FINANCIAL AID GLOSSARY
Academic Year: A period of time schools use to measure a quantity of study. Academic years may vary between schools.
Accrued Interest (on a loan): Interest on a loan that accumulates and is to be paid in installments at a later time (usually when the principal becomes due).
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI): All taxable income as reported on a U.S. income tax return.
Assets: Cash on hand in checking and savings accounts; trusts, stocks, bonds, other securities; real estate (excluding home), income-producing property, business equipment, and business inventory. Considered in determining Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
Award Letter: Written notification to an applicant from a college that details how much and which types of financial aid are being offered if the applicant enrolls.
Bachelor's Degree: The degree given for successful completion of the undergraduate curriculum at a four-year college or a university. Also called a baccalaureate degree.
Budget: See Cost of Attendance.
Business Assets: Property that is used in the operation of a trade or business, including real estate, inventories, buildings, machinery and other equipment, patents, franchise rights, and copyrights. Considered in determining an Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
Campus-based Programs: The term commonly applied to the Federal student aid programs administered directly by institutions of postsecondary education. These programs include: Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and Federal Work-Study (FWS) programs.
Capitalization (of interest): The arrangement between borrower and lender whereby interest payments are deferred as they come due and are added to the principal amount of the loan.
Central Processing System (CPS): The computer system which electronically processes student FAFSA information. The Central Processing System performs database matches, calculates the student's official Expected Family contribution (EFC), and prints out the Student Aid Report (SAR).
Certification: A documented statement of accuracy or truth. To fulfill federal requirements, the school provides certification to verify course of study, enrollment status and other vital information. This confirms a student's eligibility for student loan funding
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP): A series of examinations demonstrating a student's proficiency in a subject area, for which some postsecondary institutions offer credit.
Commuter Student: A student who does not live on campus; typically, "commuter" refers to a student living at home with his or her parents, but can also mean any student who lives off-campus.
Consolidation Loan: A loan made to enable a borrower with different types of educational loans to obtain a single loan with one interest rate and one repayment schedule. A consolidation loan pays off the existing loans; the borrower then repays the consolidated loan.
Cosigner: A second creditworthy party who signs a promissory note with a borrower who does not have collateral or a good credit history. The second party guarantees that the loan will be repaid if the borrower fails to make payments.
Cost of Attendance (COA): Generally, this includes the tuition and fees normally assessed a student, together with the institution's cost of room and board, an estimate of transportation and commuting costs, books and supplies, and miscellaneous personal expenses. Also referred to as "cost of education" or "budget."
Credit (or Credit Hour): The unit of measurement some institutions give for fulfilling course requirements.
Creditworthy: Criteria established by a lender to evaluate an individual's credit history and determine the individual's eligibility for a credit-based loan.
Custodial Parent: The parent with whom the dependent student lives, and whose financial information is used in the need analysis when parents are divorced or separated.
Default: A failure to meet a financial obligation, especially a failure to make a payment on a loan. Defaults are recorded on permanent credit records.
Deferment (of loan): A condition during which payments of principal are not required, and, for Federal Perkins and subsidized Federal Stafford, interest does not accrue. The repayment period is extended by the length of the deferment period.
Department of Education, U.S. (ED): The federal government agency that administers assistance to students enrolled in postsecondary educational programs.
Departmental Scholarship: An award of gift assistance that is specifically designated for a recipient in a particular academic department within the institution.
Dependent Student: A student who does not qualify as an independent student and whose parental income and asset information is used in calculating an Expected Family Contribution (see Independent Student).
Disbursement: The release of loan funds to the school for delivery to the borrower. Funds are first credited to the student's account for payment of tuition, fees, room, board and other school charges. The loan will be made in two equal disbursements.
Educational Benefits: Funds, primarily federal, awarded to certain categories of students (veterans, children of deceased veterans or other deceased wage earners, and students with physical disabilities) to help finance their postsecondary education regardless of their ability to demonstrate need in the traditional sense.
Educational Expenses: See Budget and Cost of Attendance.
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): Used by the school and lenders to wire funds directly to an account without the use of a paper check and the funds are available to students sooner.
Eligible Non-Citizen: A permanent resident of the U.S. who is able to present evidence from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service that he or she is in the U.S. for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident.
Employment: With reference to financial aid, the opportunity for students to participate in the Federal Work-Study program as a way to defray their educational expenses.
Entrance Interview: Required counseling that informs student borrowers of their rights and responsibilities.
Exit Interview: A counseling session conducted when the student borrower is leaving college at which time the student's loan obligations and responsibilities are reviewed.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC): The amount a student and his or her family are expected to pay toward the student's cost of attendance as calculated by a Congressionally-mandated formula known as Federal Methodology. The EFC is used to determine a student's eligibility for the student financial assistance programs.
Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Programs: The collective name for the Federal Stafford (subsidized and unsubsidized), Federal PLUS Loan, and Federal Consolidated Loan programs. Funds for these programs are guaranteed by the Federal Government.
Federal Need Analysis Methodology: A standardized method for determining a student's (and family's) ability to pay for postsecondary education expenses; also referred to as Federal Methodology (FM). The single formula for determining the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The formula is defined by law.
Federal Pell Grant: A federal grant program for needy postsecondary students who have not yet received a baccalaureate or first professional degree; administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
Federal Perkins Loan: One of the campus-based programs; a long term, low interest loan program for undergraduate students at a current interest rate of 5%.
Federal PLUS Loan (FPLUS): Long-term loans made available to parents of dependent students. Interest rates but may not exceed 9%. May be used to replace EFC; annual amount borrowed limited to the cost of attendance minus estimated financial assistance.
Federal Stafford Loan (subsidized and unsubsidized): Long term, low interest loans administered by the Department of Education through private guarantee agencies. Variable interest rate, not to exceed 8.25%. Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans may be used to replace EFC.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG): One of the campus-based programs; grants to undergraduate students of exceptional financial need who have not completed their first baccalaureate degree and who are financially in need of this grant to enable them to pursue their education. Priority for FSEOG awards must be given to Federal Pell Grant recipients with the lowest EFCs.
Federal Work-Study Program (FWS): One of the campus-based programs; a part-time employment program which provides jobs for undergraduate students who are in need of such earnings to meet a portion of their educational expenses.
Financial Aid: General term that describes any source of student assistance outside the student or the student's family. Funds awarded to a student to help meet college educational expenses. These funds are generally awarded on the basis of financial need and include scholarships, grants, loans, and employment.
Financial Aid Administrator: An individual who is responsible for preparing and communicating information pertaining to student loans, grants or scholarships, and employment programs, and for advising, awarding, reporting, counseling, and supervising office functions related to student financial aid.
Financial Aid Award: An offer of financial assistance to a student attending a postsecondary educational institution. This award may be in the form of one or more of the following types of financial aid: repayable loan, a non-repayable grant and/or scholarship, and/or student employment.
Financial Aid Consultant: A person who, for a fee, provides a variety of services to students and parents, including preparing the FAFSA and other financial aid forms, estimating the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and estimating financial need.
Financial Aid Package: A financial aid award to a student comprised of a combination of forms of financial aid (loans, grants and/or scholarships, employment).
Financial Need: The difference between the institution's cost of attendance and the family's ability to pay (i.e., Expected Family Contribution). Ability to pay is represented by the expected family contribution for federal need-based aid and for many state and institutional programs.
Financial Need Equation: Cost of attendance minus Expected Family Contribution equals financial need (COA - EFC = Need).
Forbearance: Permitting the temporary cessation of repayments of loans, allowing an extension of time for making loan payments, or accepting smaller loan payments than were previously scheduled.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): The financial aid application completed by the student, and the student's parents if applicable, that collects household and financial information. The FAFSA is the foundation document for all federal need analysis computations and database matches performed for a student.
Full-Time Enrollment: Full-time enrollment at Barton College is defined as being concurrently enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours of classes in a single term.
Gift Aid: Educational funds such as grants or scholarships that do not require repayment from present or future earnings. See Grant.
Grace Period: The period of time that begins when a loan recipient ceases to be enrolled at least half-time and ends when the repayment period starts. Loan principal need not be paid and, generally, interest does not accrue during this period.
Grant: A type of financial aid that does not have to be repaid; usually awarded on the basis of need, possibly combined with some skills or characteristics the student possesses. Also see Gift Aid.
Gross Income: Amount of money received from any or all of the following: wages, interest, dividends, sales or rental of property or services, business or farm profits, certain welfare programs, and subsistence allowances such as taxable and non-taxable social security benefits and child support.
Independent Student: A student who is either married, 24 years of age or older, enrolled in a graduate or professional education program, has legal dependents other than a spouse, is an orphan or ward of the court, or a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Investment Plans: Educational savings programs, usually sponsored by commercial banking institutions.
Legal Dependent (of Applicant): A biological or adopted child, or a person for whom the applicant has been appointed legal guardian, and for whom the applicant provides more than half support.
Loan: An advance of funds evidenced by a promissory note and requiring the recipient to repay the specified amount(s) under prescribed conditions.
Master Promissory Note (MPN): The legally binding document signed upon application for educational loans. Under a Master Promissory Note the borrower may receive multiple loans for either a single period or multiple periods of enrollment. If used as a multi-year note, most borrowers will sign the Master Promissory Note once and the note remains valid for a five- to 10-year period for reuse.
Merit-based Aid: Student assistance awarded because of a student's achievement or talent in a particular area, such as academics, athletics, music, etc.
National and Community Service: A program established through the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 designed to reward individuals who provide community service with educational benefits and/or loan forgiveness or cancellation.
Need Analysis: A system by which a student applicant's ability to pay for educational expenses is evaluated and calculated. Need analysis consists of two primary components: (a) determination of an estimate of the applicant's and/or family's ability to contribute to educational expenses; and (b) determination of an accurate estimate of the educational expenses themselves.
Need-based Aid: Student assistance awarded because a student's financial circumstances would not permit him or her to afford the cost of a postsecondary education.
Non Need-based Aid: Aid based on criteria other than need, such as academic, musical, or athletic ability. Also, refers to federal student aid programs where the expected family contribution (EFC) is not part of the need equation.
Packaging: The process of combining various types of student aid (grants, loans, scholarships, and employment) to attempt to meet full amount of student's need.
Parent Loan: See Federal PLUS Loan.
Principal (of a loan): The amount of money borrowed through a loan; does not include interest or other charges, unless they are capitalized.
Private Loans: Education loan programs established by private lenders to supplement the student and parent education loan programs available for federal and state governments.
Professional Judgment (PJ): Aid administrator discretion, based on special circumstances of the student, to change data elements used in determining eligibility for federal student aid.
Renewal FAFSA: One type of FAFSA that resembles a SAR and has the same questions as the FAFSA. The Renewal FAFSA is preprinted with the student's prior year responses to certain data items that are likely to remain constant from year to year.
Renewable Scholarship: A scholarship that is awarded for more than one year. Usually the student must maintain certain academic standards to be eligible for subsequent years of the award.
Repayment Schedule: A plan that is provided to the borrower at the time he or she ceases at least half-time study. The plan should set forth the principal and interest due on each installment and the number of payments required to pay the loan in full. Additionally, it should include the interest rate, the due date of the first payment, and the frequency of payments.
Satisfactory Academic Progress: As determined by each college for its students, the level of academic achievement expected of a student in order to continue to receive financial aid.
Scholarship: A form of financial assistance that does not require repayment or employment and is usually made to students who demonstrate or show potential for distinction, usually in academic performance.
Scholarship Search Services: Organizations that claim to help students find little-known and unused financial aid funds. Families who are interested is using such a service should carefully investigate the company first.
Selective Service: Registration for the military draft. Females are not required to register.
Student Aid Report (SAR): The official notification sent to a student as a result of the Central Processing System (CPS) receiving an applicant record (via FAFSA) for the student. The SAR summarizes applicant information, an Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and displays any other special messages related to the application.
Taxable Income: Income earned from wages, salaries, and tips, as well as interest income, dividend income, business or farm profits, and rental or property income.
Title IV Programs: Those federal student aid programs that include the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. Federal Work-Study, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford Loan, Federal PLUS Loan and the Student Incentive Grant.
Unmet Need: The difference between a student's total cost attendance at a specific institution and the student's total available resources.
Untaxed Income: All income received that is not reported to the Internal Revenue Service or is reported but excluded from taxation. Such income would include but not be limited to any untaxed portion of Social Security benefits, Earned Income Credit, welfare payments, untaxed capital gains, interest on tax-free bonds, dividend exclusion, and military and other subsistence and quarters allowances.
Verification: A process by which the financial aid offices "verifies" the accuracy of the data reported by the student on the financial aid application. Students who are selected by the U.S. Department of Education for the verification process must submit the requested documents before an aid package can be processed.
Veterans Educational Benefits: Assistance programs for eligible veterans and/or their dependents for education or training.
Vocational Rehabilitation: Programs administered by state departments of vocational rehabilitation services to assist individuals who have a physical or mental disability which is a substantial handicap to employment.
Accrued Interest (on a loan): Interest on a loan that accumulates and is to be paid in installments at a later time (usually when the principal becomes due).
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI): All taxable income as reported on a U.S. income tax return.
Assets: Cash on hand in checking and savings accounts; trusts, stocks, bonds, other securities; real estate (excluding home), income-producing property, business equipment, and business inventory. Considered in determining Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
Award Letter: Written notification to an applicant from a college that details how much and which types of financial aid are being offered if the applicant enrolls.
Bachelor's Degree: The degree given for successful completion of the undergraduate curriculum at a four-year college or a university. Also called a baccalaureate degree.
Budget: See Cost of Attendance.
Business Assets: Property that is used in the operation of a trade or business, including real estate, inventories, buildings, machinery and other equipment, patents, franchise rights, and copyrights. Considered in determining an Expected Family Contribution (EFC).
Campus-based Programs: The term commonly applied to the Federal student aid programs administered directly by institutions of postsecondary education. These programs include: Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and Federal Work-Study (FWS) programs.
Capitalization (of interest): The arrangement between borrower and lender whereby interest payments are deferred as they come due and are added to the principal amount of the loan.
Central Processing System (CPS): The computer system which electronically processes student FAFSA information. The Central Processing System performs database matches, calculates the student's official Expected Family contribution (EFC), and prints out the Student Aid Report (SAR).
Certification: A documented statement of accuracy or truth. To fulfill federal requirements, the school provides certification to verify course of study, enrollment status and other vital information. This confirms a student's eligibility for student loan funding
College-Level Examination Program (CLEP): A series of examinations demonstrating a student's proficiency in a subject area, for which some postsecondary institutions offer credit.
Commuter Student: A student who does not live on campus; typically, "commuter" refers to a student living at home with his or her parents, but can also mean any student who lives off-campus.
Consolidation Loan: A loan made to enable a borrower with different types of educational loans to obtain a single loan with one interest rate and one repayment schedule. A consolidation loan pays off the existing loans; the borrower then repays the consolidated loan.
Cosigner: A second creditworthy party who signs a promissory note with a borrower who does not have collateral or a good credit history. The second party guarantees that the loan will be repaid if the borrower fails to make payments.
Cost of Attendance (COA): Generally, this includes the tuition and fees normally assessed a student, together with the institution's cost of room and board, an estimate of transportation and commuting costs, books and supplies, and miscellaneous personal expenses. Also referred to as "cost of education" or "budget."
Credit (or Credit Hour): The unit of measurement some institutions give for fulfilling course requirements.
Creditworthy: Criteria established by a lender to evaluate an individual's credit history and determine the individual's eligibility for a credit-based loan.
Custodial Parent: The parent with whom the dependent student lives, and whose financial information is used in the need analysis when parents are divorced or separated.
Default: A failure to meet a financial obligation, especially a failure to make a payment on a loan. Defaults are recorded on permanent credit records.
Deferment (of loan): A condition during which payments of principal are not required, and, for Federal Perkins and subsidized Federal Stafford, interest does not accrue. The repayment period is extended by the length of the deferment period.
Department of Education, U.S. (ED): The federal government agency that administers assistance to students enrolled in postsecondary educational programs.
Departmental Scholarship: An award of gift assistance that is specifically designated for a recipient in a particular academic department within the institution.
Dependent Student: A student who does not qualify as an independent student and whose parental income and asset information is used in calculating an Expected Family Contribution (see Independent Student).
Disbursement: The release of loan funds to the school for delivery to the borrower. Funds are first credited to the student's account for payment of tuition, fees, room, board and other school charges. The loan will be made in two equal disbursements.
Educational Benefits: Funds, primarily federal, awarded to certain categories of students (veterans, children of deceased veterans or other deceased wage earners, and students with physical disabilities) to help finance their postsecondary education regardless of their ability to demonstrate need in the traditional sense.
Educational Expenses: See Budget and Cost of Attendance.
Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): Used by the school and lenders to wire funds directly to an account without the use of a paper check and the funds are available to students sooner.
Eligible Non-Citizen: A permanent resident of the U.S. who is able to present evidence from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service that he or she is in the U.S. for other than a temporary purpose with the intention of becoming a citizen or permanent resident.
Employment: With reference to financial aid, the opportunity for students to participate in the Federal Work-Study program as a way to defray their educational expenses.
Entrance Interview: Required counseling that informs student borrowers of their rights and responsibilities.
Exit Interview: A counseling session conducted when the student borrower is leaving college at which time the student's loan obligations and responsibilities are reviewed.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC): The amount a student and his or her family are expected to pay toward the student's cost of attendance as calculated by a Congressionally-mandated formula known as Federal Methodology. The EFC is used to determine a student's eligibility for the student financial assistance programs.
Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Programs: The collective name for the Federal Stafford (subsidized and unsubsidized), Federal PLUS Loan, and Federal Consolidated Loan programs. Funds for these programs are guaranteed by the Federal Government.
Federal Need Analysis Methodology: A standardized method for determining a student's (and family's) ability to pay for postsecondary education expenses; also referred to as Federal Methodology (FM). The single formula for determining the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The formula is defined by law.
Federal Pell Grant: A federal grant program for needy postsecondary students who have not yet received a baccalaureate or first professional degree; administered by the U.S. Department of Education.
Federal Perkins Loan: One of the campus-based programs; a long term, low interest loan program for undergraduate students at a current interest rate of 5%.
Federal PLUS Loan (FPLUS): Long-term loans made available to parents of dependent students. Interest rates but may not exceed 9%. May be used to replace EFC; annual amount borrowed limited to the cost of attendance minus estimated financial assistance.
Federal Stafford Loan (subsidized and unsubsidized): Long term, low interest loans administered by the Department of Education through private guarantee agencies. Variable interest rate, not to exceed 8.25%. Unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans may be used to replace EFC.
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG): One of the campus-based programs; grants to undergraduate students of exceptional financial need who have not completed their first baccalaureate degree and who are financially in need of this grant to enable them to pursue their education. Priority for FSEOG awards must be given to Federal Pell Grant recipients with the lowest EFCs.
Federal Work-Study Program (FWS): One of the campus-based programs; a part-time employment program which provides jobs for undergraduate students who are in need of such earnings to meet a portion of their educational expenses.
Financial Aid: General term that describes any source of student assistance outside the student or the student's family. Funds awarded to a student to help meet college educational expenses. These funds are generally awarded on the basis of financial need and include scholarships, grants, loans, and employment.
Financial Aid Administrator: An individual who is responsible for preparing and communicating information pertaining to student loans, grants or scholarships, and employment programs, and for advising, awarding, reporting, counseling, and supervising office functions related to student financial aid.
Financial Aid Award: An offer of financial assistance to a student attending a postsecondary educational institution. This award may be in the form of one or more of the following types of financial aid: repayable loan, a non-repayable grant and/or scholarship, and/or student employment.
Financial Aid Consultant: A person who, for a fee, provides a variety of services to students and parents, including preparing the FAFSA and other financial aid forms, estimating the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and estimating financial need.
Financial Aid Package: A financial aid award to a student comprised of a combination of forms of financial aid (loans, grants and/or scholarships, employment).
Financial Need: The difference between the institution's cost of attendance and the family's ability to pay (i.e., Expected Family Contribution). Ability to pay is represented by the expected family contribution for federal need-based aid and for many state and institutional programs.
Financial Need Equation: Cost of attendance minus Expected Family Contribution equals financial need (COA - EFC = Need).
Forbearance: Permitting the temporary cessation of repayments of loans, allowing an extension of time for making loan payments, or accepting smaller loan payments than were previously scheduled.
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): The financial aid application completed by the student, and the student's parents if applicable, that collects household and financial information. The FAFSA is the foundation document for all federal need analysis computations and database matches performed for a student.
Full-Time Enrollment: Full-time enrollment at Barton College is defined as being concurrently enrolled in a minimum of 12 semester hours of classes in a single term.
Gift Aid: Educational funds such as grants or scholarships that do not require repayment from present or future earnings. See Grant.
Grace Period: The period of time that begins when a loan recipient ceases to be enrolled at least half-time and ends when the repayment period starts. Loan principal need not be paid and, generally, interest does not accrue during this period.
Grant: A type of financial aid that does not have to be repaid; usually awarded on the basis of need, possibly combined with some skills or characteristics the student possesses. Also see Gift Aid.
Gross Income: Amount of money received from any or all of the following: wages, interest, dividends, sales or rental of property or services, business or farm profits, certain welfare programs, and subsistence allowances such as taxable and non-taxable social security benefits and child support.
Independent Student: A student who is either married, 24 years of age or older, enrolled in a graduate or professional education program, has legal dependents other than a spouse, is an orphan or ward of the court, or a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.
Investment Plans: Educational savings programs, usually sponsored by commercial banking institutions.
Legal Dependent (of Applicant): A biological or adopted child, or a person for whom the applicant has been appointed legal guardian, and for whom the applicant provides more than half support.
Loan: An advance of funds evidenced by a promissory note and requiring the recipient to repay the specified amount(s) under prescribed conditions.
Master Promissory Note (MPN): The legally binding document signed upon application for educational loans. Under a Master Promissory Note the borrower may receive multiple loans for either a single period or multiple periods of enrollment. If used as a multi-year note, most borrowers will sign the Master Promissory Note once and the note remains valid for a five- to 10-year period for reuse.
Merit-based Aid: Student assistance awarded because of a student's achievement or talent in a particular area, such as academics, athletics, music, etc.
National and Community Service: A program established through the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993 designed to reward individuals who provide community service with educational benefits and/or loan forgiveness or cancellation.
Need Analysis: A system by which a student applicant's ability to pay for educational expenses is evaluated and calculated. Need analysis consists of two primary components: (a) determination of an estimate of the applicant's and/or family's ability to contribute to educational expenses; and (b) determination of an accurate estimate of the educational expenses themselves.
Need-based Aid: Student assistance awarded because a student's financial circumstances would not permit him or her to afford the cost of a postsecondary education.
Non Need-based Aid: Aid based on criteria other than need, such as academic, musical, or athletic ability. Also, refers to federal student aid programs where the expected family contribution (EFC) is not part of the need equation.
Packaging: The process of combining various types of student aid (grants, loans, scholarships, and employment) to attempt to meet full amount of student's need.
Parent Loan: See Federal PLUS Loan.
Principal (of a loan): The amount of money borrowed through a loan; does not include interest or other charges, unless they are capitalized.
Private Loans: Education loan programs established by private lenders to supplement the student and parent education loan programs available for federal and state governments.
Professional Judgment (PJ): Aid administrator discretion, based on special circumstances of the student, to change data elements used in determining eligibility for federal student aid.
Renewal FAFSA: One type of FAFSA that resembles a SAR and has the same questions as the FAFSA. The Renewal FAFSA is preprinted with the student's prior year responses to certain data items that are likely to remain constant from year to year.
Renewable Scholarship: A scholarship that is awarded for more than one year. Usually the student must maintain certain academic standards to be eligible for subsequent years of the award.
Repayment Schedule: A plan that is provided to the borrower at the time he or she ceases at least half-time study. The plan should set forth the principal and interest due on each installment and the number of payments required to pay the loan in full. Additionally, it should include the interest rate, the due date of the first payment, and the frequency of payments.
Satisfactory Academic Progress: As determined by each college for its students, the level of academic achievement expected of a student in order to continue to receive financial aid.
Scholarship: A form of financial assistance that does not require repayment or employment and is usually made to students who demonstrate or show potential for distinction, usually in academic performance.
Scholarship Search Services: Organizations that claim to help students find little-known and unused financial aid funds. Families who are interested is using such a service should carefully investigate the company first.
Selective Service: Registration for the military draft. Females are not required to register.
Student Aid Report (SAR): The official notification sent to a student as a result of the Central Processing System (CPS) receiving an applicant record (via FAFSA) for the student. The SAR summarizes applicant information, an Expected Family Contribution (EFC), and displays any other special messages related to the application.
Taxable Income: Income earned from wages, salaries, and tips, as well as interest income, dividend income, business or farm profits, and rental or property income.
Title IV Programs: Those federal student aid programs that include the Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant. Federal Work-Study, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Stafford Loan, Federal PLUS Loan and the Student Incentive Grant.
Unmet Need: The difference between a student's total cost attendance at a specific institution and the student's total available resources.
Untaxed Income: All income received that is not reported to the Internal Revenue Service or is reported but excluded from taxation. Such income would include but not be limited to any untaxed portion of Social Security benefits, Earned Income Credit, welfare payments, untaxed capital gains, interest on tax-free bonds, dividend exclusion, and military and other subsistence and quarters allowances.
Verification: A process by which the financial aid offices "verifies" the accuracy of the data reported by the student on the financial aid application. Students who are selected by the U.S. Department of Education for the verification process must submit the requested documents before an aid package can be processed.
Veterans Educational Benefits: Assistance programs for eligible veterans and/or their dependents for education or training.
Vocational Rehabilitation: Programs administered by state departments of vocational rehabilitation services to assist individuals who have a physical or mental disability which is a substantial handicap to employment.
