Glossary - College Admissions
Application Terms
National Candidate Reply Date
May 1st is the earliest date that a college can require an accepted student to commit to that college. The only exceptions to this rule are for NCAA Division I Athletics and students admitted to colleges under an Early Decision binding agreement.
Deferred Enrollment/Gap Year
An accepted student may postpone entrance in order to work, travel, or volunteer for a specified period. Deferred enrollment must be agreed upon by both the student and the university before May 1st. The time a student takes off before college is sometimes called the “gap year.” Please talk with your College Counselor if you are considering a “gap year.”
Early Decision (ED)
Students make a commitment to a first-choice institution where, if admitted, they must enroll. Students may only apply to one school Early Decision. The application deadline and decision deadline occur early. This is a binding agreement.
Early Action (EA)
Students apply early and receive a decision well in advance of the institution’s regular response date. Students may apply to more than one college through Early Action. This is a non-binding agreement/option.
Restrictive Early Action (REA)
Students apply to an institution of preference and receive a decision early. They may be restricted from applying ED or EA or REA to other institutions. If offered enrollment, they have until May 1st to confirm.
Regular Decision
Students submit an application by a specified date and receive a decision in a clearly stated period of time.
Rolling Admission
Institutions review applications as they are submitted and render admission decisions throughout the admission cycle.
Deferred
A student who applies Early Action or Early Decision to a university may be deferred, usually pending additional information. Students who are deferred are placed into the overall regular decision pool, and their decision is delayed.
Wait List
A student’s offer of admission is put on hold. If space becomes available in the class prior to fall matriculation, colleges sometimes admit students who are on the wait list. In most cases, wait list offers are made after May 1. Students must select and submit a deposit to another institution before May 1 even if they are active on a different institution’s wait list. Wait List offers should be made by colleges by August 1. For more information, please see the “College Selection” section of our webpage.
Open Admission
Virtually all applicants are accepted without regard to standardized test scores, GPA, or class rank.
Other Terms
Accelerated Degree Program
Students may earn a bachelors degree in three academic years.
Calendar
Colleges are typically on a semester, trimester, or quarter system. They may offer 4-4-1 or 4-1-4 calendars, which indicate how the year is organized in months.
Consortium
A consortium is an agreement between multiple schools (usually in a specific geographic region) to share resources such as classes, library facilities, extracurricular clubs, etc.
Cooperative (Co-Op) Education Program
Formal arrangement with off-campus employers allowing students to combine work and study in order to gain degree related experience.
Core
A program requiring the distribution of a student’s degree credits between several subject areas, usually in arts and sciences.
Endowment
The total dollar value of the assets of an institution. Typically, the higher the endowment, the better the college’s campus resources.
Honors Program
Competitive academic program for high performing students. Some honors programs offer students preferential registration and housing.
Internships
Work experience arranged through a college or university. Some internships satisfy course requirements; some might come with a stipend.
Study Abroad
Students may enroll for credit in a foreign study program sponsored by the college or a college with whom they share an alliance.
Updated 8/2014