Glossary of Application for School Terms
Getting ready to apply to a new school? Here are some words you should know before you file that application:
ACT – stands for American College Test; like the SAT, it is a standardized test designed to assess high school performance and college-readiness. The ACT consists of multiple-choice questions covering English, Math, Reading, Science reasoning, and Writing. It is more commonly used in the southern and mid-western parts of the country.
Admissions lottery system – A method of selecting students for admission in some public schools in which all complete applications submitted by students from the district are entered into a lottery. The students accepted into the school are randomly selected.
Blue Ribbon – the highest honor granted to an American school; recognition granted by the U.S. Secretary of Education to schools on the basis of high student achievement as well as parental involvement. Blue Ribbon School is the title granted to the school, from which the colloquial term blue ribbon students (describing elite children) was derived.
Competitive admissions – A highly selective process in which applicants to a school must first meet the baseline criteria before they can be included in the list of qualified candidates; an admissions board or committee then reviews and compares qualified candidates to each other based on a variety of criteria, such as SAT scores, scholastic records, and motivation, among other factors. Top-ranked candidates are offered admission to the school.
Gold Medal-100 – refers to the Gold Medal List, or the Top 100 high schools in the United States as ranked by U.S. News based on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate test results
Open admissions – the school is open to all high school graduates; anyone with a high school diploma or General Education Development (GED) certificate and who intends to get a college degree is guaranteed admission
Personal statement – refers to a brief essay usually required for admission to college, graduate school, and professional schools. It should explain applicants’ personal and career goals, as well as the factors influencing their choice in program and school. In competitive admissions, it is used by the admissions board to measure a candidate’s analytical and communication skills and to determine whether he or she is a good match to the school’s program. The terms application essay, statement of purpose, letter or statement of intent, goals statement, and personal narrative are often used interchangeably with personal statement.
SAT — acronym for Scholastic Aptitude Test, which is now known as the SAT Reasoning Test; it is the major standardized test used in the United States for college admission. It is divided into three core areas: Critical Reading, Mathematics, and Writing, with each area rated on the scale of 200-800. The SAT Reasoning Test measures high school students’ literacy, writing, and problem-solving skills. Its result is given optimum weight in competitive college admissions.