Potential Magazine College Organizer 2019 | Page 64

glossary
ADMISSIONS
Academic Common Market - Allows students to enroll in
out-of-state institutions that offer their degree program and pay
the institution’s in-state tuition rates.
Advanced Placement Exams (AP) - Exams designed to
measure how well AP course content has been mastered; deter-
mines college credit and advanced placement. Scored on a 1-5
scale.
Articulation Agreement - Agreement defining course credit
transfer policies between 2-year and 4-year institutions.
Candidates Reply Date Agreement - Date students are
expected to accept or decline a college’s offer of admission; typi-
cally May 1st.
Class Rank - Measure of how a student’s performance com-
pares to other students in his or her class.
CLEP test - Standardized test that assess college-level knowl-
edge and allows students to earn college credit.
Conditional Acceptance - Student will be admitted to a
college or university on the condition that the student makes up
for a certain admission requirement he or she does not currently
meet.
Deferred Admission - Permission from a college to postpone
enrollment, usually up to a year.
Placement Test - Academic skill test to determine placement
in college-level English and math courses.
Priority Deadline - Date a student’s application must be re-
ceived by in order to be given priority consideration.
Registrar - College official who registers and maintains student
files.
Remedial Course - Class some students must take to build
skills before they are allowed to take regular college courses; typi-
cally non-credit.
Reverse Transfer - Process allowing students to transfer cred-
its from a 4-year to a 2-year institution.
Rolling Admission - Students are allowed to submit their
applications to a college anytime within a large time frame.
Selective School - College with a highly competitive admis-
sions process and a low acceptance rate.
Sophomore Standing - Status granted to incoming freshmen
with enough earned college credit to be considered a sophomore;
usually 30 credits or more.
STARS Program - This system allows public two-year students
in Alabama to obtain a Transfer Agreement for the major of their
choice, making it easier to transfer credits from a community
college to a university.
Demonstrated Interest - Display of how interested a student
is in attending a particular college. Transfer Student - Student who has earned college credits at
one school and chooses to go to a different school, bringing over
the credits she or he has earned.
Early Action - Student receives an early response to their
application, but does not have to commit to the college until the
normal reply date; nonbinding. Undergraduate - College student working toward an associate
or bachelor’s degree.
Early Decision - Student receives an early response to their
application and must commit to the college; binding.
Gap Year - Academic year taken off to work or travel before
attending college.
Legacy Applicant - College applicant with a relative, usually
parent or grandparent, who graduated from that college.
National College Application Week - Annual event
encouraging students to apply to college by offering low-fee or
no-cost applications.
Waiting List - List student is placed on if he or she qualifies for
admission, but is at a lower priority than other applicants; may
be admitted to the school if space becomes available.
Weighted GPA - Grade point average calculated using higher
point values for AP and honors
classes.
Work Study - Provides part-time jobs for students with
financial need.
Open Admission - Noncompetitive college admissions process
in which the only requirement for entrance is a high school
diploma or GED; used by most community colleges.
64 | College Organizer 2019
www.potentialmagazine.com