Talking College: College Talk
Know Your Vocabulary
As you learn about college, you are going to hear a lot of words that you may be unfamiliar with. It is important that you familiarize yourself with these words to make your experience learning about colleges more meaningful. We have already visited with some of these terms and we will continue to delve deeper into many of these words throughout this text.
| COLLEGE TERM | MEANING |
| Community College | A two year program or associate degree offered at a lower cost, with the possibility of transferring those credits toward a four-year degree at a university or liberal arts college, or immediately entering the workforce with practical training in fields like health or technology. |
| Vocational or Trade Schools | A program with hands-on training and certification in a particular field or occupation, such as automotive services, cosmetology, culinary arts or information technology. These programs can take weeks, months or years depending on the certification and, in some cases, can also earn you an associates degree. |
| Art, conservatory & design schools | Schools that offer 2 or 4 year degrees (bachelor’s and associate’s) in such areas as drawing, music, performance and often require an additional audition or portfolio in order to be considered for admission. |
| Universitities | Institutions of higher learning that consist of graduate schools, professional schools (medical, law, business, etc.) and undergraduate programs. A university awards both graduate degrees (master’s and doctorate) and undergraduate degrees (bachelor of arts and bachelor of science) and tends to be larger and more research-oriented. |
| Colleges | Typically smaller than universities, their emphasis is on undergraduate education. Liberal arts colleges offer a more traditional and general education in subjects such as literature, history, mathematics, natural science, social science, language, art and music. |
| Associate’s Degrees | Associate’s degree programs are intended to prepare a student with the necessary coursework to transfer into a bachelor’s degree program upon graduation. |
| Bachelor’s Degrees | Bachelor’s degrees take four years of full-time attendance to complete a bachelor’s degree, this degree is also referred to as a “four-year degree” or an “undergraduate degree”. |
| Major | Area of specialization in college; often linked to one’s future career plans and goals |
| Minor | Secondary area of specialization; often made from linking elective classes in a meaningful way |
| General Education (AKA “Gen Eds”) | Classes that students have to take in addition to their major classes, such as English, Math and Science |
| SAT | Scholastic Aptitude Test; a college admissions exam that tests knowledge of critical reading, writing and mathematics |
| GPA | Grade Point Average; your average calculated on a scale of 0-4 |
| FAFSA | Free Application for Student Aid; financial aid that comes from the federal government based on your family’s income |
These words will come up again and again throughout your application process and even once you are enrolled in college, so familiarize yourself with them as much as possible.
Remixed with:
Baldwin, Amy. College Success. OpenStax, 2020, OpenStax, https://openstax.org/details/books/college-success.
Shaw, Michael, and Jaye F. Fenderson. “First- Generation: A Guide to College.” First Generation Films LLC, 2015, https://gocollegenow.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/First-Generation-Companion-Curriculum.pdf.
