• Academic Index Calculator
  • The Academic Index (AI) is a tool used by some admissions offices to quantify a student’s application and to help assess an applicant’s strength based on numerical data such as GPA, class rank, and test scores. Top Tier Admissions Co-Founder, Dr. Michele Hernandez, in her book A is for Admission, was the first to reveal this formula to the public. You can use our free Academic Index Calculator here. 
    
• Acceptance Rate
  • A college’s acceptance rate is calculated based on the percentage of applicants who are admitted. If a school has many applicants, its acceptance rate will be lower. You can read more about the acceptance rates at Ivy League schools. 
    
• Activities List
  • A place to list 10 activities on the Common App with a brief explanation. These activities may include “arts, athletics, clubs, employment, personal commitments, and other pursuits.”

• Admissions Interview
  • The opportunity to speak with an admissions officer, current student, or alumni volunteer as part of your application process. Among the Ivies, Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and UPenn all offer evaluative alumni interviews. This means that a written summary of the exchange will become part of your admissions file. At other schools, like Cornell, these interviews are informational only.

• Alumni Interview
  • An interview conducted by an alumni volunteer rather than an admissions officer. Generally, these interviews occur after you have submitted your application. They are often both informative and evaluative.

• AP vs Honors
  • At many high schools, honors and AP courses are more heavily weighted compared to regular classes when calculating a student’s GPA. Typically, honors classes are offered to students in all grade levels versus AP courses, which may be reserved for juniors and seniors and are meant to mirror college-level coursework. Students who complete an AP course are expected to sit for the corresponding AP exam.
    
• Campus Interview
  • Some schools still offer on-campus interviews with an admissions officer or current student.

• Change in Progression Essay
  • An optional essay on the Common App. You should only write this if you graduated from high school early or late, took time off from school, or took a gap year and need to explain your educational progression.

• Class of 2027
  • Current high school seniors are often referred to as the “Class of 2027,” based on the anticipated year of their college graduation.  
    
• Class Rank
  • A way to gauge how your GPA relates to your graduating class (usually expressed as a percentile).

• Coalition Application 
  • The Coalition Application is an online application platform, like the Common App, that allows students to apply to multiple schools at once. The Coalition includes more than 150 colleges and universities.
    
• College
  • Schools that emphasize undergraduate education. Community colleges, technical schools, and liberal arts colleges all fall under this category.

• College Board
  • The College Board is a non-profit organization then developed and administers standardized tests, including the SAT and Advanced Placement (AP) exams.

• College Recommendation Letter 
  • Most colleges require letters of recommendation from an applicant’s current or former teachers to better understand their academic and personal strengths. These letters are incredibly important in the selective admissions process. Admissions officers want to read about students who love learning and are leaders in the classroom, not just diligent students who earn As. The letters of recommendation help make this distinction clear.
    
• College Visit/Campus Visit
  • An official tour of a college or university for prospective students and their families. Many schools are now offering the opportunity to participate in virtual tours for students who can’t visit in person.

• Common App
  • The Common Application (Common App), is an online platform that allows applicants (both first-year applicants and transfer applicants) to apply to multiple colleges at once. This application is accepted by more than 900 schools, both in the U.S. and abroad. The new edition of the Common App is released every year on August 1^st. Need our help as you navigate this form? Take a look at our Common App Intensive program. 
    
• Community Essay
  • A supplemental essay that asks you to write about the ways that you have contributed to or grown as part of a community (such as your school, a team, a club or organization, your neighborhood, etc.)

• Conditional Admission/Acceptance
  • Or “provisional admission” indicates you will be admitted to a college or university once you have completed certain requirements.

• COVID Essay
  • An optional essay on the Common App. You should only write this if you experienced extraordinary hardships during the pandemic and need to explain your circumstances.

• Decile/Top 10%
  • If you are in the first decile, you are in the top 10% of your graduating class. If there are 100 students in your grade, for example, you would need to have a better GPA than 90 of your classmates to achieve this rank. Many colleges use this decile ranking as a critical data point in the admissions process.

• Defer 
  • If a student applies to college through an ED or EA plan, they might receive a deferral instead of an acceptance or rejection. This means that they are still in consideration but will be read again in the regular decision application pool. When the applicant is reconsidered, admissions officers will take into account their academic performance since they first applied. Read our blog post to learn more: Top Tips if You Were Deferred. 
    
• Demonstrated Interest
  • Taking concrete action to show your interest in a specific college or university. Some schools track these actions (attending an info session, participating in alumni interviews, opening emails, etc.), to gauge a student’s interest level.

• Early Action (non-binding)
  • (EA): The Early Action application deadline is earlier than other options (usually it falls in November) and students are given a decision before the spring.  Students applying EA may apply elsewhere to as many schools as they like under any application plan.  If they are accepted EA, they are not obligated to attend the school. 
    
• Early Decision (binding)
  • (ED): The Early Decision application deadline usually falls on November 1 or November 15^th. Instead of waiting to hear their results in the spring, students are given a decision around mid-December. Students who apply ED cannot apply elsewhere ED, but may apply to non-binding application plans. Once students are accepted ED, they are obligated to attend the school and must withdraw any applications that they have submitted elsewhere.
    
• Early Decision II (binding)
  • (ED2): Like Early Decision I, students who apply ED2 cannot apply to another binding program. This early strategy has a February deadline vs. November. Once students are accepted ED2, they are obligated to attend the school and must withdraw any applications that they have submitted elsewhere.
    
• First Generation
  • A student whose parents did not complete a four-year degree.

• Fraternity
  • A Fraternity is historically a male-only society on a college campus. Most fraternities recruit new members, who then must go through a probationary period before initiation. Members often live in the same privately owned house on or near campus. Fraternities can require certain standards to maintain membership, such as GPA requirements or community service projects.

• Freshman Year
  • Freshman Year is the first year of high school, 9^th grade. Students are generally 14-15 years old.

• GPA 
  • GPA (Grade Point Average) serves as a benchmark of a student’s overall academic performance, based on their cumulative scores. There are a number of grading systems using different scales, letters, and numbers. GPA might be based on letter grades (A-F), calculated on a 4.0 scale, or calculated on a 100-point scale. An unweighted GPA does not take into account the difficulty of a student’s courses. A weighted GPA, on the other hand, considers the rigor of courses as well. For example, an A in an easier class might be marked as a 4.0 while an A in an honors or AP class might be calculated as a 5.0. 
    
• Grade Inflation
  • Grade Inflation is the process of giving students higher grades than their work deserves.

• HBCU
  • Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) are institutions of higher education that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the principal mission to serve the African-American community.

• High Impact
  • Original activities that highlight your academic passion (versus low impact or run-of-the-mill extracurriculars). See our Top Tips for Selecting High-Impact Extracurricular Activities.

• Ivy Day 
  • Ivy Day is when the Ivy League schools (Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn, Princeton, and Yale) release their regular admissions decisions. This day usually occurs in late March or early April. In 2021, Ivy Day occurred on Tuesday, April 6.
    
• Junior Year
  • Junior Year is the third year of high school, 11^th grade. Students are generally 16-17 years old.

• Legacy or Legacy Applicant
  • A student with familial ties to an institution. Usually, to be categorized as a legacy applicant, you must have a parent who has graduated from that particular school.

• Letter of Continued Interest
  • A letter sent to an admissions officer to express your continued interest in the school once you have been deferred or waitlisted. This letter should include updates on grades, awards, standardized test scores, extracurriculars and details on why that school is your first choice.

• Letter of Intent
  • A letter signed by a recruited student-athlete to commit to a Division I or II college.

• Liberal Arts College
  • A college that emphasizes broad general knowledge (versus a vocational or professional curriculum). These colleges generally offer a Bachelor of Arts degree and focus on the humanities, the sciences and the social sciences.

• Likely Letter
  • A Likely Letter is a message sent to a student before the school has announced their official acceptances. Not every school sends likely letters, and they are generally only sent to top applicants, recruited athletes and other ‘hooked’ candidates.

• MCAT 
  • The Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) is a computer-based standardized test required for admission to most medical schools. Test takers are assessed in areas such as problem solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of scientific concepts. 
    
• My AP College Board
  • My AP College Board is an online portal with resources for your AP courses.

• Naviance Scattergram
  • Naviance, a popular admissions software, includes a useful tool to predict admissions results based on a particular school’s acceptance data. These scattergrams plot SAT or ACT scores on one axis and high school GPA on the other. This allows students to see, by college, which applicants from their high school have been accepted, denied, or waitlisted. As a prospective student, your data (GPA and SAT or ACT) is plotted within this graph. See our guide to Navigating Naviance. 
    
• Main Essay
  • An essay required by almost every standard college application (often called the “personal essay”). On the Common App, this 650-word essay responds to a specific prompt.

• Need-blind Admission
  • When an applicant’s financial needs are not factored into the admissions decision.

• Pre-Application
  • A preliminary form offered by some schools to demonstrate interest in applying later. For some colleges, this is the mandatory first step in the application process.

• Pre-college
  • Pre-college programs, many of which take place in the summer months, offer high school students the opportunity to take college-level classes with professors or visiting scholars. Harvard and Stanford’s pre-college programs are especially poplar and cover a wide range of course offerings and enrichment opportunities. 
    
• Private University
  • Privately funded institutions (funded by student tuition, endowment, donations)

• Public University
  • Secular institutions funded by state governments

• Regular Decision
  • (RD):  The Regular Decision deadline (usually in early January) is firm and marks the final opportunity to submit an application.  Applicants can submit under any application plan elsewhere and have no obligation to attend the school if they are accepted.  Students will typically receive their admission decision in the early spring.
    
• Restrictive Early Action (REA):
  • REA is essentially a hybrid of Early Decision and Early Action. REA requires students to submit their applications early and provides them with an admissions decision early, as well. While the student isn’t obligated to go to the school if they are accepted, the student is restricted from applying to other schools early. In all instances, the student is prohibited from applying Early Decision. 
    
• Rolling Admission
  • Students who apply to a school with Rolling Admission can submit their application any time within the application period and will typically receive an admissions decision within a few weeks of submission. There is no obligation to attend the school, and students may apply elsewhere under any application plan. 
    
• Rushing
  • Rushing is the recruitment process for a fraternity or sorority. A rushee or potential new member “PNM” is the student who is hoping to join the fraternity or sorority.

• SAT vs ACT 
  • Almost every school will accept either SAT or ACT scores from prospective students, but there are a number of differences between the two tests. For example, the ACT includes a science reasoning section (the SAT does not) and the math sections include trigonometry (the SAT includes just a small trigonometry section). The SAT also includes free-response questions whereas the ACT is entirely multiple choice. The SAT is changing yet again, check out what these changes are and how they might affect you.
    
• School Change Essay
  • An optional essay on the Common App. You should only write this if you attended more than one high school and need to explain the reason why you switched schools.

• School Profile
  • Documents written by a high school and uploaded along with a student’s application to colleges. These give colleges a quick sense of the high school’s course offerings, rigor, average test scores, and college matriculation data, along with other useful information.

• SCOIR
  • A college admissions platform for students and families to use with their high school counselor. This software manages and requests application documents and helps students search for colleges.

• Self-study
  • Preparing for a standardized test, such as an AP exam, without taking the corresponding class. Self-studying allows you to structure your learning and preparation on your own schedule (and demonstrates initiative).

• Senioritis 
  • “Senioritis” refers to the lack of motivation seniors often experience in the spring before their graduation. Once you’re accepted to college, it’s tempting to blow off your homework, but don’t slack off now! Colleges reserve the right to rescind an offer of admission if a student’s academic record differs significantly from the level at the time admission was offered. 
    
• Senior Year
  • Senior Year is the last year of high school, 12^th grade. Students are generally 17-18 years old.

• Single Choice Early Action
  • (SCEA): Like REA, Single Choice Early Action may also prohibit a student from applying to other schools Early Action, unless the alternate school is a public institution. 
    
• Sophomore Year
  • Sophomore Year is the second year of high school, 10^th grade. Students are generally 15-16 years old.

• Sorority
  • A Sorority is historically a female-only society on a college campus. Most sororities recruit new members, who then must go through a probationary period before initiation. Members often live in the same privately owned house on or near campus. Sororities can require certain standards to maintain membership, such as GPA requirements or community service projects.

• SSAT
  • The SSAT or Secondary School Admission Test is taken as part of the application process to independent or private elementary, middle, or high schools.

• Supplemental Essays
  • Most selective colleges and universities require supplemental essays beyond what is asked on the Common App. These extra essays ask students to respond to a wide range of topics including their civic engagement, school activities, academic interests, and leadership. Our Essay Guidance Program guides students through every stage of the brainstorming and writing process to ensure these essays will strengthen their admissions profile.  
    
• Test-blind
  • Schools that do not consider standardized test scores at all (for example, the University of California schools).

• Test-optional
  • Schools that allow applicants to decide whether or not to submit standardized test scores as part of their application. See our Selected List of Test Optional Schools.

• Transcript
  • Your transcript is your official academic record and full enrollment history. This should include your courses, grades earned, and often any awards received (such as honor roll or cum laude). 
    
• UGPA
  • Unweighted GPA does not take into account the difficulty of a student’s courses.

• University
  • An institution that offers both graduate and undergraduate degree programs. Typically, larger in size.

• Waitlist
  • A list of applicants who may or may not be offered admission to a school. They are neither rejected nor accepted.

• WGPA
  • Weighted GPA considers the rigor of a student’s courses. Honors or AP classes add additional points to the cumulative GPA.

• Why Essay
  • A supplemental essay that asks WHY you want to attend a specific college/university. In this essay, you will write about the aspects of the college you are drawn to and how you would contribute to their community.

• Yield Rate
  • The yield rate, or enrollment rate, reflects the percentage of students who accept a school’s offer and choose to enroll. At Harvard last year, for instance, the acceptance rate was 3.43% and the yield rate was 85%.