Glossary of Terms

Select a letter below to quickly navigation the glossary.

ACADEMIC YEAR: A period of at least 30 weeks of instructional time during which a full-time student is expected to complete at least 24 semester or trimester hours, or at least 36 quarter hours, at an institution that measures program length in credit hours; or at least 900 clock hours at an institution that measures program length in clock hours.
ACCRUAL DATE: The day interest charges on an educational loan begin to accrue.
AID YEAR: Financial aid for each academic calendar year starts July 1st and ends June 30th and includes Fall, Spring, and Summer terms.
CAPITALIZATION: The process of adding unpaid interest to the principal balance of an educational loan, thereby increasing the total amount to be repaid.
CITIZEN/ELIGIBLE NONCITIZEN: You must be one of the following to receive federal student aid:
· U.S. Citizen
· U.S. national (includes natives of American Samoa or Swain's Island)
· U.S. permanent resident with an I-151, I-551, or I-551C (Alien Registration Receipt Card)

If you're not in one of these categories, you must have an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) from the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) showing one of the following designations:
· Refugee
· Asylum Granted
· Indefinite Parole and/or Humanitarian Parole
· Cuban-Haitian Entrant, Status Pending
· Conditional Entrant (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980)
· Other eligible non citizen with a Temporary Resident Card (I-688)

Permanent residents of the Trust Territory of the Pacific (Pall) may be eligible for federal student aid. Citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands are eligible for Pell Grants, SEOG, or Work Study only. You are NOT eligible for federal financial aid if you only have a Notice of Approval to Apply for Permanent Residence (I-171 or I-464A), or if you are in the U.S. on an F1, F2, J1, J2, or G series visa.
COMPLETION RATE: measured by comparing the number of attempted credit hours with the credit hours earned, based on the students class schedule on the last day to add a class; must have earned 75% of the credits attempted.
CONSOLIDATION: A loan program that allows a borrower to combine various educational loans into one new loan. By extending the repayment period (up to 30 years depending on the loan amount) and allowing a single monthly payment, consolidation can make loan repayment easier for some borrowers.
COST OF ATTENDANCE (COA): The total amount it should cost a student to go to school--usually expressed as a yearly figure. The cost of education covers tuition and fees, on-campus room and board (or a housing and food allowance for off-campus students), and allowance for books and supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous expenses. Certain other items may be added at the discretion of the Office of Financial Aid. Your COA is affected by your enrollment status whether Full time or part-time.
COUNSELOR: A person who guides and informs parents and students about their financial needs in order to meet the college cost. Financial aid counselors are available on a walk-in and appointment basis. A counselor conducts on-campus and high school workshops during the year to help educate the student body about financial aid.
DEFAULT: Failure to repay a student loan according to the terms agreed to when you signed a promissory note. If you default, your school, the organization that holds your loan, the state, and the federal government can all take action to recover the money, including notifying national credit bureaus of your default. Your wages and/or tax returns may be garnished, and you will no longer be eligible to receive federal financial aid.
DEFAULT FEE: This is a 1% fee paid to the Federal government on the Federal Stafford and Federal Direct Loans. The borrower will be charged this fee, however, some lenders will pay this fee.
DEFERMENT: An authorized period of time during which a borrower may postpone principal and interest payments. Deferments are available while borrowers are in school at least half time, enrolled in a graduate fellowship program or rehabilitation training program, and during periods of unemployment or economic hardship. Other deferments may be available depending on when and what you borrowed. Contact your loan servicer for additional details.
DEPENDENT STUDENT: For a child or other person to be considered your dependent, they must live with you and you must provide them with more than half of their support. Spouses do not count as dependents in the Federal Methodology. You and your spouse cannot both claim the same child as a dependent.
DIRECT DEPOSIT: Authorizes Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College to transfer the full amount of the financial aid awarded to students, after deductions for tuition, fees, and other debits due SMWC, to the bank for deposit in your checking account. The bank is authorized to credit and/or debit the same such amount. This is not currently an option for SMWC 's students.
DIRECT LENDING: This program replaces the FFELP program and allows the federal government to act as your lender for Stafford and PLUS loans.
DISBURSEMENT: The release of loan funds to the school for delivery to the borrower. Disbursements for most loans are made in equal multiple installments per term.
EARLY DECISION: A program with earlier deadlines and earlier notification dates than the regular admissions process. Students who apply to an early decision program commit to attending the school if admitted (thus, early decision can be applied to only one school). Unfortunately, this means the student has accepted the offer of admission before they find out about the financial aid package. You should only participate in an early decision program if the school is your first choice and you won't want to consider other schools.
EFC (Estimated Family Contribution): This can be found on the FAFSA results that are sent to the student called a student aid report(SAR). It is calculated using the federal methodology and helps to determine a student's need and eligibility for grants and scholarships.
ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER (EFT): Wire funds for Stafford and PLUS loans directly to participating schools. The money is transferred electronically instead of using paper, and hence is available to the student sooner.
ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES: Done using PINs, which are given by the Department of Education to sign FAFSA's and Master Promissory Notes online.
ELIGIBLE NON-CITIZEN: Someone who is not a US citizen but is nevertheless eligible for Federal student aid. Eligible non-citizens include US permanent residents who are holders of valid green cards, US nationals, holders of form I-94 who have been granted refugee or asylum status and certain other non-citizens. Non-citizens who hold a student visa or an exchange visitor visa are not eligible for Federal student aid.
EMANCIPATED: To release a child from the control of a parent or guardian. Declaring a child to be legally emancipated is not sufficient to release the parents or legal guardians from being responsible for providing for the child's education.
ENROLLMENT STATUS: An indication of whether you are a full-time or part-time student. Generally you must be enrolled at least half-time (and in some cases full-time) to qualify for financial aid.
ENTRANCE/EXIT INTERVIEWS: Counseling sessions borrowers are required to complete an entrance interview before receiving their first loan disbursement and an exit interview before leaving school. These requirements are intended to inform borrowers about their rights and responsibilities with regard to borrowing student loans. Entrance interviews are done on line when you complete your Master Promissory Note (MPN).
EXPECTED FAMILY CONTRIBUTION (EFC): The amount of money that the family is expected to be able to contribute to the student's education, as determined by the Federal Methodology need analysis formula approved by Congress. The EFC includes the parent contribution and the student contribution, and depends on the student's dependency status, family size, number of family members in school, taxable and nontaxable income and assets. The difference between the COA and the EFC is the student's financial need, and is used in determining the student's eligibility for need-based financial aid. If you have unusual financial circumstances (such as high medical expenses, loss of employment or death of a parent) that may affect your ability to pay for your education, please tell the Office of Financial Aid. We can adjust the COA or EFC to compensate. See Professional Judgment.
FEDERAL PROCESSOR: The organization that processes the information submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and uses it to compute eligibility for federal student aid.
FEDERAL WORK-STUDY (FWS): Program providing undergraduate and graduate students with part-time employment during the school year. The federal government pays a portion of the student's salary, making it cheaper for departments and businesses to hire the student. For this reason, work-study students often find it easier to get a part-time job. Eligibility for FWS is based on financial need. Money earned from a FWS job is not counted as income for the subsequent year's need analysis process. Salary is usually minimum wage and the students work around 10-15 hours per week.
FINANCIAL AID: Money provided to the student and the family to help them pay for the student's education. Major forms of financial aid include gift aid (grants and scholarships) and self-help aid (loans and work).
FINANCIAL AID COUNSELOR: A college or university employee who is involved in the administration of financial aid.
FINANCIAL AID AWARD: The complete collection of grants, scholarships, loans and work-study employment from all sources (federal, state, institutional and private) offered to a student to enable them to attend SMWC.
FINANCIAL NEED: The difference between the Cost of Attendance (COA) and the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). This amount is your total eligibility for aid from all sources, and is used in determining what your aid package will be.
FIRST-TIME BORROWER: A first-year undergraduate student who has never borrowed a Stafford or Direct student loan before. First-time borrowers may be subjected to a delay in the disbursement of the loan funds. The first loan payment is disbursed 30 days after the first day of the enrollment period. If the student withdraws during the first 30 days of classes, the loan is canceled and does not need to be repaid.
FORBEARANCE: During a forbearance the lender allows the borrower to temporarily postpone repaying the principal, but the interest charges continue to accrue, even on subsidized loans. The borrower must continue paying the interest charges during the forbearance period. Forbearances are granted at the lender's discretion, usually in cases of extreme financial hardship or other unusual circumstances when the borrower does not qualify for a deferment. You can't receive a forbearance if your loan is in default.
FREE APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FAFSA): Form used to apply for Federal and State Financial Aid. It is free i.e., no fee is charged to file a FAFSA. This form is filed via the web at www.fafsa.ed.gov. For Indiana residents, this application must be received by March 10th in order to qualify for state aid.
GRACE PERIOD: A short time period after graduation during which the borrower is not required to begin repaying his or her student loans. The grace period may also kick in if the borrower leaves school for a reason other than graduation or drops below half-time enrollment. Depending on the type of loan, you will have a grace period of six months (Stafford Loans) or nine months (Perkins Loans) before you must start making payments on your student loans. The PLUS Loans do not have a grace period.
GRADE POINT AVERAGE (GPA): An average of a student's grades, converted to a 4.0 scale (4.0 is an A, 3.0 is a B, and 2.0 is a C).
GRADUATE STUDENT: A student who is enrolled in a Masters or PhD program.
GRADUATED REPAYMENT: A schedule where the monthly payments are smaller at the start of the repayment period and gradually become larger.
GRANT: A type of financial aid based on financial need that the student does not have to repay.
GROSS INCOME: Income before taxes, deductions and allowances have been subtracted.
GIFT AID: Any grant or scholarship aid that does not have to be repaid.
HALF-TIME: Most financial aid programs require that the student be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for aid. For undergraduates, this is 6 hours and for graduate students this is 4 hours at SMWC.
HOLDS: Placed on a student’s account usually because of billing charges. This hold can keep a student from adding, dropping, or viewing their account. It will be there until the account is brought up to date. Also this will prevent the receipt of transcripts and diplomas.
INCOME: The amount of money received from employment (salary, wages, tips), profit from financial instruments (interest, dividends, capital gains), or other sources (welfare, disability, child support, Social Security and pensions).
INCOME CONTINGENT REPAYMENT: Under an income contingent repayment schedule, the size of the monthly payments depends on the income earned by the borrower. As the borrower's income increases, so do the payments. The income contingent repayment plan is not available for PLUS Loans.
INDEPENDENT: An independent student is at least 24 years old as of January 1 of the academic year, is married, is a graduate or professional student, has a legal dependent other than a spouse, is a veteran of the US Armed Forces, or is an orphan or ward of the court (or was a ward of the court until age 18). A parent refusing to provide support for their child's education is not sufficient for the child to be declared independent. (See also Dependent.)
INFORMATION RELEASE FORM: Signed statement by a student that lists all individuals, besides the student, who have permission to receive financial aid details on a student’s account.
ISIR (INSTITUTIONAL STUDENT INFORMATION REPORT): The electronic version of a Student Aid Report (SAR).
INTEREST: Amount charged to the borrower for the privilege of using the lender's money. Interest is usually calculated as a percentage of the principal balance of the loan. The percentage rate may be fixed for the life of the loan, or it may be variable, depending on the terms of the loan.
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (IRS): Federal agency responsible for enforcing US tax laws and collecting taxes.
INTERNSHIP: Part-time job during the academic year or the summer months in which a student receives supervised practical training in their field. Internships are often very closely related to the student's academic and career goals, and may serve as a precursor to professional employment. Some internships provide very close supervision by a mentor in an apprenticeship-like relationship. Some internships provide the student with a stipend.
LENDER: A financial institution (bank, savings and loan, or credit union) that provides the funds for students and parents to borrow educational loans. For example, the federal government is the lender for Direct Loans
MPN (MASTER PROMISSORY NOTE): The binding legal document that must be signed by the student borrower before loan funds are disbursed by the lender. The promissory note states the terms and conditions of the loan, including repayment schedule, interest rate, deferment policy and cancellations. The student should keep this document until the loan has been repaid. This is signed electronically at www.opennet.salliemae.com.
MERIT BASED SCHOLARSHIPS: Scholarships that are merit-based depend on your academic, artistic or athletic merit or some other criteria, and do not depend on the existence of financial need. Merit-based awards use your grades, test scores, hobbies and special talents to determine your eligibility for scholarships.
NEEDS ANALYSIS: A process of reviewing a student's aid application to determine the amount of financial aid for which a student is eligible.
NEW BORROWER: A borrower who has no outstanding (unpaid) loan balances on the date (s)he signs the promissory note for a specific educational loan. New borrowers may be subject to different regulations than borrowers who have existing loan balances.
OFFICIAL WITHDRAWAL—resignation from the university before the end of an official term of study by completion of the official resignation form available in the Registrar’s Office.
ORIGINATION FEE: A fee charged by the lender and deducted from loan proceeds before disbursement to partially offset administrative costs of the loan program;
OFA: Office of Financial Aid.
OUTSIDE SCHOLARSHIP: A scholarship that comes from sources other than the school and the federal or state government.
OVERAWARDS: A situation caused when more aid has been awarded than a student is eligible to receive under the federal awarding regulations. If this is an issue on your account, please contact your financial aid counselor for further details.
PAYMENT PLAN: See tuition payment plan.
PELL GRANT: A federal grant program based solely on a student’s EFC from their FAFSA.
PERKINS LOAN: A federal loan program with a fixed 5% interest rate and 9 month grace period.
PIN NUMBER (Personal Identification Number): This number is used by the Department of Education to uniquely identify students for application and signature purposes. The PIN Registration website is www.pin.ed.gov.
PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) LOAN: A federal educational loan taken in a parent’s name to help fund a student’s education.
PRINCIPAL: The amount of money borrowed or remaining unpaid on a loan. Interest is charged as a percentage of the principal. Default fee and other fees will be deducted from this amount before disbursement.
PROBATION: Occurs when a student has failed to meet the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements given by the institution. If a students fails to pass at least 50% of their classes they will be put on probation. They will still be eligible to receive aid the following semester, but if the student should fail again to pass at least 50% of their classes the student will be put on suspension and prohibited from receiving federal aid until an appeal has been filed and approved by the Director of Financial Aid.
PROFESSIONAL JUDGEMENT: The ability of an institution to make adjustments to a student’s FAFSA information or his/her Cost Of Attendance, with supporting documentation in the student’s file. If you believe this could be an option for you, please download the appropriate forms from our website or contact our office.
PROMISSORY NOTE (MPN): The binding legal document that must be signed by the student borrower before loan funds are disbursed by the lender. The promissory note states the terms and conditions of the loan, including repayment schedule, interest rate, deferment policy and cancellations. The student should keep this document until the loan has been repaid.
QUALITATIVE: measured by evaluating the cumulative GPA.
QUANTITATIVE: measured by evaluating the maximum timeframe allowable to complete a program of study and the required 50% progression of completion during each measured increment, see completion rate definition.
REASONABLE ACADEMIC PROGRESS: see Satisfactory Academic Progress
REFUND: Money returned to a student as a result of an overpayment through loans or other funds, or as the result of a decrease in charged costs resulting in an overpayment.
RELEASE OF INFORMATION FORM: see Information Release Form
REPAYMENT SCHEDULE: A statement from the lender disclosing the monthly payment, interest rate, total repayment obligation, payment due dates and the term of the loan.
RESOURCES: Any aid or benefits from outside of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College that a student receives towards their educational costs.
SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS: A school's written standard of satisfactory progress. By the end of their second academic year, students must maintain a "C" average (2.0 GPA) or have an academic standing consistent with their school's graduating requirements in order to receive federal student aid. Students may also not exceed 150% of the standard timeframe for their individual program of study and remain eligible for federal aid.
SECONDARY MARKET: An organization established to purchase education loans from lenders. This allows lenders to replenish capital to fund new loans. Selling loans is a common practice among lenders and does not affect the terms and conditions under which the loan was originally made.
SEOG (Supplementary Educational Opportunity Grant): Federal grant program for undergraduate students with exceptional need. SEOG grants are awarded by the school’s financial aid office, and provide up to $4,000 per year. To qualify, a student must also be a recipient of a Pell Grant.
SIGNATURE LOAN: Private Loans, also known as Signature Loans, help bridge the gap between the actual cost of your education and the limited amount the government allows you to borrow in its programs. Private loans are offered by private lenders and there are no federal forms to complete. Private loans tend to have a higher interest rate than the loans offered by the Federal government.
STUDENT AID REPORT (SAR) a form sent to the student after submitting the FAFSA to the federal processor. The SAR shows the information that was processed and indicates the amount of Pell Grant Eligibility.
SUBSIDIZED LOAN: A need-based loan on which the interest is set by Congress. This is either a Federal Stafford or a Federal Direct Loan. You must file a FAFSA in order to be eligible for a loan.
SUSPENSION: Occurs when a student has failed to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress for two consecutive semesters. In order to receive Financial again the student will need to file an appeal and have it approved by the Director of Financial Aid.
TITLE IV SCHOOL CODE: When you fill out the FAFSA you need to supply the Title IV Code for each school to which you are applying. The school code for SMWC is 001835.
TUITION PAYMENT PLAN: Tuition payment plans are short-term installment plans that split your tuition into equal monthly payments. Please contact the Business Office concerning the payment plan.
UNMET NEED: The amount of financial aid eligibility that is not provided by the Office of Financial Aid, defined as COA-EFC= unmet need.
UNOFFICIAL WITHDRAW: departure from the university without completing the official resignation form. Depending on the last date of attendance this could result in the student owing funds to the College. For more information please contact the Financial Aid Office.

UNSUBSIDIZED LOAN: A non need-based loan on which interest is not paid by the federal government. Borrowers are responsible for interest on all unsubsidized loans from the date the loan is disbursed. You must complete your FAFSA in order to qualify for this loan.
VARIABLE INTEREST: In a variable interest loan, the interest rate changes periodically. For Stafford and PLUS loans, this occurs once a year on July 1st.
VERIFICATION: A process of review to determine the accuracy of the information on a student's financial aid application. Student applications are selected by the Federal Processor for review. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College currently participates in this standard verification program. If you have been selected for verification please complete the necessary forms with a copy of your signed and dated Federal Tax Return to the office of Financial Aid Office as soon as possible.
WED (Woods External Degree) PROGRAM: This is Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College’s undergraduate distance program. This is program is available to both men and women. Students take their courses online and work closely with their faculty to complete their degrees.
WITHDRAW (OFFICIAL): resignation from the university before the end of an official term of study by completion of the official resignation form available in the Office of the Registrar.

WITHDRAW (UNOFFICIAL): departure from the university without completing the official resignation form.
WORK STUDY: see “Federal Work Study”