College Planning Links

College Related Terms and Definitions

COLLEGE APPLICATION TERMINOLOGY 

Advanced Placement (AP): AP courses are college-level classes taught in the high school following guidelines and covering material that will instruct students in AP subject areas and should prepare them to take Advanced Placement tests offered by The College Board.  Many schools accept AP courses for college credit if a score (as determined by the particular college) was earned.

Associate’s Degree:  A degree granted by most two-year colleges and some four-year colleges at the end of two years of study.  A student may earn the Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree, depending on the course of study.

Bachelor’s Degree:  A degree granted by four-year institutions after completing four years (or in some cases, five years) of study.  A student may earn a Bachelor of Science or Arts degree, depending on the course of study.

Common Application:  A single application form which is accepted by more than 900 institutions. Participating colleges pledge to view this common application as equal to their own application.

Decile Rank: The class ranking of all students in a grade is divided into ten equal sections.  Thus, a student’s rank may be expressed as “in the third decile” (third group from the top).

Demonstrated Interest: This includes a student’s expression of his or her desire to attend a particular college through campus visits, contact with admissions officers, and other actions that attract the attention of college admissions personnel. While not all institutions use this as a factor in accepting students for admissions, recent studies have shown about 40% of schools consider demonstrated interest in their admissions decisions.

ECE: UConn Early College Experience (ECE) is a concurrent enrollment program that allows motivated high school students to take UConn courses at their high schools. High school instructors who have been certified through the University of Connecticut teach UConn ECE courses.  

GPA (Grade Point Average): Quantitative measure of a student's grades. The GPA is figured by averaging the numerical value of a student's grades. It is cumulative, starting freshman year: grades count every year. A poor GPA in ninth grade can drag down the overall average, despite, for example, good grades junior year. We use a 100 point scale at Nonnewaug. 

“Reach School”: A college or university that you have a chance of getting into, but your test scores, GPA and/or class rank are a bit on the low side when you look at the school's profile. The top U.S. colleges and top universities should always be considered reach schools.

“Safety School”: A college or university where you clearly meet the admission requirements: minimum GPA, test scores, etc. It’s important, though, that the school also be one that you would want to attend, should you not gain admission to more selective colleges.

School Profile: This is an overview of your high school’s program, grading system, course offerings, and other features that your school submits to admissions offices along with your transcript to offer context to the transcript.

COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMS

ACT: A two-hour-and-15-minute examination that measures a student’s knowledge and achievement in four subject areas -- English, mathematics, reading and science reasoning -- to determine the student’s readiness for college-level instruction. There is also an optional writing test (40 minutes) that assesses students’ skills in writing an essay. The ACT is scored on a scale of 1 to 36 for each of the four areas. The four subject area scores are averaged to create a Composite Score. 

PSAT: This exam prepares students for the SAT and is used to qualify students for the National Merit Scholarship semifinals and other academic awards. 

SAT: This is a widely used college entrance examination program. It is a 3-hour exam measuring verbal and mathematical skills, as well as grammar/conventions. Students may earn a total of up to 1600 points on the three-hour exam (up to 800 points in each - the Evidence Based Reading and Writing section and Math section).

COLLEGE ACCEPTANCE TERMS 

Acceptance: The decision by an admissions officer or committee to offer the opportunity for enrollment as a student at a particular institution. College Selection: The act of choosing and making the decision to enroll in and attend a particular higher-education program. 

Deferred Admission: A category of admission used in conjunction with early (action / decision) plans to indicate that a student has not been admitted early but will remain in the applicant pool for reconsideration during the review of applications for regular admissions. 

Deferred Enrollment: This is a category of admission available at some institutions for fully accepted students who wish—for a justifiable reason—to take a semester or year off before enrolling in college. 

Denial: The decision by an admissions officer or committee to not offer a student admission to a particular institution. 

Early Action: Early action is when a prospective student applies for admission by early deadline (before the regular admission deadline) and receives notice of acceptance, denial, or deferment with no obligation to the university to enroll, if accepted for admission. 

Early Decision: Through this program offered by many post-secondary schools, students willing to commit to a school if accepted submit their application by a date well before the general admission deadline. If accepted, the student must enroll in that school, so students should only apply early decision to their first choice school. 

Gap-Year Programs: Year-long programs designed for high school graduates who wish to defer enrollment in college while engaging in meaningful activities, such as academic programs, structured travel, community service, etc. 

Notification Date: The date by which applicants who are accepted for admission are expected to notify the institutions of their intent to enroll and make enrollment deposits. That date is often on or around May 1st. 

Rolling Admissions: This is a practice used by some institutions to review and complete applications as they arrive, rather than according to a set deadline. 

Waitlist: An applicant is put on the waitlist when an admissions officer or committee decides to offer the applicant the opportunity to enroll in the institution only if there is space available in the incoming class after fully admitted students have responded to their offers to enroll. This category of admissions is reserved for students whose profiles are strong, but who are marginally qualified in comparison to the overall strength of others in the pool of applicants.  

FINANCIAL TERMINOLOGY

Award Letter: An award letter from a school states the type and amount of financial aid the school is willing to provide the student, if s/he accepts admission and registers as a full-time student. 

Cost of Attending College (COA): This is the total cost of going to college, including tuition, room and board, books, transportation, fees, and personal expenses. 

CSS – College Scholarship Service: CSS is the financial aid division of the College Board (CEEB).  It provides a needs analysis service for financial aid applicants. There is a fee to complete this financial aid application that some colleges require. 

Demonstrated Need: This is the difference between the cost of attending a college and your expected family contribution. 

Expected Family Contribution (EFC): The EFC is the amount of money you and your family could be expected to pay for one year of college costs, based on the data gathered from the FAFSA and determined by a federal formula applied to that data. This figure often differs from the actual amount you will be required to pay. 

FAFSA: This is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, a federal form required as the application from all students who wish to apply for need-based financial aid, including grants, loans and work-study awards. 

Fees: These are charges that cover costs not associated with the student's course load, such as costs of some athletic activities, clubs, and special events. 

Financial Aid Package: The total amount of financial aid a student receives. Federal and nonfederal aid—such as grants, loans, or work-study—are combined in a "package" to help meet the student's need. Using available resources to give each student the best possible package of aid is one of the major responsibilities of a school's financial aid administrator.

Need-Blind Admission: Full consideration of an applicant and his or her application without regard to the individual’s need for financial aid. 

Student Loan Calculator: A Student loan calculator tool helps you understand what your monthly student loan payments will look like and how your loans will amortize (be paid off). Use this link to explore various loan amounts, interest rates and length of repayment.