Admissions Glossary

Activities Resume. An online tool from EducationQuest that tracks a student's extracurricular activities, part-time jobs, honors and awards.

Advanced placement. Admission or assignment of a freshman to an advanced course in a certain subject on the basis of evidence that the student has already completed the equivalent of the college's freshman course in that subject.

Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). A program of the College Board that provides high schools with course descriptions of college subjects and Advanced Placement Examinations in those subjects. High schools offer the courses and administer the examinations to interested students, who are then eligible for advanced placement, college credit, or both, on the basis of satisfactory grades.

ACT. College entrance exam that includes test areas in English, math, reading, science and an optional writing section. Many Midwestern colleges require the ACT. Scores for each section are averages to create a composite score. A perfect score is a 36.

Associate degree. A degree granted by a college or university after satisfactory completion of the equivalent of a two-year, full-time program of study.

Bachelor's, or baccalaureate, degree. A degree received after the satisfactory completion of a four- or five-year, full-time program of study (or its part-time equivalent) at a college or university. The bachelor of arts (B.A.) and bachelor of science (B.S.) are the most common baccalaureates.

College-Level Examination Program® (CLEP®). A series of examinations in undergraduate college courses that provides students of any age the opportunity to demonstrate college-level achievement, thereby reducing costs and time to degree completion.

College Profiles. an online overview of Midwestern colleges including information about admissions and costs, majors, activities, services and athletics.

Community Colleges (two-year). Institutions that offer certificates, diplomas and associate degrees in a variety of programs.

CSS Profile. This financial aid application is administered by The College Board and used in conjunction with the FAFSA. Colleges that require the CSS Profile use it as an institutional financial aid form.

Deferred admission. The practice of permitting students to postpone enrollment, usually for one year, after acceptance to the college.

Distance learning. An option for earning college credit off-campus via cable television, Internet, satellite classes, videotapes, correspondence courses, or other means.

Early action. Students who apply under a college's early action plan receive a decision earlier than the standard response date but are not required to accept the admission offer or to make a deposit prior to May 1.

Early admission. The policy of some colleges of admitting certain students who have not completed high school--usually students of exceptional ability who have completed their junior year.

Early decision. Students who apply under early decision commit to enroll at the college if admitted and offered a satisfactory financial aid package. Application deadlines are usually in November or December with a mid-to-late December notification date.

General Educational Development (GED). A series of five tests that individuals who did not complete high school may take through their state education system to qualify for a high school equivalency certificate. Many colleges accept satisfactory GED test results in lieu of high school graduation.

Grade-point average (GPA). A system used by many schools for evaluating the overall scholastic performance of students.

Honors program. A college program for academically talented students that offers the opportunity for educational enrichment, independent study, acceleration, or some combination of these.

HOPE Education Tax Credit. A federal income tax credit of as much as $1,500 per dependent student annually; available to eligible taxpayers based on "out-of-pocket" tuition and fee expenditures, according to income eligibility guidelines.

Independent study. Individualized college coursework completed outside of the regular classroom structure under the direct supervision of the course instructor.

Internships. Short-term, supervised work experiences, usually related to a student's major field, for which the student earns academic credit. The work can be full- or part-time, on- or off-campus, paid or unpaid. Student teaching and apprenticeships are examples.

Liberal arts. The study of the humanities (literature, the arts, and philosophy), history, foreign languages, social sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences. Study of the liberal arts and humanities prepares students to develop general knowledge and reasoning ability rather than specific skills.

Lifetime Learning Tax Credit. A federal income tax credit of as much as $1,000 per household annually; available to eligible taxpayers based on "out-of-pocket" tuition and fee expenditures, according to income eligibility guidelines.

Major. The student's academic field of specialization. In general, most courses in the major are taken at the degree-granting institution during the junior and senior year.

Midwest Student Exchange Program. A program in which participating colleges in Nebraska, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and Wisconsin offer lower non-resident tuition to students who meet the program's criteria.

Military academies. Institutions that offer tuition-free education in exchange for military service.

Open admission. The college admission policy of admitting high school graduates and other adults generally without regard to conventional academic qualifications, such as high school subjects, high school grades, and admission test scores. Virtually all applicants with high school diplomas or their equivalent are accepted.

Private Career Schools (for profit). Institutions that specialize in technology-related fields or trades such as business or cosmetology. These schools award diplomas, certificates, associate degrees, and in some cases, bachelor degrees.

Private Colleges. Institutions that financially rely on endowments, tuition and fund-raising campaigns. They do not receive government subsidies.

Public Colleges. Institutions that are financially supported by the state in which they're located.

Quarter. An academic calendar period of about 12 weeks. Four quarters make up an academic year, but at colleges using the quarter system, students make normal academic progress by enrolling full-time and attending three quarters each year.

Religious-Affiliated Colleges. Institutions that have a sponsoring denomination, but most welcome students who don't subscribe to that faith.

Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). Programs conducted by certain colleges in cooperation with the United States Air Force, Army, and Navy. Naval ROTC includes the Marine Corps (the Coast Guard and Merchant Marine do not sponsor ROTC programs). Local recruiting offices of the services themselves can supply detailed information about these programs, as can participating colleges.

Residency requirements. The minimum amount of time a student is required to have lived in a state in order to be eligible for in-state tuition at a public college or university.

Rolling admission. An admission procedure by which the college considers each student's application as soon as all the required credentials, such as school record and test scores, have been received. The college usually notifies an applicant of its decision without delay. At many colleges, rolling admission allows for early notification and works much like nonbinding early action programs.

SAT. College entrance exam that measures verbal, writing and math reasoning skills. Scores on each section range from 200-800 points.

ScholarshipQuest. An online database of over 1,600 Nebraska-based scholarships. ScholarshipQuest is provided by EducationQuest Foundation.

Semester. A period of about 16 weeks. Colleges on a semester system offer two semesters of instruction a year; there may be an additional summer session, or a short term between the semesters.

Study abroad. Any arrangement by which a student completes a brief part of their college program studying in another country. A college may operate a campus abroad, or it may have a cooperative agreement with some other U.S. college or an institution of the other country.

Transcript. A copy of a student's official academic record listing all courses taken and grades received.

Transfer program. An education program in a two-year college (or a four-year college that offers associate degrees) primarily for students who plan to continue their studies in a four-year college or university.

Transfer student. A student who has attended another college for any period, which may be defined by various colleges as any time from a single term up to three years. A transfer student may receive credit for all or some of the courses successfully completed before the transfer.

Universities and Colleges (4-year). Institutions that offer bachelor degrees and a variety of majors. Many also offer advanced degrees such as masters and doctorates.