Glossary of College Terms
This glossary was created specifically for parents navigating the college process for the first time. It explains the most common admissions, academic, and financial terms in plain English.
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Admissions Terms
The Coalition Application is an alternative to the Common App and is used by a smaller group of colleges. It offers similar functionality but includes additional tools focused on college access and affordability.
Some schools accept both the Coalition App and the Common App, while others accept only one.
The Common Application (often called the “Common App”) is an online college application platform used by over 1,000 colleges and universities. It allows students to apply to multiple schools using one main application, along with individual supplements required by each college. Most students use the Common App to streamline the application process, but not all colleges accept it.
The CSS Profile is an additional financial aid form required by some private colleges. It collects more detailed financial information than the FAFSA.
A deferral occurs when an early application is moved to the regular decision pool. This is not a rejection. There is still a chance that a student will be accepted. Once the school knows how many students from the early application will not be enrolling, they will look again at deferrals.
Demonstrated interest refers to how much a student shows a college that they are genuinely interested in attending. This can include campus visits, attending information sessions, opening emails, interviewing, and engaging with admissions representatives.
Why parents should care: Some colleges track demonstrated interest and may factor it into admissions decisions, especially for borderline applicants.
Early Action allows students to apply early and receive a decision sooner without being bound to attend if accepted. Students can apply Early Action to multiple schools and still compare offers.
Early Decision is a binding application option where a student commits to attend a college if accepted. Students can apply Early Decision to only one school. If admitted, the student must withdraw all other applications and enroll at that college.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form families must complete to apply for federal financial aid. It determines eligibility for grants, loans, and work-study. Find more college financial terms below.
Holistic review means colleges evaluate more than grades and test scores. They consider essays, activities, recommendations, and personal background.
Restrictive Early Action is a non-binding early application option that limits where else a student can apply early. Students may still apply regular decision to other schools.
Rolling Admission means colleges review applications as they are received and issue decisions on an ongoing basis. Applying early improves chances at schools with rolling admissions.
These terms describe how likely a student is to be admitted to a college based on their academic profile.
– Safety School: A school where admission is very likely.
– Match School: A school where admission is reasonably likely.
– Reach School: A school where admission is less likely.
A balanced college list includes all three types.
Superscoring means colleges take the highest section scores from multiple SAT or ACT test dates and combine them into a single best score. Not all colleges superscore, so families should check each school’s testing policy.
Test-blind means colleges do not consider test scores at all, even if students submit them. These schools rely entirely on grades, coursework, essays, and other factors.
Test-optional means students are not required to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of their application. Submitting strong scores can still strengthen an application.
An unweighted GPA is a student’s grade point average on a standard 4.0 scale, without giving extra points for harder classes. In this system, an A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, and so on—no matter whether the class is regular, honors, AP, or IB.
Why parents should care: This shows how strong a student’s grades are in the simplest, most consistent way. It makes it easier to compare students across different high schools that use different grading systems.
A waitlist is a group of qualified applicants who were not initially offered admission but may be admitted later if spots open. Waitlist offers depend on enrollment numbers.
A weighted GPA gives extra points for more challenging courses like Honors, AP, IB, or dual-enrollment classes. For example, an A in an AP class might count as a 5.0 instead of a 4.0. This rewards students for taking tougher classes, even if their grade is slightly lower.
Why parents should care: A weighted GPA shows academic rigor—how hard a student challenged themselves. Colleges care about both: the grades a student earned, and the difficulty of the classes they took.
Yield is the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll. Colleges use yield to manage enrollment goals.
Academic Terms
Why parents should care: Understanding credit hours helps you make sense of tuition billing, course loads, and graduation timelines.
GPA is a numerical representation of a student’s academic performance. It is calculated by averaging grades across all completed courses, usually on a 4.0 scale. Colleges use GPA as one of the primary indicators of academic readiness.
A prerequisite is a course that must be completed before a student can enroll in a more advanced class. Prerequisites ensure students have the foundational knowledge needed to succeed in higher-level courses.
The registrar’s office manages course registration, transcripts, and academic records. Parents rarely interact directly with the registrar due to privacy laws.
A syllabus is a document that outlines a course’s topics, assignments, grading policies, and deadlines. It serves as the contract between the professor and the student.
Campus Life Terms
The add/drop period is the time at the start of a semester when students can change their class schedules without penalty. After this window closes, schedule changes may affect tuition or academic records.
The bursar is the college office that handles student billing and payments. This is where tuition, housing, meal plans, and fees are charged to the student’s account—and where payments, financial aid, and scholarships are applied. The bursar also manages payment plans, refunds, and late fees.
Why parents should care: This is the office that controls the money flow. If a payment is late, financial aid doesn’t post correctly, or a refund is missing, the bursar is who you deal with. Missed deadlines or unpaid balances can lead to late fees, class registration holds, or even students being dropped from classes.
A credit hour is a way colleges measure how much work a class requires. In general, one credit means about one hour a week in class and roughly two hours a week studying or doing assignments outside of class, over a 15-week semester. That adds up to about 45 hours of total work for each credit.
Why should parents care? Credit hours are used to track a student’s progress toward graduation and to determine whether a student is considered full-time or part-time. Some classes—like labs, internships, or online courses—count credit hours a little differently, but the idea is always the same: each credit represents a minimum amount of time and effort a student is expected to put into the course.
College student privacy is primarily protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which grants students aged 18+ or in college the right to control access to their education records, including grades, transcripts, and disciplinary files. Schools generally require written consent to share these records with third parties, including parents. (Yes, even if you are paying tuition, room, and board.)
Office hours are designated times when professors are available to meet with students. They are used for questions, clarification, and academic support.
The RA is an undergraduate student leader living in a college residence hall, acting as a peer mentor, resource, and community builder who helps residents with personal, social, and academic needs while enforcing housing policies and managing incidents to create a positive living environment.
A syllabus is a document that outlines a course’s topics, assignments, grading policies, and deadlines. It serves as the contract between the professor and the student.
Financial Terms
Cost of Attendance is the total estimated cost of attending a college for one year. It includes tuition, fees, housing, meals, books, and personal expenses.
The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the number used to estimate how much a family could pay for college. It has been replaced by the Student Aid Index (SAI). Many colleges and scholarships still reference EFC, so parents may see both terms used.
Need-based aid is financial help given to students based on a family’s financial situation, not academic performance. Colleges and the federal government use information from the FAFSA (and sometimes the CSS Profile) to determine how much a family can reasonably contribute to college costs. The difference between that amount and the total cost of attendance is considered “financial need,” and aid is awarded to help cover that gap. This aid can come in the form of grants (free money), scholarships, work-study, and sometimes loans.
Why parents should care: Need-based aid can dramatically reduce the real cost of college. Many families assume they won’t qualify and skip the FAFSA—but doing so can mean leaving thousands of dollars on the table. Even higher-income families can qualify for some level of aid, institutional grants, or better loan options.
Merit aid is financial aid awarded based on academic achievement or talent. It is not based on financial need.
The Student Aid Index replaces the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). It estimates how much a family can contribute toward college costs.