Potential Magazine College and Career Organizer 2020 | 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; determines college credit and advanced placement. Scored on a 1-5 scale. Remedial Course - Class some students must take to build skills before they are allowed to take regular college courses; typically non-credit. Reverse Transfer - Process allowing students to transfer credits from a 4-year to a 2-year institution. Rolling Admission - Students are allowed to submit their applica- tions to a college anytime within a large time frame. Articulation Agreement - Agreement defining course credit trans- fer policies between 2-year and 4-year institutions. Selective School - College with a highly competitive admissions process and a low acceptance rate. Candidates Reply Date Agreement - Date students are expected to accept or decline a college’s offer of admission; typically May 1st. Sophomore Standing - Status granted to incoming freshmen with enough earned college credit to be considered a sophomore; usually 30 credits or more. Class Rank - Measure of how a student’s performance compares to other students in his or her class. STARS Program - 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. CLEP test - Standardized test that assess college-level knowledge 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. Demonstrated Interest - Display of how interested a student is in attending a particular college. 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. Early Decision - Student receives an early response to their applica- tion and must commit to the college; binding. Gap Year - Academic year taken off to work or travel before attend- ing college. Transfer Student - Student who has earned college credits at one school and chooses to go to a different school, bringing over the cred- its she or he has earned. Undergraduate - College student working toward an associate or bachelor’s degree. 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. ACT/SAT Legacy Applicant - College applicant with a relative, usually parent or grandparent, who graduated from that college. ACT (American College Testing) - Standardized college admis- sions test used to measure college readiness; scored on a scale of 1-36. National College Application Week - Annual event encouraging students to apply to college by offering low-fee or no-cost applications. Composite Score - Average of the four ACT section scores: En- glish, Reading, Math, and Science. 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. Residual ACT - National ACT offered by colleges to their applicants, future students, and/or current students. Placement Test - Academic skill test to determine placement in college-level English and math courses. Priority Deadline - Date a student’s application must be received by in order to be given priority consideration. SAT - Standardized entrance exam used by most colleges and univer- sities to make admissions decisions. Superscore - Process through which colleges average a student’s highest section scores across all ACT or SAT tests taken. Registrar - College official who registers and maintains student files. 64 | College Organizer 2020 www.potentialmagazine.com