The College Answer Guy

Lance Millis

April 26, 2008 11:49 pm

— As you start to visit college campuses, and particularly once you’re there for school, you will notice an entirely new language being used. In addition to there being an acronym for nearly everything on campus, there are both new terms for things you’ve heard of and new things you’ve never heard of before. When you talk to another college student, you will likely get an ear full of it, but they will rarely even be aware they are saying anything you don’t understand. Much of it is slang, and will likely differ from one campus to another. But there are several widely used terms and acronyms you should be aware of to help you understand what’s being referred to. Some are listed below.
Credit Hour – A unit of academic credit. Refers to both how much time a student is in class during a week and how much credit toward graduation is received. A credit hour is usually slightly less than one clock hour of time spent in class, with 12 being the minimum to be considered a full-time student, and 14-16 being the average load. One hundred twenty credit hours is usually the minimum required to graduate.
CLEP/AP/IB – College Level Examination Program/Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate – All refer to programs through which students can gain college credit by “testing out” of certain subjects. AP and IB involve taking special classes during high school and testing at the end, while CLEP only involves the test which may be taken before or during college.
GA/TA – Graduate Assistant/Teaching Assistant – A student working toward an advanced degree (Masters, Ph.D, etc.) who either teaches a college class under the supervision of a professor or one who helps a professor teach a class – they may also be teaching the lab portion of a particular class.
FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid – The form used (almost universally) to apply for federal, state, and campus need-based aid for college expenses. It must be completed each year, and allows the student to be considered for loans, grants, and work-study programs.
Registrar – Both the office and the person who runs the office on campus responsible for maintaining all academic records for current and former students at that school. Maintaining the integrity of the academic record is often seen as one of the most important activities on campus. For this reason, enrolling, withdrawing, dropping and adding courses, awarding and/or changing grades, and awarding degrees are highly regulated and scrutinized processes.
RA – Resident Assistant or Resident Advisor – Usually an undergraduate student who lives in campus housing (often free of charge or at a significant discount in exchange for their work within the housing area), and has some leadership responsibility or authority (sometimes both) over the other students living there.
Submit your questions or comments to lance@collegeanswerguy.com.