College Admissions Acronyms and Jargon: Glossary for Students and Parents

FAFSA, ED, and CSS – sounds like a recipe for alphabet soup. But really, these are acronyms that stand for very important components of the admissions process. A lack of knowledge or awareness of what these acronyms mean could cost you an admissions decision or crucial financial aid dollars. As a prospective student or a parent who hasn’t thought about the college search since they went through it, asking questions about these terms can feel daunting. Fortunately, Fastweb can act as your no-judgment resource in learning and conquering these terms. This guide will walk you through the admissions, financial aid, and scholarship search vernacular. Reference this through the various application processes to ensure you’re informed and maximizing your acceptance potential.

Application Process Acronyms

Most college application acronyms center around the different admissions deadlines. There are a few outliers, which we’ll highlight below as well:

Admissions Deadline Acronyms

ED – Early Decision: Known as the first college application deadline on the calendar, it differs from the other admissions deadlines in that it is binding. If you apply Early Decision (ED) to a school and are accepted, you MUST attend that college. Pro Tip: Apply Early Decision to only one school. EA – Early Action: This is a second deadline offered at many schools. Unlike ED, it is not binding. Rather, it helps students find out earlier if they have been accepted. These deadlines may fall in November or December, with students learning decisions in January. RD – Regular Decision: Finally, every college will have a Regular Decision deadline. This is the last possible deadline to submit an application. Applying regular decision is best used for safety schools – or schools that are lower down on your colleges of interest list.

Other Admissions Acronyms and Definitions

Deferral: A deferral occurs when a college application is put on hold after an admission deadline. For instance, you may submit an Early Action application, but it is deferred by the university until they’ve had a chance to review the regular decision applications. Then, you will get an admission decision. This typically happens to students who are borderline admits or waitlist/rejections. DI – Demonstrated Interest: These are schools in which you’ve demonstrated interest, i.e. contacted somehow through a college fair, admissions officer visit, college tour, email to the school, or a simple callout on their website or social media pages. Once you’ve demonstrated interest initially, the college will keep track of how many other touch points you make with their institution. FGLI – First Generation, Low-Income: This is a classification used by admissions officers to designate students who may be the first in their family to attend college or who may be low-income. Colleges actually save admissions places specifically for these students. They may also provide on-campus resources to help first-gen, low-income students transition and navigate their college experience with success. Legacy: This is an applicant whose parents, grandparents, or other close family members attended the college to which they might apply. While no benefits are guaranteed, some colleges do distribute small legacy scholarships. TO – Test Optional: This simply means that a college does not require an SAT or ACT score to apply. They will look at the scores you send along, and it could impact whether you receive merit scholarships depending on how you perform, but it’s not necessary to be admitted into the college. Waitlist: Similar to a deferral, some colleges may use a waitlist for borderline applicants. This again puts their application in a holding pattern until they’ve reviewed all ED, EA, and RD applications. You may find yourself called off the waitlist and admitted, or ultimately, rejected from admission.

Financial Aid and FAFSA Jargon

This is where students and parents get especially lost. While admissions terms are a little intuitive, financial aid acronyms and terms are a little harder to figure out, and some have changed in the last few years. Get up to speed on the latest in financial aid jargon: COA – Cost of Attendance: This is the true cost of attending a college. It takes into account everything, from tuition and fees to transportation. Colleges will subtract your Student Aid Index (see below) from the COA to determine financial aid eligibility. CSS – College Scholarship Search: It can be confusing that this is referred to as a scholarship form when, in fact, it functions more like a financial aid application. Some schools may require this form in addition to the FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid: This is probably the most significant financial aid acronym on the list. The FAFSA must be completed by every student who hopes to qualify for federal, state, or institutional financial aid. In fact, it’s so important that some states require students to complete it in order to graduate from high school. The form becomes available on October 1 each year, and it’s recommended that students complete it as soon as possible, as many states distribute aid on a first-come, first-served basis. FSS – FAFSA Submission Summary: This is a summary of the information students and parents submit on the FAFSA. It will also include a financial aid estimate, providing an additional incentive to complete the FAFSA as soon as possible after October 1 so that they can get a clear picture of the true cost of attendance. NPC – Net Price Calculator: You may see or hear this acronym for finding the true cost of college. It is required by law that colleges host a Net Price Calculator on their website. This calculator helps students determine the cost of attending that institution. It will consider family financial circumstances as well as GPA and test scores. It’s important to note that the figure given by an NPC is just an estimate. SAI – Student Aid Index: This figure indicates your financial aid eligibility. It is determined once you complete the FAFSA. The SAI ranges from -1500 to 999999, with -1500 indicating that you need the maximum amount of financial aid to pay for college. Your SAI can change from year to year, so it’s important to fill out the FAFSA each year for which you plan to attend college, graduate, or professional school.

Enrollment and Institutional Terms

Finally, these are “vocab words” you may hear throughout the process. While it’s not vital that you have a handle on these definitions, they can be useful: Articulation Agreement: An articulation agreement is typically set up between a high school or community college and a local university. Through this agreement, high school or community college students can take courses that count for college credit at a four-year university. Gap Year: Growing increasingly popular in the U.S., this refers to a break students may take between high school and college. During the gap year, students may travel, work, or enroll in gap-year programs, giving them extra time to gain real-world experience before transitioning to college life. Holistic Review: Many admissions committees will say they take a holistic review of applications. This means that they’re looking at more than just GPA and test scores for students. Rather, they’re looking at the bigger picture: extracurricular involvement, personal qualities, life experience, and more. Matriculation: You’ll hear this used as a term for the process of enrolling in a college. Yield Rate: This term refers to the number of students who ultimately attend the college after they’ve considered other admission offers.

Terms Parents Ask About Most

The process of applying to college has changed drastically over the past few years – even more so if it has been decades since parents themselves applied. Here is a refresher, or introductory, course specifically for parents: Appeal/Professional Judgment: Families who feel they deserve more financial aid can request a financial aid appeal or professional judgment. This requires families to present their case to a financial aid administrator, using documentation to prove circumstances that weren’t detailed on the FAFSA, such as recent job loss, a death in the family, or excessive healthcare expenditures. Double Deposit: Occasionally, a student or family will put down a deposit at two different colleges to secure a place for their child, giving them options. However, this is extremely unethical. Putting down a deposit at another institution is taking the place of another deserving student. Financial Aid Award Letter vs. Financial Aid Offer: They are essentially the same. A financial aid award letter outlines the financial aid offer a school makes. Just because components are included in a financial aid award letter, such as loans, doesn’t mean the student has to accept them. Furthermore, students and families can accept certain components of the financial aid award letter – and reject others. Undermatching: This refers to a scenario in which a student enrolls at an institution that is less selective than their academic credentials.

Understanding Admissions and Financial Aid Terminology

You don’t have to be an admissions expert to successfully navigate college, financial aid, and scholarship searches. Instead, take advantage of resources that will educate without judgment and help you speak the language of admission officers, financial aid administrators, and scholarship providers.