Financial Aid Terms and Websites

FAFSA: Federal Application For Student Aid*

The worksheets go on-line around December 1. The official FAFSA goes on-line January 1. The sooner it can be completed and submitted, the better.

*Every college and university will require the FAFSA if the student is planning to receive need-based financial aid.

CSS: The College Scholarship Services Profile**
CSS is an institutional need-analysis service developed by the College Scholarship Services. It assesses all of your family’s assets, including equity in your home. The profile also assesses student income and expected summer earning contribution. (The FAFSA does not consider the equity in a family’s home.)

Sometimes the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is the same amount on both the FAFSA (calculated using the Federal Methodology) and the CSS (calculated using the Institutional Methodology). More likely, the two methods will arrive at different amounts. Not all schools require the CSS Profile, but those that do usually use the CSS amount rather than the FAFSA amount.

**Find out which of the schools a student is applying for admission require(s) the CSS Profile. Submit the CSS Profile application at the same time as the student’s Application for Admission.

Note: Beware of websites that require money to sign up for scholarship information. Do not use those services!!!

College Terminology

Academic Probation: Students are placed on academic probation when they are in danger of being dismissed from school because of low grades. Many colleges put students on probation if their GPA is below 2.0.

Accreditation: An accredited school has met the accrediting organization’s competency requirements.

Articulation Agreement: This is an agreement between two schools regarding the transfer of credits.

Associate’s Degree: Students who complete a two-year program receive an associate’s degree.

Bachelor’s Degree: Students who complete a four or five-year program receive a bachelor’s degree.

Bursar: The bursar’s office collects money for tuition, fees, etc.

Course Numbers: Most course numbers range from 100 – 400. Courses in the 100 series are generally for first-year students, courses in the 200 series are for second-year students, etc. A freshman might, for example, take English 101 first quarter, English 102 second quarter and English 103 third quarter.

Credit Hour: As a general rule, the number of credit hours assigned to a course also indicates the number of hours the class meets per week. A three-hour course, for example, usually meets for three hours a week. The class could meet 11:00 – 12:00 MWF or 8:00 – 9:30 TTh. Lab classes are the exception; they usually meet for longer periods of time.

Drop/Add: Students who want to drop or add a course must complete the required form(s) before the drop/add deadline(s).

Elective: College students must take a certain number of required courses. Elective courses are those that students choose or “elect”, to take.

Full-Time Student: While students must generally be enrolled in 12 credit hours to be considered full-time students, most full-time students take 15 -18 credit hours each term.

Liberal Arts: While some colleges and majors focus on preparing students for specific careers, a liberal arts education focuses on developing intellectual skills, general knowledge, and reasoning abilities.