Glossary

College planning terms, in plain words.

The vocabulary of admissions can make a straightforward process sound complicated. Here is what the most common terms mean.

A

a–g requirements: The sequence of high school courses that the University of California and California State University require, in seven subject areas labeled a through g.
Additional Information section: An optional space in many applications for context that does not fit elsewhere, such as a change in circumstances or a school schedule limitation.

Cal Grant: California's state financial aid program for eligible students attending college in California. Students apply through the FAFSA or the California Dream Act Application by the March 2 deadline.
Cal State Apply: The single online application for the California State University campuses.
California Dream Act Application: The state's aid application for eligible students, including undocumented students, who cannot file the FAFSA.
Common App: An online application accepted by more than a thousand colleges. Students complete one main application and add each college's own questions.
CSS Profile: A financial aid application from the College Board that some private colleges require in addition to the FAFSA.

Deferral: An early-round outcome that moves an application into the Regular Decision pool for another review.

Early Action (EA): An early application round with an earlier decision date. It is not binding: the student may apply elsewhere and decide by May 1.
Early Decision (ED): A binding early round. A student offered a place under ED agrees to enroll and to withdraw other applications. Early Decision II works the same way with a later deadline.
ELC (Eligibility in the Local Context): A UC program for California students ranked in the top 9 percent of their participating high school class by UC's own calculation. ELC students not offered a place at the campuses they chose may be offered a place at a campus with space.

FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, used for federal aid and by many states and colleges for their own aid.

Mid-year report: A report the school counselor sends in January or February with the student's first-semester senior grades.

Net price calculator: A tool on each college's website that estimates what a family would pay after grants and scholarships.

Personal statement: The main essay on the Common App, written in response to one of several broad prompts.
PIQs (personal insight questions): The UC application's short essays. Students answer four of eight questions, in up to 350 words each.

Reach, match, and likely: A way of balancing a college list by how selective each college is for a particular student. They describe ranges, not predictions.
Regular Decision (RD): The standard application round, with deadlines usually between January 1 and 15 and decisions in March or April.
Restrictive Early Action (REA): A non-binding early round that limits applying early to certain other colleges. Each college sets its own restrictions.
Rolling admission: A process in which a college reviews applications as they arrive and replies within weeks, until its places are filled.

SIR (Statement of Intent to Register): The UC form, due May 1, by which a student accepts a UC campus's offer of a place.
Supplemental essays: Additional questions an individual college asks, often about why the student is interested in that college.

Test-optional: A policy that lets students decide whether to submit SAT or ACT scores. Policies vary by college and can change from year to year.

Waitlist: A list of applicants a college may offer a place to after May 1 if space opens. Students on a waitlist should still commit elsewhere by the deadline.

Policies and programs change. Always confirm details on the official website of each college or agency.