Acceptance rate - The percentage of students who applied to a school that were accepted for admission.
Alumni/ae relation (legacy) - Legacies are people with a familial connection to a school. Generally speaking, this means one of their parents attended the college. Some colleges give legacies an advantage in the admissions process. However, more and more schools are removing legacy as a consideration, and some states are banning colleges from considering legacy in admissions.
Campus Carry - Campus Carry refers to gun laws on campus. Some states mandate that colleges either allow or disallow guns on campus. When guns can be on campus, laws vary about where they can be stored, who can carry them, etc. Other states don’t have rules about guns on campus and leave it up to each individual campus. In general, state laws only apply to public universities in the state.
Chasing Merit - Chasing Merit refers to applying to many colleges with the hope of getting merit-based scholarships. Generally speaking, people who are “chasing merit” will apply to schools in which they would be a higher-than-average student, and to schools that tend to offer lots of merit money to incoming students. You can find schools on CollegeIQ that give more merit than others by searching for schools with Merit Meter score of “Generous” or “Very Generous”.
Common App - The Common App is an online platform that makes it easier for students to apply to colleges. It retains much of the applicant’s information to make submitting to multiple schools less repetitive.
DEI - Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) is a catch-all term for programs that support diversity at schools. Some states restrict what type of DEI activities public schools in the state can undertake. This has recently led to some schools shuttering cultural centers. CollegeIQ provides information about which states have such laws. These laws vary in nature, so students should contact a college to learn more about how an anti-DEI law impacts the college.
Demonstrated Interest - Demonstrated Interest means taking some sort of action to show that a student is interested in a college. The most common example is attending an on-campus tour. While schools consider different things as interest, some consider signing up for an email list, visiting a webinar or virtual tour, visiting with the school at a college fair, or even engaging with the school’s social media.
Early Action - Early Action is a program offered by some colleges that allows students to get an earlier answer to their application if they apply early.
Early Decision - Early Decision is a program offered by some colleges where students agree to attend the college if they are admitted. Students should only apply Early Decision if the school is their top choice, and if they can afford to attend the school. (If the school offers financial aid, students should determine if the anticipated aid will be enough before applying.) Because schools want dedicated students, and because it helps with yield management, acceptance rates for Early Decision applicants tend to be higher than Early Action or regular applicants.
First Generation - While the definition varies from school to school, many colleges consider students “first generation” if their parents did not graduate from college.
List Price - The list price, or sticker price, is the total amount the school advertises it costs to attend the school. Students may pay less if they receive need-based aid or merit scholarships.
Merit Meter™ - Merit Meter is a CollegeIQ measure that determines how generous a school is with merit aid compared to the cost of attendance and other colleges. Learn more.
Merit Price™ - Merit Price is a CollegeIQ measure that takes into consideration how much students who attend a school and don’t qualify for need-based aid pay after receiving scholarships from the school. Learn more.
Merit Scholarship - A merit scholarship is a grant based on a student’s resume (often academic or extracurricular) rather than financial need. Many schools give merit aid as a recruiting tool to get students to attend.
Net Price - The net price is what students pay to attend a school after aid is deducted. The average net price is the average price students pay. CollegeIQ reports the average net price as well as the average net price by income level. Keep in mind that income level is just one of the factors that goes into financial aid packages.
Net Price Calculator - Called NPC for short, Net Price Calculator is a tool on colleges’ websites that helps prospective students understand what they might have to pay after receiving aid. Students need to submit financial information about their family to receive the estimated cost.
Room and Board - Room and board is the cost a college charges for housing and food.
Student-to-Faculty Ratio - This is the number of students at an institution divided by the number of faculty members. A lower ratio means there are more faculty per student, which generally means class sizes are smaller and teachers might be more accessible. However, it’s also important to review the typical class size at a school. CollegeIQ shows this data on the Academics page for each college.
Test Blind - Test Blind schools do not consider ACT or SAT scores when admitting students. These schools ignore test scores if they are submitted.
Test Optional - Test Optional schools do not require students to submit ACT or SAT scores to be considered for admission. If a student submit scores, they are considered by the school. Some schools do not require test scores for admission to the school but do require them for admission to particular programs.
Unweighted GPA, Weighted GPA - Unweighted GPA refers to a grade point average without extra points for taking advanced courses such as AP and honors classes. Weighted GPA is the high school’s calculation with extra points for advanced courses. Some colleges consider unweighted GPA, others consider weighted GPA, and still others use a different GPA scale based on the student’s transcript.
Walkability - Walkability reflects the ability to get around a campus and the surrounding area without a car. CollegeIQ uses data from the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Walkability Index to calculate this score. The EPA considers intersection density, access to transit, and diversity of land use.
Yield - In college admissions, the yield rate is the percentage of students who were accepted to a college that ended up enrolling at the college. This is one of many measures used to determine how desirable a college is. Generally speaking, colleges with higher yields are the top choices of students who apply there, and colleges with low yields might be considered safety schools. However, schools can impact their yields in a couple of ways, including by accepting more students through Early Decision, in which students agree to attend the school if they are accepted.