College, high-school, transcripts, financial aid or scholarships? Can’t seem to make sense of all these terms stashed together on a university admission webpage? Then, this article is for you, as I explain below the terms which you will come across in your application process for higher studies in the USA. As university is a pretty big step ahead – one meant for almost every teenager willing to embark on a professional career – you don’t want to get your facts wrong about applying as this might jeopardize your chances of getting in.
To prevent this horrible scenario, I will first give you a brief overview of the US educational system and then, I’ll be explaining the terms associated with university per se. Afterwards, I’ll be taking it up by the different sections which comprise the application process, starting from the most basic terms like ‘CommonApp’ or ‘transcripts’ to exploring the rather complicated particularities of the financial aid section. I’ll also be including a few tips for Mauritian students in order for this guide to be helpful to them.
College and the US Educational System
The American educational system follows a pattern known as the K-12 pattern, i.e. it spans over 12 years after kindergarten until the end of secondary school, unlike many other countries (like the UK and now Mauritius) for which education beyond kindergarten spans over 13 years till secondary school ends. You can refer to the chart below for a clearer understanding of the typical US system (this might vary depending on schools in the US). Also, the normal school year in the US starts in the beginning of Fall (late August/early September) and ends in Summer (June).
| School Level | Grades/Year | Year Name |
| Elementary School | Kindergarten | |
| Elementary School | Grade 1 | |
| Elementary School | Grade 2 | |
| Elementary School | Grade 3 | |
| Elementary School | Grade 4 | |
| Elementary School | Grade 5 | |
| Elementary School | Grade 6 | |
| Middle School | Grade 7 | |
| Middle School | Grade 8 | |
| High School | Grade 9 | High School Freshman year |
| High School | Grade 10 | High School Sophomore year |
| High School | Grade 11 | High School Junior year |
| High School | Grade 12 | High School Senior year |
| College | 1st Year | College Freshman year |
| College | 2nd Year | College Sophomore year |
| College | 3rd Year | College Junior year |
| College | 4th Year | College Senior year |
Some terms above might seem outlandish to you already and that’s okay. I was very much like you when I started my university search. Below, I’ll explain some of the terms mentioned along with other key terms pertaining to the American educational system.
K-12 – the 12 years post-kindergarten educational system followed by the US (and some other countries)
High School – a secondary education institution dispensing the last 4 years of education of the K-12 system. The normal Mauritian equivalent is from Form 4 [now Grade 10] to Upper 6 [now Grade 13]; Mauritius follows the 13-years educational pattern, meaning that high school represents the last 4 years of secondary education.
College – an undergraduate tertiary education institution, either operating independently or as part of a university, dispensing bachelor degrees and usually spanning no more than 4 years
Community College – a small public tertiary education institution which offers certificates, diplomas and associate degrees and usually spanning over no more than 2 years (also known as a 2-year community college). Students usually transfer after the 2 years to spend their last 2-3 tertiary education years in a traditional college. Some community colleges offer bachelor degrees and a limited number of masters degree (4-year community college)
University – a tertiary education institution dispensing undergraduate, graduate, research and post-doctoral programs
Freshman – 1st Year College or High School Student
Sophomore – 2nd Year College or High School Student
Junior – 3rd Year College or High School Student
Senior – 4th Year College or High School Student
Transfer Student – a student who has previously attended a post-secondary institution (community college or otherwise) and is transferring to a new institution
Visiting Student – a college student spending a term/semester/year at a college other than his/her primary college, i.e. the college where he/she started his/her studies and should be graduating from
AP Classes and Exams – Advanced Placement; these are college-level courses – and by extension, examinations – taken by high school students to be better prepared for college. Note, however, that these are almost equivalent to ‘Advanced Subsidiary’ (AS) level courses in the UK and they are only offered in some countries.
Credits – a unit of measure for students’ classes in high school or college. Basically, it’s the American way of factoring in the number of hours spent in those classes. When you receive an offer of admission, you might find that the institution is granting you transfer credits (say 3 credits for MATH101). What this means, is that you will not need to re-take the course MATH101 at the institution, since it was deemed your high school curriculum already taught you the equivalent of that course.
Graduation – the process by which a level of education is completed, i.e. graduating from middle school, high school or college. Graduation in the context of college applications refers to the completion of high school.
Quarter – a division of an academic year, either for college or high school; 3 quarters usually make up 2 semesters, with the 4th quarter being the optional summer quarter.
Semester – another division of an academic year, either for college or high school; it is equal to half of an academic year.
Liberal Arts Education – a type of holistic college education designed to make a student more ‘well-rounded’ academically, i.e. more aware of different disciplines such as social sciences, literature, languages, arts and natural sciences. More information can be found here. All colleges tend towards this kind of education during the freshman year.
Core Classes – a set of courses required to be taken by students during their college freshman year to become more holistically educated. These courses range across different disciplines, from natural sciences to social sciences to languages to art. Some of these classes are set beyond freshman year as well.
Major – the primary field a student chooses to study in college (also known as a ‘concentration’). This is usually chosen in college sophomore year as students do not choose their major when applying (undeclared) – see this article for more details. A student will take most courses for the subject he/she chooses to major in and hence, earn a degree for that subject.
Minor – the secondary field of study which students opt to study for in college if they want to. A student will take a good number of courses for the subject he/she chooses to minor in but less courses than for the major.
Electives – courses which college students can choose to study across various disciplines in order to explore their academic interests and vary their knowledge field
Commencement – a college graduation
Hopefully, the above should give you a general idea of the US educational system. Now, let’s move on to the college application, along with its requirements.
College Application
Many of you will find that applying for higher studies in the US is not an easy process as compared to applying to other common study destinations such as the UK, Australia or Canada. Simply put, applying to the US requires more ‘baggage’. Through this section, I will only explain the key terms which you will come across during the application process. To find out more about the procedures (or even this baggage I speak of!), check out our other article here.
Common Application (CommonApp) – an online platform through which ONE application can be sent to several colleges which are members of the CommonApp. The application is basically a set of questions for you to answer in order for a college to know if you are a good fit for them; a list of activities and achievements should also accompany your application along with a personal essay and your answers to the profile questions.
CommonApp Member Questions – college-specific questions (also usually called a college/writing supplement) found on the Common App portal. These are to be submitted in addition to the Common Application and help the admission officers know if you are right for the college.
Coalition Application – a similar online platform to the CommonApp
Universal College Application – a similar online platform to the CommonApp
Counselor – the elected school representative responsible to send your school reports and transcripts to the colleges. In the US, this is often the guidance counselor (the person who works with students to help them get ready for college) but since not all Mauritian schools have guidance counselors, the counselor is usually a school official like the senior educator, the deputy rector or the rector.
Transcripts – a form detailing the grades of the student since entering high school, i.e. Grade 10 to 13 in Mauritius. This can be the scanned certified copies of term or end of year results for Mauritian students whose schools do not issue transcript forms.
School Report – a form to be filled by the counsellor about the student (how he/she compares to other students at the school) and the school level (how it compares to other schools in the state/country). In simple terms, it is an evaluation form for the student and the school.
Mid-Year School Report – the grades of the student for the penultimate semester of Grade 12. For non-US students whose academic calendars are not in sync with US academic calendars, the mid-year school report would still be from the penultimate semester/trimester of Grade 12.
Final School Report – the grades of the student for the last semester/trimester of Grade 12. These are usually obtained after application deadlines and are mailed after the application is sent. In case these final grades are not available before admission decisions are mailed, a forecast of final grades is sent in lieu of final grades.
GPA – Grade Point Average, the calculated total average of students’ performance, either in high school or college. If a student’s high school does not report GPA, he/she doesn’t have to report it on his/her college application.
Honors – Academic achievements of the student while attending high school, either at school or out of school (academic only)
SAT Reasoning Test – basically, a standardized entry exam for college. It evaluates students’ aptitudes in math, language and critical thinking to determine if they are intellectually suitable for college. It is set and dispensed by College Board, a private educational body in the US, and usually lasts 3-4 hours.
Section Scores – scores obtained on specific sections of the SAT
SAT Subject Tests – a set of subject-specific tests evaluating students’ aptitudes in these particular subjects. These are also set and dispensed by College Board and are 1 hour in length each.
Score Report – the process of sending SAT and SAT Subject Tests scores to colleges. College Board charges a fee for each college to which the scores are sent besides 4 free score reports offered with each registration. Caution required as these free reports expire before you get your scores from your last registration!
Score Choice – the process of selecting specific SAT and SAT Subject Tests scores to send to colleges. Careful though, section scores from two different test dates cannot be combined!
ACT – another college entry standardized exam. Its score can be submitted as substitute for the SAT although it is not offered in every country worldwide (check whether your country offers the ACT here).
TOEFL – an English Proficiency Test. Colleges use it to evaluate whether non-native speakers can suitably follow courses in English during college
IELTS – another English Proficiency Test accepted by colleges
Personal Essay – a section of the application where students are required to write about a topic that’s particular to them besides grades and academics, based on the prompts provided. As detailed by the CommonApp, “The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores?”
Early Action – an admission plan offered by colleges which allows students to apply earlier than normal application dates and receive a decision on their application earlier. Deadlines for submission are usually around early November with admission decisions mailed in mid-December. Through this plan, a student can apply to other colleges’ early action or early decision plans without restrictions.
Restrictive Early Action – an admission plan (mostly from private colleges) similar to Early Action except for the fact that students cannot apply to other colleges’ early action or early decision plans (although this restriction is usually only applicable to private colleges).
Early Decision – an admission plan similar to Early Action except for the fact that, if admitted through this plan, students should withdraw their regular decision and early action applications (although some schools do not allow simultaneous early applications) from other colleges applied to and commit to the one where they were admitted. Enrollment at the admitted school is binding and students can only be released from the Early Decision agreement if they cite financial reasons for not attending. Students should apply through Early Decision only if a particular college is their first-choice.
Regular Decision – an admission plan offered by colleges which allows students to apply through normal application dates and deadlines. Deadlines for submission are usually around early January with admission decisions mailed in mid-March or April. This is the most common application plan chosen by students and has no restrictions.
Enrollment – the process of committing to a school where you were admitted by paying an enrollment deposit and confirming your attendance for the next academic year at that particular college. After enrollment, the college will then provide you with information about visa procedures.
With this in mind, I’ll move on to the last part of this article about financial aid and scholarships, explaining the key terms you’ll come across as you navigate the application.
Financial Aid and Scholarships
This might perhaps be the most difficult part for you to navigate as very few students in high-school might have ever had to deal with financial documents such as tax returns or wage statements in their entire life. Trying to drown you even more in financial mumbo-jumbo, colleges set before you a ton of different forms and particulars, few of which you might understand that you have to fill! No worries, I’ll provide you with the foundation terms you need to understand the scholarships and financial part of college. In order to do this, I will split this section into two subsections, namely the Types of Aid and Policies and Applying for Aid, which should help you better understand the basics about how your US college education can be financed.
Types of Aid and Policies
Below are two tables classifying the two types of financial awards available for international students at US colleges, namely merit-based awards (scholarships) and need-based awards (financial aid).
| Scholarships (merit-based) |
| Athletic Scholarships |
| Academic Scholarships |
| Financial Aid (need-based) |
| 100% demonstrated need met |
| Demonstrated need met partially |
Again, the above might not quite make sense to you yet, which is why I elaborate on each aspect below along with the different policies adopted by different colleges.
Scholarships – grants offered by the university or other organizations based on academic or athletic merit (although athletic scholarships are typically for domestic/US students). These do not have to be repaid back and only few require an application. Usually, they cover only a small part of the cost of attendance.
Financial Aid – funding offered by the university based on financial need. These usually come in the form of grants, loans, scholarships and work-study programs. If there is a loan attached to the financial aid package, it must be repaid. Careful though, not all colleges offer financial aid for international students; some only offer financial aid for domestic students!
Demonstrated need – the amount of money needed by a student to attend college. This is calculated by subtracting the amount which the parents and student will be able and are expected to pay from the total cost of attendance.
100% demonstrated need met – a policy whereby a student’s full demonstrated need is covered by the financial aid award, i.e. no outside funding is to be sought besides the expected parental contribution. This policy is usually from colleges with a large endowment.
Demonstrated need partially met – a policy whereby a student’s full demonstrated need is not entirely covered by the financial aid award, i.e. outside funding is to be sought such as loans, governmental support or sponsorships. This policy is usually from colleges with a not-so-large endowment, not to say small as it’s still around the hundred millions.
Need-blind – a policy which consists of evaluating students’ applications for admission without factoring in their ability to pay. If they cannot afford college, their demonstrated need will be compensated through financial aid. For more information on this, click here.
Need-aware – a policy where the demonstrated financial need of a student is factored in during the evaluation of their application. If a student cannot afford to pay substantially, this might affect his/her chances of admissions, depending on the college’s ability to meet his/her demonstrated need with its funds for financial aid. Need-aware schools might or might not meet 100% demonstrated need.
Federal Financial Aid – money provided by the US government for domestic students. This type of funding is not available for international students.
Applying for Aid
CSS Profile – an online financial aid application where a student’s family’s financial circumstances are outlined in detail in order for the college to determine his/her demonstrated need. Most colleges require this form and it is operated by College Board, which charges a small fee for each college the application is sent to.
Financial Aid Application Form – a college-specific financial aid application which might either be a substitute for the CSS Profile or an addition to it to provide more information regarding the student’s family’s financial circumstances. Usually no fees are charged for these applications and they can either be sent online or by mail.
FAFSA – a financial aid application for US domestic students only applying for federal funding, i.e. funding from the US government. International applicants should not fill this application.
IDOC – an online platform through which supporting documents can be submitted to colleges. However, not all colleges who require the CSS Profile use IDOC.
Supporting Documents – financial documents detailing the information provided in the financial aid application, such as wage statements, bank statements, tax returns, non-filer statements, etc.
Wage Statement – a document from an employer detailing an employee’s salary for the past or current tax year
Tax Year – the yearly term through which deductible taxation is calculated from a person’s revenue. This can be from January 1st – December 31st, July 1st – June 30th or otherwise depending on countries.
Tax Return – a document issued by the national financial regulatory authority detailing the amount paid in taxation for the past year along with the salary of the person who was required to pay the tax. Other tax-deductible revenue, if any, might feature on the tax return.
Bank Statement – a document issued by a bank detailing the amount of funds in a person’s bank account
Non-filer Statement – a signed statement from a tax-exempt person, certifying that his/her salary was not tax-deductible and that he/she was not required to file a tax-return for the last tax year.
Sigh!
With all of this in mind (I know, it’s pretty bulky!), I hope that this ‘glossary’ will help you as you tread on this fantastic path which is the college application. If you feel that there’s any term or anything else which you do not understand in the US university application process, please leave me a message below. I’ll be most happy to help out and add it to the above list.
Thanks for reading!
This post was written by Bilaal Azeer, a Mauritian who later went on to study at University of Pennsylvania.
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