Glossary of Terms
Associates Degree (AA/AS): A 2-year community college degree.A-G Requirements: Refers to a list of subjects required for admission by the University of California and California State University. See the A-G Course List page.
ACT: A standardized college admission test. It features four main sections: English, math, reading and science — and an optional essay section.
Admission Requirements: A set of rules established by each college for a student to be considered for acceptance.
Admission Tests: Also known as college entrance exams, these are tests designed to measure students’ skills and help colleges evaluate how ready students are for college-level work. The ACT and the College Board’s SAT are two standardized admission tests used in the United States. The word "standardized" means that the test measures the same thing in the same way for everyone who takes it.
Bachelor or Arts (BA) or Bachelor of Science (BS): A 4-year degree from a college or university.
Class Rank: A measurement of how your academic achievement compares with that of other students in your grade. This number is usually determined by using a weighted GPA that takes into account both your grades and the difficulty of the courses you’ve taken. Dougherty Valley High School does not rank. Put N/A on any requests for rank.
College Application Essay/Personal Statement: An essay that a college requires students to write and submit as part of their application. Some colleges offer applicants specific questions to answer, while others simply ask applicants to write about themselves. Colleges may refer to this as a “personal statement.”
College Credit: What you get when you successfully complete a college-level course. You need a certain number of credits to graduate college with a degree. Colleges may also grant credit for scores on exams, such as those offered by College Board’s AP Program.
Common Application: A universal online application accepted by all colleges that are members of the Common Application association. You can complete this application once and submit it to any one — or several — of the 700-plus colleges that accept it. Go to commonapp.org.
Commuter School: A school where most of the students do not live on campus and may live at home and drive to school daily.
CSS/Financial Aid Profile: The College Board’s PROFILE is an online application for nonfederal student financial aid. There are nearly 400 colleges, universities, professional schools, and scholarship programs that award financial aid such as grants and scholarships based on this application. The PROFILE for nonfederal financial aid is available for students October 1 of each year. Visit collegeboard.org for more information.
Deferred Admission: Permission from a college that has accepted you to postpone enrolling in the college. The postponement is usually for up to one year.
Demonstrated Interest: When a student has expressed interest in attending a specific college or university during the application process. This can come in multiple forms such as a campus visit or contact with admissions officers.
Early Action (EA): An option to submit your applications before the regular deadlines. When you apply early action, you get admission decisions from colleges earlier than usual, typically in December. Some colleges have an early action option called EA II, which has a later application deadline than their regular EA plan. Unlike Early Decision (ED), EA does not require the applicant to accept the offer of admission if given admittance, until the May 1 response deadline.
Early Decision (ED): An option to submit an application to your first-choice college before the regular deadline. When you apply early decision, you get an admission decision earlier than usual, typically December. ED plans are binding. You agree to enroll in the college immediately if admitted and offered a financial aid package that meets your needs. Some colleges have an early decision option called ED II, which has a later application deadline than their regular ED plan.
Financial Aid: Money given or loaned to you to help pay for college. Financial aid can come from federal and state governments, colleges, and private organizations. The “package” of funds a college presents to a student is determined by family need and availability of funds.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): FAFSA is a free online form required by the government for application to any federal education aid program. FAFSA is used to determine the expected family contribution based on family financial information and can contribute to a student’s total financial aid package for a college.
Grade Point Average (GPA): A number that shows overall academic performance. It’s computed by assigning a point value to each grade you earn. See also Weighted Grade Point Average.
Grants: Payments made to students by various organizations, including Cal Grants from the State of California or Pell Grants from the Federal Government. Apply via FAFSA and/or CSS/Financial Aid PROFILE during one’s senior year. Grants do not need to be paid back.
Impacted Major/College: A college degree program, such a Business or Nursing, in which more students apply than the college can accommodate. This is most common with the California State University (CSU) system.
Legacy Applicant: A college applicant with a relative (usually a parent or grandparent) who graduated from that college. Some colleges give preference to legacy applicants (also called “legacies”).
Liberal Arts College: An academic institution that aims to provide a broad, wide-ranging curriculum that includes the sciences, social sciences, languages, and humanities.
Loans: Money that a student borrows but must be repaid after graduation.
Master of Arts (MA) or Master of Science (MS): A college graduate degree usually requiring one or two years of work beyond a bachelor’s degree. This is also known as a Graduate degree.
Need-Blind Admission: A policy of making admission decisions without considering the financial circumstances of applicants. Colleges that use this policy may not offer enough financial aid to meet a student’s full need.
Net Price Calculator: An automated tool on each college’s financial aid website which gives the net price, or the estimated amount that a student pays to attend an institution in a single academic year after subtracting scholarships and grants that a student receives. This tool will also give an estimated amount of loans a student may qualify for upon submitting FAFSA.
Placement Tests: Tests that measure the academic skills needed for college-level work. They cover reading, writing, math and sometimes other subjects. Placement tests results help determine what courses a student is ready for and whether he or she would benefit from remedial classes.
Prerequisites: Courses, test scores, and/or grade level that must be completed before taking a specific course.
Priority Dealine: The date by which your application — whether it’s for college admission, student housing or financial aid — must be received to be given the strongest consideration.
Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC): Many colleges have programs that offer two or four year military training culminating in an officer’s commission. ROTC scholarships are available to pay for full college tuition. Generally once a student graduates from an ROTC program, he or she is obligated to the military for an equivalent number of years as he or she was supported by the government.
Rolling Admission: An admission policy of considering each application as soon as all required information (such as high school records and test scores) has been received, rather than setting an application deadline and reviewing applications in a batch. Colleges that use a rolling admission policy usually notify applicants of admission decisions within a few weeks.
SAT: The College Board’s standardized college admission test. As of March 2016, the exam features two math sections, an English section, a reading section, and an optional essay. The exam will be scored on a 1600 scale.
SAT Subject Tests: Hour-long, content-based college admission tests that allow students to showcase achievement in 21 different subject areas such as English, history, math, science and languages. Some colleges use Subject Tests to place students into the appropriate courses as well as in admission decisions. Based on a student’s performance on the test(s), one could potentially fulfill basic requirements or earn credit for introductory-level courses.
Scholarships: Gifts of money awarded for merit (achievement, talents, skills, etc.) or financial need by colleges, professional or charitable organizations, etc. Most scholarships are awarded to students in the spring of senior year.
Technical/Vocational School: A public or private institution where a student may learn a trade or specific skill (see page 27).
Transcript: The official record of your course work at a school or college. Your high school transcript is usually required for college admission and for some financial aid packages. The DVHS official records are kept in the Counseling Office.
Transfer Student: A student who enrolls in a college after having attended another college.
Tuition: A fee that is paid for instruction in a school, college, or university.
Undergraduate: A college student who is working toward an associate or a bachelor's degree.
Waiting List: The list of applicants who may be admitted to a college if space becomes available. Colleges wait to hear if all the students they accepted decide to attend. If students don’t enroll by May 1 and there are empty spots, a college may fill them with students who are on the waiting list.
Weighted Grade Point Average (GPA): A grade point average that is calculated using a system that assigns a higher point value to grades in more-difficult classes. For example, Dougherty Valley High School assigns the value of 5.0 (instead of the standard 4.0) for an A earned in a Honors or AP class.