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College Admissions Process — Glossary of Terms
Arts and Sciences : The liberal arts division of a college is usually the largest division. Liberal Arts does not include engineering, business, pharmacy, nursing or other pre-professional programs. Most students will apply to the Arts and Sciences division.
Candidate’s Reply Date : May 1 has been designated by the College Board as the date by which a student must make a commitment to the college he or she will attend in the fall. Many schools will notify a student of admission before April 15 (or even earlier), but no student seeking admission under a regular decision program need notify a college of attendance before May 1.
CEEB Code : The Marple Newtown High School code is 393000. You will need it for almost all the college documents you complete, including applications, tests, and financial aid. Keep it as handy as your social security number (which you will also need).
CLEP : The College Level Examination Program is sponsored by the College Board. Students can receive credit for class work experiences and on-the-job training. Not all colleges recognize CLEP credit.
The College Board : A non-profit organization whose membership is composed of colleges and universities and a large number of secondary schools. It offers a wide variety of services to its members, including standardized admission and financial aid procedures, guidelines for admission policy, and a forum for discussion of topics and concern to the higher education community.
College Scholarship Service (CSS) : The division of the College Board which is responsible for the Profile form and the needs analysis which determines the family’s contribution toward payment of a student’s education.
CSS/Financial Aid Profile Form : This is a financial aid form required by some but not all colleges in order to award their own institutional money to students. First, the student completes the Profile Registration. Then, CSS mails a customized Profile Application directly to that student. The student should complete and return the Profile application by the date preferred by the colleges being considered. Profile Registration forms are available in the early fall and should be completed at that time.
Common Application : The “Common App” is a form that can be used to apply to over 100 colleges and universities. A student needs to fill out the form only once and then he or she duplicates the form to serve as applications to any college that subscribes to the form.
Consortium: A group of colleges or universities, usually in geographic proximity to each other, which share programs, libraries, facilities, and social events. Knowing that a college is a member of a consortium will provide you with the information on many opportunities available to the students.
Cooperative Education (Co-op): A college program in which a student alternates between periods of full-time employment in a related field. Students are paid for their work at the prevailing rate.
Early Decision : This is one choice offered by many of the more competitive colleges, where the student makes a commitment that, if accepted “early decision” (usually in December or February), the student will definitely enroll, and will withdraw any other applications to other schools. A student may apply to only one college under early decision. The application is usually due by early November. Early decision may be a good idea if you have a definite first choice. Note: If financial aid is a major consideration, applying early decision could preclude a student learning about a range of financial aid awards. Talk to your counselor before you make the decision to apply early decision.
Early Action : Early Action is offered by some colleges. Here, you apply “early” (by early November), and the college gives you their decision “early” (generally in mid-December). This gives you an opportunity to be sure you have an admission to a competitive college, without the commitment of early decision. You can still apply to other colleges, and you do not have to make a decision until the usual deadline of May 1.
FAFSA : Free Application For Federal Student Aid- this form is required by all colleges to determine the student’s need for federally funded financial aid programs. It should be filed after January 1 of your senior year in high school.
Financial Aid Package : Financial Aid is awarded by colleges on the basis of need and the student’s projected contribution to the school community. Aid can come in the form of scholarship, grants, loans, and work study. A financial aid package can have any combination of these.
Greek Life : This refers to the fraternity/sorority life on campus (they usually have “Greek” names). Greek life can be a major or relatively minor part of the social life of a campus.
Higher Education Terms:
- College - It is an institution that offers two or four year undergraduate degrees after completion of high school.
- University - It generally includes a “college” that offers undergraduate degrees, but typically also includes graduate programs and professional schools.
- Associate’s degree (A.A or A.S.)- A two-year degree which generally prepares the student for further study. Some Associate’s degrees programs are sufficient training for certain careers, but many students in two-year colleges intend to complete their studies at a four-year college.
- Bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., B.F.A) - This degree usually takes a student four years to complete at a college or university.
- Masters degree (M.A., M.S., M.F.A) - One or two years of study in a specific subject after completion of the Bachelor’s degree.
- Liberal Arts - It is non-technical courses or majors at a college or university such as English, social sciences, mathematics, sciences, foreign languages, economics, etc. Technical degrees (often offered in separate “colleges”) may include engineering, business, allied health and nursing, and architecture.
Internships : It is a short-term supervised work experience. Usually, it relates to a student’s major for which the student earns academic credit. The work can be full or part-time, on or off campus. It can be a paid or unpaid position.
Residential housing : It is on-campus housing (“dorms”) offered by colleges to their students. Many colleges require all first-year students to live in residential housing. Some will “guarantee” on-campus housing for a certain number of years (the alternative is off-campus housing, which may be apartments or houses that you rent from a landlord other than the college).
Rolling Admission : Colleges (often state schools such as Penn State and University of Pittsburgh) will review an application soon after it arrives, and will make a decision fairly rapidly, with no deadline. You will often hear back from the school within one to two months. You are still not obligated to make your final decision until May 1.
ROTC : Many colleges have units of the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps which offer two and four year programs of military training culminating in an officer’s commission. In some colleges, credits for these courses can be applied toward fulfillment of degree requirements. (Army, Air Force, Navy)
Study Abroad : Any arrangement by which a student completes part of the college program by studying in another country. Typically, this will be a one or two semesters, or a summer program.
TOEFL : The abbreviation for the Test of English as a Foreign Language. It is used as a national test for college admission and placement for students who have English as a second language.
Wait List : You may be told that you have not been accepted by a college, but are on the Wait List. This means that if a vacancy opens up (often in May, but possibly as late as August) in the entering class, you may be offered the opportunity (but are not obligated) to go to that college.
