ACADEMIC CALENDAR: Colleges usually operate on a nine-month calendar that begins in the fall and ends in late spring. These nine months can be divided as follows:
Semesters Two 15 week terms
Trimesters Three 10 week terms
Quarters Four 10 week terms, including summer
4-1-4 Two 15-week terms of four courses with a one course mini-term in between or following
ACADEMIC COMMON MARKET: Cooperative tuition agreement among 14 Southern Regional Education Board States; must major in specific programs. See the Tennessee Higher Education Commission website for more information (http://www.state.tn.us/thec).
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE: A subject area: philosophy, biology, French, etc.
ACCREDITATION: Official recognition that a college, university, or trade school has met the standards of a regional or national association.
AP: Advanced Placement courses or tests of the College Board. Upon completion of an AP course, an AP exam is given. Students score between 1 and 5; colleges usually give credit for scores of 4 or 5 and often for a 3 as well. See literature from the college to determine what scores are accepted.
ASSOCIATE’S DEGREE: Awarded by a college or university after satisfactory completion of a two-year program of study.
BACHELOR’S DEGREE: Awarded by a college or university after satisfactorily completing a four-year course of study or its equivalent.
CANDIDATE’S REPLY DATE: The date by which a student must notify colleges of his/her enrollment intentions; May 1.
COALITION FOR COLLEGE APPLICATION: The Coalition for College Application (www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org) serves c.150 colleges and allows students to cut-down on the amount of ‘busy-work’ when applying to multiple institutions. Does not link to Naviance. You MUST check to make sure that you have also filled out any supplemental forms for the institutions to which you are applying (noted online). You must pay the application fee for each school. (see also EDU Application Form and Universal College Application and Coalition for College Application)
COMMON APPLICATION: The Common Application (www.commonapp.org) serves c.900 colleges and allows students to cut-down on the amount of ‘busy-work’ when applying to multiple institutions and links to Naviance. You MUST check to make sure that you have also filled out any supplemental forms for the institutions to which you are applying (noted online). You must pay the application fee for each school. (see also EDU Application Form and Universal College Application and Coalition for College Application)
CONSORTIUM: A group of institutions that have joint educational programs and/or shared facilities.
DEFERRED ADMISSION: Allows an accepted student to postpone admission for a semester or year.
EARLY ACTION: An admissions plan by which a student applies to a college in October or November and receives a decision by mid-December. Students under this plan do not have to notify the college of their enrollment decisions until May 1.
EARLY DECISION: A program where a student applies to his/her first-choice college early in the fall and receives a decision by mid-December. Student, parent, and counselor all sign a legal contract attesting that if accepted, the parents will pay for first year of college at that institution/student must enroll in that college.
COMMON BLACK COLLEGE APPLICATION FORM: HBCU Common Application equivalent. Allows students who are interested in attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities to apply ONCE (one application and one application fee) to a number of HBCUs. Does not link to Naviance. See commonblackcollegeapp.com for more information. (see also Common Application and Universal College Application and Coalition for College Application)
EFC: The Expected Family Contribution to student’s college expenses. It is computed based on tax information provided on the FAFSA. Early estimates of your EFC can be done at www.finaid.org.
FAFSA: Determines whether or not your student is eligible for any federal aid (e.g., Pell grant). The FAFSA is also used to determine eligibility for any state funds (e.g., Tennessee Lottery Scholarship).
FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE: A financial aid award based on need and usually comprised of a combination of grants, loans, and work-study programs.
GAP: Term for when a student decides to take a semester or year off between high school and college attendance. Student should apply to colleges and ask for a deferral from the college they wish to attend (see also Deferred Admission). Caution: although most private colleges will hold a students admissions spot and often any scholarship monies, most public institutions will not.
HIGH SCHOOL CODE/CEEB-ACT CODE: An identification number assigned to each high school. Hume-Fogg’s CEEB/ACT code is 431-690.
NAIA: Organization that oversees rules and regulations of coach and student contact at NAIA colleges. Students interested in playing NAIA sports must register with the NAIA Eligibility Center at www.PlayNAIA.org. A Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete and other resources is on-line.
NCAA CLEARINGHOUSE: Organization that oversees rules and regulations of coach and client contact at NCAA colleges. Students interested in playing NCAA sports must register with the Clearinghouse at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net. There is a listing of instructions on appropriate contact as well as full listings of institutions with available sports.
RAISE ME: With RaiseMe (www.raise.me), anyone can earn money for college starting in 9th grade based on their achievements in school and life. However, this requires that students are able to target their college(s) early on in high school and must keep their data updated for each college in the on-line system. Be advised that a number of colleges do not stack this money with any other scholarships the student may be eligible for by the time they are a senior.
ROLLING ADMISSIONS: A college gives an admission decision as soon as possible after an application is complete.
SELECTIVE SERVICE: Any male who is 18 must register with the U.S. Selective Service. You may register at any post office or on-line at www.sss.gov.
TRANSCRIPT: A record of a student’s academic performance at a school or college.
UNIVERSAL COLLEGE APPLICATION: The Universal College Application (www.universalcollegeapp.com) serves less than 20 colleges and allows students to cut-down on the amount of ‘busy-work’ when applying to multiple institutions. Does not link to Naviance. You MUST check to make sure that you have also filled out any supplemental forms for the institutions to which you are applying (noted online). You must pay the application fee for each school. (see also EDU Application Form and Common Application)
WAIT-LIST: List of students not accepted by the April notification but who may be granted admission in May or June.
Semesters Two 15 week terms
Trimesters Three 10 week terms
Quarters Four 10 week terms, including summer
4-1-4 Two 15-week terms of four courses with a one course mini-term in between or following
ACADEMIC COMMON MARKET: Cooperative tuition agreement among 14 Southern Regional Education Board States; must major in specific programs. See the Tennessee Higher Education Commission website for more information (http://www.state.tn.us/thec).
ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE: A subject area: philosophy, biology, French, etc.
ACCREDITATION: Official recognition that a college, university, or trade school has met the standards of a regional or national association.
AP: Advanced Placement courses or tests of the College Board. Upon completion of an AP course, an AP exam is given. Students score between 1 and 5; colleges usually give credit for scores of 4 or 5 and often for a 3 as well. See literature from the college to determine what scores are accepted.
ASSOCIATE’S DEGREE: Awarded by a college or university after satisfactory completion of a two-year program of study.
BACHELOR’S DEGREE: Awarded by a college or university after satisfactorily completing a four-year course of study or its equivalent.
CANDIDATE’S REPLY DATE: The date by which a student must notify colleges of his/her enrollment intentions; May 1.
COALITION FOR COLLEGE APPLICATION: The Coalition for College Application (www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org) serves c.150 colleges and allows students to cut-down on the amount of ‘busy-work’ when applying to multiple institutions. Does not link to Naviance. You MUST check to make sure that you have also filled out any supplemental forms for the institutions to which you are applying (noted online). You must pay the application fee for each school. (see also EDU Application Form and Universal College Application and Coalition for College Application)
COMMON APPLICATION: The Common Application (www.commonapp.org) serves c.900 colleges and allows students to cut-down on the amount of ‘busy-work’ when applying to multiple institutions and links to Naviance. You MUST check to make sure that you have also filled out any supplemental forms for the institutions to which you are applying (noted online). You must pay the application fee for each school. (see also EDU Application Form and Universal College Application and Coalition for College Application)
CONSORTIUM: A group of institutions that have joint educational programs and/or shared facilities.
DEFERRED ADMISSION: Allows an accepted student to postpone admission for a semester or year.
EARLY ACTION: An admissions plan by which a student applies to a college in October or November and receives a decision by mid-December. Students under this plan do not have to notify the college of their enrollment decisions until May 1.
EARLY DECISION: A program where a student applies to his/her first-choice college early in the fall and receives a decision by mid-December. Student, parent, and counselor all sign a legal contract attesting that if accepted, the parents will pay for first year of college at that institution/student must enroll in that college.
COMMON BLACK COLLEGE APPLICATION FORM: HBCU Common Application equivalent. Allows students who are interested in attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities to apply ONCE (one application and one application fee) to a number of HBCUs. Does not link to Naviance. See commonblackcollegeapp.com for more information. (see also Common Application and Universal College Application and Coalition for College Application)
EFC: The Expected Family Contribution to student’s college expenses. It is computed based on tax information provided on the FAFSA. Early estimates of your EFC can be done at www.finaid.org.
FAFSA: Determines whether or not your student is eligible for any federal aid (e.g., Pell grant). The FAFSA is also used to determine eligibility for any state funds (e.g., Tennessee Lottery Scholarship).
FINANCIAL AID PACKAGE: A financial aid award based on need and usually comprised of a combination of grants, loans, and work-study programs.
GAP: Term for when a student decides to take a semester or year off between high school and college attendance. Student should apply to colleges and ask for a deferral from the college they wish to attend (see also Deferred Admission). Caution: although most private colleges will hold a students admissions spot and often any scholarship monies, most public institutions will not.
HIGH SCHOOL CODE/CEEB-ACT CODE: An identification number assigned to each high school. Hume-Fogg’s CEEB/ACT code is 431-690.
NAIA: Organization that oversees rules and regulations of coach and student contact at NAIA colleges. Students interested in playing NAIA sports must register with the NAIA Eligibility Center at www.PlayNAIA.org. A Guide for the College Bound Student-Athlete and other resources is on-line.
NCAA CLEARINGHOUSE: Organization that oversees rules and regulations of coach and client contact at NCAA colleges. Students interested in playing NCAA sports must register with the Clearinghouse at www.ncaaclearinghouse.net. There is a listing of instructions on appropriate contact as well as full listings of institutions with available sports.
RAISE ME: With RaiseMe (www.raise.me), anyone can earn money for college starting in 9th grade based on their achievements in school and life. However, this requires that students are able to target their college(s) early on in high school and must keep their data updated for each college in the on-line system. Be advised that a number of colleges do not stack this money with any other scholarships the student may be eligible for by the time they are a senior.
ROLLING ADMISSIONS: A college gives an admission decision as soon as possible after an application is complete.
SELECTIVE SERVICE: Any male who is 18 must register with the U.S. Selective Service. You may register at any post office or on-line at www.sss.gov.
TRANSCRIPT: A record of a student’s academic performance at a school or college.
UNIVERSAL COLLEGE APPLICATION: The Universal College Application (www.universalcollegeapp.com) serves less than 20 colleges and allows students to cut-down on the amount of ‘busy-work’ when applying to multiple institutions. Does not link to Naviance. You MUST check to make sure that you have also filled out any supplemental forms for the institutions to which you are applying (noted online). You must pay the application fee for each school. (see also EDU Application Form and Common Application)
WAIT-LIST: List of students not accepted by the April notification but who may be granted admission in May or June.