Glossary
CostofttendanceCOThetotalamount(notincludinggrantsandscholarships)thatitwillcostyoutogotoschoolduringthe2017–18schoolyear.
COAincludestuitionandfees;housingandmeals;andallowancesforbooks,supplies,transportation,loanfees,anddependentcare.Italsoincludes
miscellaneousandpersonalexpenses,suchasanallowancefortherentalorpurchaseofapersonalcomputer;costsrelatedtoadisability;andreasonable
costsforeligiblestudyabroadprograms.Forstudentsattendinglessthanhalftime,theCOAincludestuitionandfees;anallowanceforbooks,supplies,and
transportation;anddependentcareexpenses.
otalGrantsandcholarshipsStudentaidfundsthatdonothavetoberepaid.Grantsareoftenneedbased,whilescholarshipsareusuallymeritbased.
Occasionallyyoumighthavetopaybackpartorallofagrantif,forexample,youwithdrawfromschoolbeforefinishingasemester.
etCostsAnestimateoftheactualcoststhatyouoryourfamilywillneedtopayduringthe2017–18schoolyeartocovereducationexpensesataparticular
school.Netcostsaredeterminedbytakingtheinstitution'scostofattendanceandsubtractingyourgrantsandscholarships.
WorktudyAfederalstudentaidprogramthatprovidesparttimeemploymentwhileyouareenrolledinschooltohelppayyoureducationexpenses.
LoansBorrowedmoneythatmustberepaidwithinterest.Loansfromthefederalgovernmenttypicallyhavealowerinterestratethanloansfromprivate
lenders.Federalloans,listedfrommostadvantageoustoleastadvantageous,arecalledFederalPerkinsLoans,DirectSubsidizedLoans,DirectUnsubsidized
Loans,andDirectPLUSLoans.YoucanfindmoreinformationaboutfederalloansatStudentAid.gov.
ailyContriutionalsoreferredtoaspectedailyContriutionAnumberusedbyaschooltocalculatehowmuchfinancialaidyouare
eligibletoreceive,ifany.It’sbasedonthefinancialinformationyouprovidedinyourFreeApplicationforFederalStudentAid(FAFSA).It’snottheamountof
moneyyourfamilywillhavetopayforcollege,norisittheamountoffederalstudentaidyouwillreceive.Thefamilycontributionisreportedtoyouonyour
StudentAidReport,alsoknownastheSAR.
GraduationateThegraduationrateafter150%ofnormalprogramcompletiontimehaselapsed.Forschoolsthatawardpredominatelybachelor’s(four
year)degrees,thisisaftersixyears,andforstudentsseekinganassociate’s(twoyear)degree,thisisafterthreeyears.Forstudentsseekingacertificate,the
lengthoftimedependsonthecertificatesought,forexample,foraoneyearcertificate,after18months.Theseratesareonlyforfulltimestudentsenrolledfor
thefirsttime.
epayentateTheshareofstudentswhohaverepaidatleast$1oftheprincipalbalanceontheirfederalloanswithin3yearsofleavingschool.
edianorrowingThemedianfederaldebtofundergraduateborrowerswhocompleted.Thisfigureincludesonlyfederalloans;itexcludesprivatestudent
loansandparentPLUSloans.