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Talking about loans and financial aid can be like speaking a foreign language. Use this glossary for more information on frequently used terms. |
| |
| A |
| Academic
Period |
A
measured period of enrollment
(e.g. a semester, trimester, quarter,
year). |
 |
| Accrued
Interest |
The
amount of money to be repaid on
a loan in addition to the original
principal amount borrowed. |
|
| Adverse
Credit |
Negative
information regarding a person's
pattern of borrowing and repayment
of debts as reported to National
Credit Bureaus. This information
could contribute to the denial
of a PLUS or private loan application. |
|
Affiliated
Computer Services
(ACS) |
A
servicer of federal loans. |
|
| American
Education Services (AES) |
A
guarantor of federal loans in
Delaware, Pennsylvania and West
Virginia. |
|
| American
Student Assistance Corporation
(ASA) |
Guarantor
of federal loans in Massachusetts
and Washington D.C. |
|
| Amortization |
A
gradual reduction of a loan debt
through periodic installment payments
of principal and interest. |
|
| Annual
Loan Limit |
The
maximum loan amount that may be
granted per academic year to a
borrower for a particular program. |
|
| Annual
Percentage Rate (APR) |
The
yearly cost of the loan to the
borrower. It reflects all finance
charges, including interest (if
applicable), guarantee fee (if
applicable) and origination fee
(if applicable). |
|
| Applicant |
Person
who completes and submits a loan
application.
- Under the Stafford Loan
Program, only the student
may be the applicant.
- Under PLUS, parents, step-parents or legal guardians may be
the applicants for loans covering
educational costs of dependent
undergraduate students.
- For private loans, students
and/or any other credit worthy
borrower or co-borrower may
apply depending upon the loan
program.
- Under the consolidation
loan program, only the student
or parent borrower may be
the applicant.
|
|
| Application |
The
form used by a borrower to apply
for a loan. The form may be a
combined loan application and
promissory note. |
|
| Approved |
A
status assigned to a loan application
that has met the loan program's
eligibility criteria. After a
loan is approved, it can be scheduled
for disbursement. |
|
| Automated
Clearing House (ACH) |
An
alternative method for pre-authorized,
electronically transmitted transfers
of funds between one person's
or organization's account to another's. |
|
| Award
Letter |
The
official document, issued by a
college financial aid office,
which lists all of the financial
aid awarded to a student including
both federal and school moneys.
These can include loans, grants,
scholarships or work-study awards.
Students can accept or decline
the entire award or individual
pieces of the package. |
|
| Award
Year |
The
period between July 1st of a given
calendar year and June 30th of
the following calendar year, for
the purposes of determining federal
Pell grant and campus-based program
awards. |
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