College Terms to Look Out For

Here are some helpful terms you might come across during the college admissions process:

Common Application:
a college admission application that students fill out once but that can be sent to nearly 300 colleges and universities that accept it.

College Scholarship Service/Financial Aid Profile a.k.a CSS Profile:
an application distributed by the College Board in the U.S. that allows college students to apply for financial aid. It gives private member institutions of the College Board a closer look at the finances of a student’s family.

Early Action/Admission:
a student can obtain early admission by applying by November 1st of their senior year of high school instead of January 1st. Students are then notified of the school’s decision by mid-December instead of April 1st.

Financial aid:
all types of money, loans, and work-study programs offered by a school to help a student pay tuition costs and living expenses.

Rolling Admissions:
a policy used by many colleges to admit freshmen to undergraduate programs on an ongoing basis rather then just by a certain date.

Scholarship:
an award of money given to a student for the purpose of furthering their education. Scholarships are awarded according to different criteria, including academic achievement, athletic or artistic talent, financial need, or ethnicity.