AA:Associate of Arts. A two-year degree offered by community colleges (and some four-year colleges).

ACT: American College Test. A college-admission exam generally accepted as an alternative to the SAT.

a-g Pattern: The high-school coursework required by the University of California for students to be eligible for admission. See www.universityofcalifornia.edu.

AP: Advanced Placement. College-level courses taken in high school. College credit may be awarded by some colleges to students who have taken these courses and passed the exams offered at the end of the course with a specific score.

BA or BS: Also called a bachelor's degree; Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science, the degree awarded by four-year colleges/universities.

CSS Profile: See Profile.

CSU: California State University. The 23 public state campuses, such as San Jose State, San Francisco State, etc.

Deferral of admission: This is a possible response to a student who has applied early action or early decision to a college. Deferral in this case means the student has not been admitted or rejected, but rather a decision has been "deferred" and the student will be considered with the rest of the applicant pool-those who did not apply early.

Deferral of attendance: The process by which a student postpones attendance at a college after having been accepted. Many private colleges will allow a student to defer for one year after being accepted. At public universities, students generally cannot defer, and must re-apply if they wish to take a year off after high school.

Degree: The title given to a college graduate after completion of a program. An undergraduate degree is conferred after four years of college; a graduate degree is conferred after studies beyond college.

Early programs: Early action and early decision are two programs used by some private colleges to notify applicants of their acceptance or rejection during the first semester of senior year rather than in March or April. Early action means the student applies early, receives notification early, but may apply to other colleges and make a selection after hearing from all schools. Early action is non-binding; a student accepted early action is not bound (committed) to attend that school. Single-Choice Early Action is another form of early action, also non-binding; students who apply to single-choice early action colleges may only make one early application. Early decision means the student applies early, receives notification early, and is committed to attend the college if accepted. A student accepted early decision must withdraw all other applications. Early programs are for students who are absolutely certain of their first-choice school; in general, they must have completed their testing by spring of their junior year.

EOP (Equal Opportunity Program) or EOPS: A program that helps educationally or economically disadvantaged students with admission, financial aid, and academic support at college.

Expected Family Contribution: A dollar figure derived by a formula based on information about the family's income and assets provided on the FAFSA. The EFC amount will be reported to the applicant on the SAR (Student Aid Report).

FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This is the financial aid application filed by all students who want financial aid, no matter what type of college they will be attending. It must be filed between January 1 and March 2 if the student hopes to qualify for state as well as federal aid. It is available in the Career Center in December.

Fees: The term used by the California community colleges, the California State University, and the University of California, for the money paid for classes (known as tuition at other colleges).
 
Fee waiver: A form available to students from low-income families; this form can be sent with college testing or admission applications instead of the fees usually charged for these services.

Financial aid: Money to help students pay for their education; can be in the form of loans, grants, scholarships, or work-study.

Financial need: In financial aid language, need is the difference between the actual cost of a student's education and what the student and his/her family can be expected to contribute (based on the FAFSA formula that computes Expected Family Contribution).

General Education (Gen Ed) or Breadth Requirements: Required courses from different disciplines (humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, fine arts, math, etc.) required for most college degrees.

GPA: Grade Point Average. Though GPA is reported on high school transcripts, often colleges compute their own version of the GPA, counting only certain courses or "weighting" the GPA by adding extra points for honors courses.

Grants: Money given as financial aid that does not have to be paid back.

Impacted: A major, a college campus, or a specific program is said to be impacted if there are more applicants for the program than there are spaces available. In these cases, either enrollment may be temporarily closed or special screening processes will be used to select those who can enroll.

Liberal Arts: Introduction or exposure to a wide range of subjects or disciplines, including social sciences, humanities, fine arts, and natural sciences.

MA: A master's degree (Master of Arts) requiring one or two years after completion of a BA or a BS.

Major: The primary area a student chooses to study in college, generally constituting approximately half of the coursework done by that student. (The other half of the coursework is usually a combination of general education requirements and electives.)

Minor: A secondary area a student might choose to study in college, with a certain number of courses required in order for the minor to be awarded.

NCAA: National Collegiate Athletic Association. An organization that regulates college athletics through its rules on eligibility, recruiting, and financial aid.

Package: The financial aid offer made by a college to a student; also called an award letter.

Ph.D.: Also called a doctorate degree; the highest graduate degree available; generally takes several years after undergraduate studies and a master's degree have been completed.

Prerequisites: Coursework, tests, or grade levels that must be completed before taking a specific course.

Private (or independent) college: A college that is not supported by state tax funds.

Profile: A financial aid application required by many private colleges. (The Profile never replaces the FAFSA; it is used in addition to the FAFSA by schools that require it.)

PSAT: A practice test for the SAT offered in October. Should be taken by all high school juniors, and may be taken by interested sophomores. This is the qualifying test for National Merit Scholarships.

Rescission (or Revocation): The withdrawal of an offer of admission. A college may rescind (or revoke) its offer of admission to a student if that student fails to complete the senior year at the level the college expects based on the application. This may be due to failing senior-year courses, dropping required coursework, disciplinary action, or other causes.

Rolling admission: Colleges on this system notify students of their acceptance or rejection on a rolling basis by responding to applications as they are received, rather than waiting for a specific reply date.

SAR: Student Aid Report. This form is returned to students who filed the FAFSA, informing them of their Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and requesting corrections to the FAFSA or updated information that was not available when the FAFSA was filed.

SAT A college-entrance examination offered by the College Board. This exam measures writing, critical reading, and mathematical skills in a 3-hour, 35-minute test that includes both multiple-choice questions and a writing sample. Required by the UC, CSU, and many private colleges.

SAT Subject Tests Subject tests, up to three of which may be taken on one test day. Hour long multiple-choice tests in specific subject areas. Two SAT Subject Tests are required for the University of California (the two tests may be in any area of the student’s choice, but may not be in the same discipline).

Scholarship: A grant (gift) of money that does not need to be paid back. Scholarships may be granted based on merit (talent or ability), financial need, or other criteria.

TOEFL: Test of English as a Foreign Language. An English exam for foreign students used for admission or placement in college English classes.

Transcript: The official document that reports coursework and grades.

Transfer students: Students who have moved from one college to another, generally after the end of sophomore year.

Tuition: Fees that are paid for instruction in colleges/universities.

UC: University of California. Nine undergraduate campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, and San Diego) and one graduate campus (San Francisco) make up the UC system.

Undergraduate: A college student who has not yet received a degree.

Waiting list: Colleges may form a list of students who will be offered admission if accepted students do not completely fill the entering class.

Work-Study: A federally funded program that makes part-time jobs available to students with financial need as determined by the FAFSA.

Yield: A college's yield is the number or percentage of accepted students who choose to attend. (A college would have a yield of 40% if it offered admission to 1,000 students and 400 chose to attend that college.)