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Academic Year
A measure of academic work to be performed by the
student, subject to definition by the school.
Admit-Deny
This describes the process of setting priorities
on students who have been accepted to a college. Assume a college is
attempting to admit 500 freshmen. Each year, about one-third of the
freshmen students a college, accepts eventually enroll. So every year
it must accept 1,600 applicants to get 500 freshmen. After it notifies
the 1,500 that they’ve been accepted, it uses financial aid packages to
try to entice the 500 it wants most.The most attractive students get
the most generous money offers. The bottom one-third includes some
students who cannot afford that particular college without financial
aid. They have been accepted, yet denied admission because they were
not offered enough money to be able to enroll.
Application Score
Most colleges use score cards to rate their applicants.
It’s the only way they can keep a record of how the thousands of
applications they receive each year compare to each other. Every
college has its own scoring system. Some use a numbered scale, say 1-5.
Others use letter grades, such as A - E. The important thing to
remember is that colleges do keep score. Each component of an
application gets its own rating. Then the scores are combined for a
total that often determines a candidate’s fate. It's customary practice
for an application to be read and scored by at least two admission
officers. If your total score is above a certain level, you’re
automatically in. If it’s too low, you’re gone. Most students are in
the middle, between the two cutoffs. Their applications go to the
admissions committee for a decision.
The university's goal is to
increase the number of low-need students, and spread wider the
available financial aid dollars.
As a result, a student with
lower academics can receive more gift-aid than other applicants who
have higher academic ratings.
Base Income Year
The calendar year preceding the academic year for which
aid is being taught.
Bidding War
A bidding war is similar to trying to get the best
deal when you buy a new car. Your best financial award offer is
presented to another college to see if it can do better. Financial aid
officers don’t like to encourage bidding wars, but admit they exist.
And because good students are in such high demand, this strategy often
works.
Building A Class
Building a class is a term used for maintaining
diversity in the student body. The diversity can take many forms -
racial, ethnic, geographic, economic - depending on a college’s
priorities. For example, a college may have a gender-balance policy
that states that neither sex can be more than 52 percent of the student
body.
As the final decisions are
made, these policies and priorities come into play. The freshman class
is built to reflect them. Decisions sometimes are made, reversed, then
reversed again to build the proper class.
Buying Freshman
Similar to the admit-deny policy, a college often gives
its best financial aid package to the students it's attempting to
attract and is said to be buying freshmen. The term often comes as an
accusation from officials of other colleges that a particular
competitor is buying freshmen.
College Scholarship Service (CSS)
The financial aid division of the College Board.
CSS writes and processes the Financial Aid PROFILE Form.
Cost Of Attendance (COA)
A figure, estimated by the school, that includes
the cost of tuition, fees, room, board, books and supplies as well as
an allowance for transportation and personal expenses. This figure is
compared to the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to determine a
student's aid eligibility. Also known as the student budget.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
The amount of money the family is expected to contribute
for the year toward the student's cost of attendance. This figure is
compared to the cost of attendance to determine a student's aid
eligibility.
FAFSA
See Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Federal Methodology
The generally accepted method used to calculate the
family's expected contribution to college costs for federal aid
purposes. Depending on the individual college's policy, the federal
methodology may also be used to determine eligibility for money under
the school's control.
Federal Work Study (FWS)
A federally funded aid program that provides jobs for
students. Eligibility is based on need.
Financial Aid
A general term used to refer to a variety of programs
funded by the federal schools to assist students with their educational
costs. While the names may vary, financial aid comes in three basic
forms: (1)gift aid (grants and scholarships) which do not have to be
paid back (2) student loans and (3) work-study jobs.
Financial Aid Form (FAF)
A need analysis document that was written and processed by
the College Scholarship Services (CSS) in Princeton, NJ.
Financial Aid Leveraging
The university practice of cutting the "sticker price"
to specifically targeted groups of applicants. The goal is to maximize
the financial aid dollar and admit larger numbers of students with the
same dollars.
Financial Aid Officer
An administrator at each school who determines whether a
student is eligible for aid and if so, the types of aid to be awarded.
Free Application For Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
The need analysis document written by the U.S. Department
of Education. This form is required for virtually all students seeking
financial aid including the unsubsidized Stafford Loan.
Flag
A flag is a mark added to the studant's admissions
appplication to indicate that it's special. Children of alumni get
flags. Students with special talents get flags. Under-represented
minorities get flags. A flagged application is removed from the common
pool and considered separately.
Gender Balance
Many colleges want a sexually balanced campus.
They don’t want a minority of either males or females. Some admission
offices work under rules that come down from the president’s office
requiring each sex to be, say, at least 48.5 percent of the student
body.
Gift Aid
Financial aid, usually a grant or scholarship that does
not have to be paid back and that does not involve employment.
Grants
Gift Aid that is generally based on need. The
programs can be funded by the federal and state governments as well as
the individual schools.here in California, we have Cal Grants. You can
visit www.calgrants.org for
more information.
Institutional Forms
Supplemental forms required by the individual
schools to determine aid eligibility.
Institutional Methodology
An alternative method used to calculate the
family's expected contribution to college costs. This methodology is
generally used by private and a few state schools to determine
eligibility for aid funds under the school's direct control. Colleges
that use the institutional methodology usually require completion of
the PROFILE form.
Legacy Rating
Children of a college’s alumni are called
legacies. They get an advantage at the admission office because of
their parents. The size of the advantage usually is determined by the
parent's generosity in alumni fund drives. Applicants with the highest
legacy ratings often are admitted without regard to the rest of their
application.
Need
the amount of aid a student is eligible to receive. This
figure is calculated by subtracting the Expected Family Contribution
from the cost of attendance.
Need Analysis
The process of analyzing the information on the
aid form to calculate the amount of money the student and parent(s) can
be expected to contribute toward educational costs.
Need Analysis Forms
Aid applications used to calculate the expected family
contribution. The most common need analysis forms are: the free
application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA) and the Financial Aid
PROFILE form. Consult the individual school's financial aid filing
requirements to determine which form(s) are required for that
particular school.
Need Based (Need-Blind) Admissions
The use of money as a factor in admissions is referred to
as need-based admission, need-blind admission, or more accurately,
need-based denial admissions.
Many colleges say they do
it. Colleges attempt to maximize the return on their endowment funds by
considering the student’s ability to pay when determining who will be
admitted. After a college’s financial aid pool has been exhausted,
"ability to pay" can also be a factor in removing students from an
admissions "wait list." Those who have a financial need don’t make it
Parent's Contribution
The amount of money the parent(s) are expected to
contribute for the year toward the student's cost of attendance.
Preferential Packaging
Preferential packaging is a more polite term
for buying freshmen. The students who are most attractive to a college
get the best financial aid package, or more grants and free money and
less loans and work-study. Preferential Packaging could also take the
form of a large discount off the sticker price, or giving more aid than
the students financial need. In a survey by the National Association of
College Admissions Counselors, 54 percent of the colleges that
responded say they use preferential packaging.
Profile Form
A need analysis document written and processed by the
College Scholarship Service (CSS) in Princeton, NJ.
Self-Help Aid
Aid that the family is expected to
pay out of pocket such as loans and work study.
Student Aid Report (SAR)
The multi-page report that is issued to students who have
filed a completed FASFA.
Student's Contribution
The amount of money the student is expected to contribute
for the year toward his or her cost of attendance.
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