This glossary explains the university tuition fee, financial aid, admissions, major, ranking, graduation, salary after graduation and ROI terms used across college-guides. Tuition fees and admissions terms are listed with outcome terms because readers often compare cost, fit and value at the same time.
- Tuition
- The instructional charge for enrollment, separate from living costs, books, fees and transportation.
- Fees
- Additional school charges that may support technology, student services, activities, labs, health services or program-specific requirements.
- Tuition and fees
- Published school charges before grants and scholarships. Tuition and fees are not the same as the full cost of attendance.
- In-state tuition
- The resident tuition rate usually charged by public colleges to students who meet state residency rules.
- Out-of-state tuition
- The nonresident tuition rate usually charged by public colleges to students who do not meet state residency rules.
- Net price
- Average cost after grants and scholarships, often a better affordability signal than sticker price.
- Sticker price
- The published cost before grants, scholarships or other aid lower the amount a student may pay.
- Attendance cost
- A broader estimate that may include tuition, fees, housing, food, books and other student expenses.
- Room and board
- Estimated housing and meal costs. These costs can make a lower-tuition school more expensive overall.
- Books and supplies
- Estimated course material and supply costs included in some attendance-cost fields.
- Other expenses
- Estimated personal, transportation or living expenses that may appear in a school cost profile.
- Net price calculator
- An official school tool that estimates a student-specific cost after grants and scholarships.
- Pell grant rate
- The share of students receiving federal Pell Grants, a need-based aid signal in federal education data.
- Federal loan rate
- The share of students using federal loans, useful for reading borrowing patterns alongside net price.
- Financial aid
- Grants, scholarships, work-study, loans and other resources that help students pay for college.
- Grant aid
- Aid that generally does not need to be repaid and can lower the net price a student pays.
- Acceptance rate
- The share of applicants a school admits, usually admitted applicants divided by total applicants.
- SAT requirements
- Admissions test-score expectations or submitted-score ranges where a school reports SAT data. Always verify current test policies directly with the school.
- ACT requirements
- Admissions test-score expectations or submitted-score ranges where a school reports ACT data. Always verify current test policies directly with the school.
- GPA requirements
- School-specific academic preparation expectations. GPA requirements are usually official admissions details, so this site treats them as verification prompts when federal data does not report them.
- Admissions requirements
- The academic, application and documentation requirements a school sets for applicants, including test policy, transcripts and program-specific rules.
- Application deadline
- The date by which a student must submit an application. Deadlines change often and should be verified on the official admissions website.
- How to apply
- The official application path for a school, usually through the institution website, Common App, state system or program-specific portal.
- Scholarships
- Gift aid that can reduce net price. Scholarship availability, deadlines and eligibility should be verified with the school.
- Ranking
- A comparative placement or list position. This site does not invent rankings; it uses source-backed metrics and links to schools for deeper research.
- Majors
- Academic fields and programs offered by a school where program data is available. Official catalogs should be used for final major decisions.
- Best programs
- Programs a student may want to compare by outcomes, cost and fit. This site treats best-program research as a prompt for verification, not a fabricated ranking.
- 150% completion rate
- The share of students completing within one and a half times the normal program length.
- 10-year earnings
- Median earnings reported for former students roughly 10 years after entering school where Scorecard data is available.
- Salary after graduation
- A student outcome signal often represented by College Scorecard earnings fields where available.
- ROI
- A practical comparison of cost, net price, graduation rate, debt and salary after graduation. ROI should be read as a research signal, not a guarantee.
For practical examples, start with the college tuition and fees guide, the net price calculator guide, the college financial aid guide, the acceptance rate guide, or the salary after graduation guide.