education. EFC varies from student to student since it is based on the specific financial situation of the student and often of the student’s parents as well.
LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGE - A college in which students enroll in classes across the disciplines of the Humanities (e.g., the Arts, History, Languages, Literature, Philosophy, etc.), Natural Sciences & Math (e.g., Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Sciences, Math, Physics, etc.), and Social Sciences (e.g., Anthropology, Economics, Psychology, Sociology, etc.).
NAVIANCE / FAMILY CONNECTION - A web-based program that helps students organize their college search and applications, as well as scholarships.
OPEN ADMISSION - An admission policy that accepts students without regard to the criteria of grade point average and test scores.
PRIVATE COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY - A school that is not supported by state taxes but may still be government regulated.
REGULAR ADMISSION - The application process that requires application materials to be submitted no later than the specified deadline date printed in the college catalog or on the application form. Students typically receive responses in March.
ROLLING ADMISSION - The admission plan in which a completed application is acted on as soon as it is received. Students are admitted on a continuing basis.
SAT - The College Board’s standardized college admission test. It features three main sections: math, reading and writing, which includes a written essay.
SAT SUBJECT TESTS - Hour-long, content-based college admission tests that allow you to showcase achievement in specific subject areas: English, history, math, science and languages. Some colleges use Subject Tests to place students into the appropriate courses as well as in admission decisions. Based on your performance on the test(s), you could potentially fulfill basic requirements or earn credit for introductory-level courses.
SECONDARY SCHOOL REPORTS - Often called a Counselor Recommendation, many private colleges and universities require these to be submitted from your high school counselor.
STUDENT AID REPORT - The (SAR) is a document that gives you some basic information about your eligibility for federal student aid and lists your answers to the questions on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
WAITING LIST - The list of applicants who may be admitted to a college if space becomes available. Colleges wait to hear if all the students they accepted decide to attend. If students don’t enroll and there are empty spots, a college may fill them with students who are on the waiting list. Learn more about waiting lists.