College of Your Dreams

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Glossary

ACT (American College Test)

The ACT and SAT are the two standardized tests accepted by most colleges and universities for admissions purposes. The ACT tends to be more popular in the South and Midwest. The exam has a multiple choice section covering math, English, reading, and science. It also has an optional writing test in which examinees plan and write a short essay.

AP (Advanced Placement) Exams

The College Board offers 37 AP (Advanced Placement) exams in 22 different subject areas. These exams measure a student's mastery of college-level material. Students can earn college course credit by receiving high scores on AP exams. The exact score required varies from school to school, but often a 4 or 5 is needed. A few schools will accept 3s, and a few will accept 5s only. A student does NOT need to take an AP course to take an AP exam, but the preparation tends to be more rigorous than traditional high school classes.

Common Application

The Common Application is used for undergraduate admissions by roughly 350 colleges and universities. Only schools that evaluate applications holistically are allowed to use the common application; that is, the admissions staff must take into consideration things like letters of recommendation and the application essay. If a college bases admission solely on GPA and test scores, they cannot be members of the Common Application. Nearly all top colleges and top universities use the Common Application.

The Common Application covers several areas: personal data, educational data, standardized test information, family information, academic honors, extracurricular activities, work experience, a short answer essay, a personal essay, and criminal history. Financial aid information needs to be handled on the FAFSA.

In most cases, the Common Application is submitted electronically, and the Common Application website does a great job organizing your documents and keeping track of the different application components.

Many schools will ask for a supplemental essay to complement the personal essay options provided on the Common Application. These supplements are often submitted through the Common Application website.

EFC: Expected Family Contribution

The EFC (Expected Family Contribution) is used by colleges to determine a student's financial aid package. It represents the amount of money a family can reasonably be expected to contribute towards college expenses. After completing the FAFSA, a student will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) that includes the EFC. The Federal Student Aid Office (part of the US Department of Education) determines the EFC through an assessment of income, investments, and savings.

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

The FAFSA (Free Applicaton for Federal Student Aid) is an essential document for any student applying for financial aid. After gathering essential documents and completing the FAFSA, you'll receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) that identifies your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Most colleges use the EFC to determine a student's financial aid package.

Legacy Status

A college applicant is said to have legacy status at a college if a member of the applicant's immediate family attends or attended the college. At many colleges, legacy status can improve an applicant's chances of being admitted. However, legacy status will not make up for a weak high school record.

Liberal Arts College

A liberal arts college has several features that distinguish it from a university or community college. In general, a liberal arts college is characterized by the following:

  • Undergraduate focus: the number of graduate students at a liberal arts college is low or zero
  • Baccalaureate degrees: most degrees awarded from a liberal arts college are four-year bachelor's degrees such as a B.A. (bachelor of arts) or B.S. (bachelor of science)
  • Small size: Nearly all liberal arts colleges have fewer than 5,000 students, and most are in the 1,000 to 2,500 student range
  • Liberal arts curriculum: liberal arts colleges focus on broad skills in thinking and writing, not narrow pre- professional skills. Courses such as religion, philosophy, literature and sociology are often required of all students.
  • Faculty focus on teaching: At a large university, professors are often evaluated for their research and publishing first, and teaching second. At most liberal arts colleges, teaching has the top priority.
  • Focus on community: Because of their small size, liberal arts colleges often highly value the interaction of faculty and students. The overall educational environment tends to be more intimate and personal than at larger universities.
  • Residential: The majority of students at liberal arts colleges live at college and attend full time. You'll find far more commuter students and part-time students at public universities and community colleges.

Match School

A match school is a college that you are pretty likely to get into because your test scores, class rank and / or high school grades fall right into the middle range when you look at the school's profile. Note that even stellar students should consider the top U.S. colleges and top universities to be reach schools, not match schools. The admissions standards for these schools are so high that nearly perfect SAT scores and a straight 'A' transcript are no guarantee of acceptance.

Private University

The term "private" simply means that the university's funding comes from tuition, investments and private donors, not from taxpayers. Examples of private universities include Harvard University, Emory University, Northwestern University, University of Notre Dame and the Vanderbilt University.

Public University

The term "public" indicates that the university's funding comes partly from state taxpayers. Examples of public universities include Berkeley, Cal Poly, Kent State, Rutgers and Texas A&M.

Reach School

A reach school is a college that you have a chance of getting into, but your test scores, class rank and / or high school grades are a bit on the low side when you look at the school's profile.

Safety School

A safety school is a college that you will almost certainly get into because your test scores, class rank and / or high school grades are well above average when you look at the school's profile.

SAR: Student Aid Report

After you complete the FAFSA, the Federal Student Aid office of the US Department of Education will mail you your SAR, Student Aid Report. The SAR summarizes the information you included on the FAFSA, and if your information is complete, it will provide you with the EFC (Expected Family Contribution) that colleges use to determine your financial aid package.

SAT

The SAT is the most widely used standardized test for college admissions. The exam is created and administered by CollegeBoard. It covers three subject areas: critical reading, mathematics and writing. Students have 3 hours and 45 minutes to complete the exam. Each section is worth 800 points, so the highest possible score is 2400. The exam is offered seven times a year: January, March, May June, October, November and December. The SAT is designed to measure critical thinking and problem solving skills that are essential for success in college. The average scores for different colleges vary widely.

TOEFL, the Test of English as a Foreign Language

The TOEFL, Test of English as a Foreign Language, is required of college applicants who do not learn English as a native language. Depending on the testing center, the exam is offered in a web or paper format. TOEFL is administered by ETS, the Educational Testing Service.

Yield

Most applicants pay little attention to the idea of "yield," but it's a big deal to the folks working in a college admissions office. Essentially, the "yield" is the percentage of admitted students who actually enroll in a college. The admissions office needs to estimate the yield in order to figure out how many students to accept. If they guess the yield wrong, they will end up with an incoming class that is either too big or too small. The yield varies widely from school to school. A prestigious university like Harvard may yield around 80% of the students they accept, while some of the less competitive colleges and state universities may yield closer to 25%.

Grove, Allen. "Glossary of Key Admission Terms." About.com.