Types of Colleges/Universities

• Public vs Private

  • • • Public Colleges/Universities: 

        • • A public school is a college or university primarily funded by a state government. 

          • Public colleges and universities generally are larger than private schools and have larger class sizes. 

          • At a public school, you will likely have a larger selection of majors than you would at a private school, with both liberal arts classes and specialized programs.

      • Private Colleges/Universities:

        • • A private school is a college or university that often operates as an educational nonprofit organization. It does not receive its primary funding from a state government. 

          • Private colleges although more expensive, are usually able to provide more financial aid than public colleges. 

          • Private schools generally are smaller than public schools and have smaller class sizes than public schools. 

          • Some private schools may have religious affiliations. 

          • Private schools usually have a smaller selection of majors but may offer more specialized academic programs.

• Liberal Arts College

  • • • A liberal arts college is a four-year institution of higher education with a focus on undergraduate programs of study that lead to a bachelor's degree. Students take courses in the humanities, arts, sciences, and social sciences. 

      • The colleges tend to be relatively small and place value on the close relationships between students and their professors.

      • Liberal arts colleges focus on broad skills in critical thinking and writing, not narrow preprofessional skills. Along with a focused major, liberal arts students will take a breadth of courses in fields such as religion, philosophy, literature, math, science, psychology, and sociology.

• Research University

  • • • Research universities focus primarily on research. Offer students opportunities to do their own research, usually using the cutting edge technology. 

      • At these institutions, graduate students, postdocs, and professors conduct original research in diverse fields. Undergraduate students will have to compete with graduate and postdoc students for attention from professors

      • Research universities can be public or private institutions. By definition, research universities offer master's and doctoral degrees along with bachelor's degrees.

• Ivy League School

  • • • A group of colleges and universities recognized globally for having a reputation for high scholastic achievement and social prestige.

        • • Brown

          • Columbia

          • Cornell

          • Dartmouth

          • Harvard

          • Princeton

          • The University of Pennsylvania

          • Yale

• Little Ivies

  • • • The Little Ivies are an unofficial group of small, academically competitive private liberal arts colleges in the Northeastern United States. 

      • The term Little Ivy derives from these schools' small student bodies, standards of academic excellence, associated historic social prestige, and highly selective admissions comparable to the Ivy League.

        • • Amherst College

          • Bates College

          • Bowdoin College

          • Bucknell University

          • Colgate University

          • Connecticut College

          • Colby College

          • Hamilton College

          • Haverford College

          • Lafayette College

          • Middlebury College

          • Swarthmore College

          • Trinity College

          • Tufts University

          • Union College

          • Vassar College

          • Wesleyan University

          • Williams College

• Community College

  • • • Community colleges are affordable public colleges, funded by tax dollars. 

      • The highest degree available at a community college is usually an associate's degree, which takes full-time students about two years to complete.

      • Student will need to transfer to a four year college in order to get their bachelor's degree after completing their associate's degree. 

• Trade School

  • • • A trade school (also known as a technical school) is a postsecondary educational institution designed to train students for a specific job in a skilled trade career. 

      • Most importantly, a trade school offers hands-on training to prepare students for actual work in their chosen field. 

      • Trade school programs are entirely concentrated on relevant job training.

• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)

  • • • Any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans.

      • HBCUs offer all students, regardless of race, an opportunity to develop their skills and talents.

      • Top Ranking HBCUs:

        • • Spelman College

          • Howard University

          • Xavier University of Louisiana

          • Hampton University

          • Morehouse College

          • Tuskegee University

          • Florida A&M University

          • North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

          • Fisk University

          • Claflin University

          • Delaware State University

      • Check out this Map for the Full List of HBCUs

• Predominantly White Institutions (PWI) 

  • • • PWI is the term used to describe institutions of higher learning in which Whites account for 50% or greater of the student enrollment. 

Categorizing Your Schools 

• Reach School

  • • If getting in and paying for college weren't issues, where would you want to attend? A reach school is a college where your academic credentials fall in the lower end, or even below, the school's average range for the cohort of students accepted the previous year. 

    • Reach schools might be long shots, but they should still be possible. 

    • Don't let the sticker price of a financial reach school scare you off! Financial need, academic strength, and a college's desire to have you on campus can all influence your financial aid award and make the cost of attendance more manageable.

• Target School

  • • A target school is one where your academic credentials ( grades , SAT  or ACT scores , and class rank) fall well within the school's average range for the most recently accepted class. 

    • There are no guarantees, but it's not unreasonable to expect to be accepted to several of your target schools.

• Safety School

  • • These are colleges where admission is more likely because of a student's academic profile.

    • A safety school is one where your academic credentials exceed the school's range for the average first-year student. 

    • You should be reasonably certain that you will be admitted to your safety schools. 

    • Like your dream and target schools, these should also be colleges you'd be happy to attend

    • . In addition to admissions criteria, it's a good idea to think about financial aid when creating your list of safety schools—make sure there is at least one school that you know your family can afford on that list.

Information to Note

Application Types

• Early Action: 

  • • Apply early.

    • Receive an admission decision early in the admission cycle (usually in January or February).

    • Consider acceptance offer; do not have to commit upon receipt.

    • Apply to other colleges under regular admission plans.

    • Give the college a decision no later than the May 1 national response date.

    • Early action plans are nonbinding: Students receive an early response to their application but do not have to commit to the college until the normal reply date of May 1.

• Early Decision: 

  • • Apply early (usually in November) to first-choice college.

    • Receive an admission decision from the college well in advance of the usual notification date (usually by December).

    • Agree to attend the college if accepted and offered a financial aid package that is considered adequate by the family.

    • Apply to only one college early decision.

    • Apply to other colleges under regular admission plans.

    • Withdraw all other applications if accepted by ED.

    • Send a nonrefundable deposit well in advance of May 1.

    • Early decision plans are binding. A student who is accepted as an ED applicant must attend the college.

• Regular Decision:

  • • The normal process by which students apply by published deadlines, with promise of receiving an admissions decision no later that April 1 of their senior year. 

    • Some colleges will give admissions decisions well before April 1, but the student is under no obligation to make a decision about whether to attend until the common response date of May 1.

Admission Types

• Rolling Admission:

  • • Colleges with rolling admissions evaluate applications as they are received versus waiting to evaluate all applications after a hard deadline. 

    • Schools will continue to evaluate applications until they’ve filled all the slots for their incoming class.

    • Many schools still have Priority Deadlines that may increase your chances for more financial aid. 

• Open Admission:

  • • Open Admission generally means that the admission process is unselective and non-competitive; the only criteria for admission is that the student have a high school diploma or GED certificate.  

    • Most colleges with Open Admission are community colleges or colleges which grant Associate degrees.  

    • There are a few, but not many, four year colleges with this type of admission policy.

• Need-Blind Admission:

  • • Institutions that do not consider applicants’ ability to pay when deciding whether to offer them a place in their incoming class. Admission decisions focus on merit, not financial circumstances.

    • Around 100 colleges in the U.S. follow need-blind admissions policies. But not many cover every student's full financial need without loans. Look for schools that meet 100% Demonstrated Financial Need. 

    • Top 12 schools that offer need blind admission and meet 100% Demonstrated Financial Need:

      • • Columbia University

        • Harvard University

        • Amherst College 

        • Princeton University

        • Stanford University

        • Swarthmore College

        • MIT

        • Pomona College

        • Brown University

        • Bowdoin College

        • University of Chicago

        • Davidson College

Other Terms

College Costs

• Tuition & Fees

  • • Tuition is the charge or fee for instruction at a college or university. 

    • Fees are associated costs lumped together with tuition such as: an activity fee, lab fee, etc

• Room and Board

  • • The term room and board in college refers to the student housing accompanied by a meal plan. It accounts for a good chunk of the average cost of college in the US.

    • If you decide to commute (live off campus) you do not have to pay room and board, making college cheaper. 

• In-State vs. Out-of-State Tuition

  • • Each state has its own public institutions that are run and funded by the state. Funding for these schools comes from the state residents in the form of taxes. As a result, these state residents are able to attend the public institutions at a lower cost than people who are not residents of the state. 

    • This cost to the state residents is referred to as in-state tuition. The cost to residents from other states is known as out-of-state tuition.

    • In-state tuition is usually significantly cheaper than out-of-state tuition.

    • To be considered a PA Resident for tuition purposes is that a student must live in PA for 12 continuous months immediately prior to enrollment at an institution of higher education in PA.

• Sticker Price

  • • The sticker price is the number that most schools list in their brochures. It usually includes Tution & Fees as well as room and board. This price is rarely reflective of the Net Price--the price you actually pay.  

• The Net Price: The Actual Cost of College

  • • The net price is that sticker price minus scholarships, grants and financial aid. In other words, this is the actual amount of money a student will pay for college. 

    • Note: because of how schools are funded, some schools with large sticker prices may end up being cheaper because they have more scholarship and grant money available to distribute. 

Financial Aid Terms