Glossary

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) The official form to apply for federal financial aid to pay for college. The FAFSA is due on June 30, three months before the start of the fall semester a student plans to start attending college.

Far-reach School A school that a student does not have an extremely high chance of being accepted into based on their standardized test scores, academic background, and other application materials.

FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) A Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. FERPA gives students’ parents certain rights with respect to their children’s educational records including the right to inspect, review, and request corrections to be made to records they believe are misleading. These rights transfer from parents to students when a student turns 18.

Financial Aid Funding coming from both public and private sources that assists students in meeting the cost of attendance of post-secondary institutions.

First-generation Student A student whose parents did not complete a 4-year college or university degree.

First-year Student A student who is in their first year of instruction at a particular institution (also known as freshmen).

For-profit school Privately-operated institutions whose aim is to make money. They are controlled by investors, not educators. Recently, for-profit schools have been criticized for having poor career outcomes for students.

Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) A regulation stating that students with disabilities have a legal right to a free appropriate public education.

Freshmen Seminar see “Seminar” a small-group, discussion, and research-based course open to freshmen only.