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Glossary
A to Z of aid words
The vocabulary of education grants and financial aid, in plain language.
A
- Award letter
- A school’s summary of the financial aid it is offering you: grants, scholarships, work-study and any loans, usually with amounts and deadlines.
C
- Cost of attendance
- A school’s estimate of what a year will cost, including tuition, fees, housing, food, books and personal costs. It is an estimate, not a bill.
D
- Deadline
- The date by which a form, reply or document must be received. Federal, state and school deadlines are set separately.
- Disbursement
- The payment of aid to your school account or to you, often in installments by term.
E
- Eligibility
- The conditions a program sets for who can receive an award. Eligibility is decided by the program, never by this website.
- Enrollment status
- Whether you attend full time, part time or less. Many awards depend on it.
F
- Federal Student Aid
- The U.S. Department of Education office that runs federal student aid programs. Its official site is studentaid.gov.
- Financial aid office
- The office at a school that explains, packages and administers aid.
G
- Grant
- Money toward school costs that generally does not have to be repaid when program rules are met.
I
- Institutional aid
- Aid that comes from a school’s own funds.
M
- Merit-based
- Awarded for achievement, talent or another stated strength rather than financial circumstances.
N
- Need-based
- Awarded in response to financial circumstances, as defined by the program.
O
- Outside scholarship
- A scholarship from an organization other than the school. Ask the school how it counts toward your package.
R
- Renewable
- An award that can continue in later years if you keep meeting its conditions.
S
- Satisfactory academic progress
- A school’s standard for grades and course completion that students must meet to keep receiving aid.
- Scholarship
- An award, usually based on a stated criterion, that generally is not repaid.
- State grant
- A grant run by a state agency for residents, often with its own form and deadline.
V
- Verification
- A process in which a school asks you to confirm information you gave on your aid forms.
W
- Work-study
- A part-time job, funded in part through a program, whose pay helps cover costs.
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