Vocabulary
The admissions and financial aid processes have their own vocabulary, so you may run across these words.
- College
- This can mean any school that offers degrees, or it can be a large subdivision of a university, like the College of Business or the College of Arts and Sciences. We generally use college to mean any education you get after high school, whether it's a trade school, a community college, a small four-year school or a large university.
- Higher education
- Any education after high school, from a diploma from a hair-styling school to a degree from medical school.
- Institution
- You'll often see this used as a catch-all for a school that offers a higher education.
- Matriculation
- Another word for enrollment, which is what we use.
- Postbaccalaureate
- After a bachelor's degree.
- Postsecondary
- Any education after high school.
- Proprietary school
- What most people call a trade school.
- Technical school
- A school that provides training in technical fields, so it's a little like a proprietary school and a little like a community college.
- University
- A school that offers degrees beyond a bachelor's, such as a master's or a doctorate.
