A college is an institution of higher education (Bac+4), where a student studies the humanities, arts and/or the sciences. Unless otherwise specified, it is generally known as a College of Arts and Sciences. If a college is not part of a larger university, it usually confers only undergraduate degrees.
A university is an institution made up of several "colleges" and "graduate schools." The College of Arts and Sciences is usually the undergraduate "heart" of the university. Many universities also have professional graduate schools (Law, Business, Medicine,  Education, etc).

Liberal arts designates programs of study focused on humanities and sciences, in contrast to more applied or professional disciplines, such as business, engineering, nursing… The student eventually selects a "major" course of study where he/she concentrates on one theoretical subject. Although often available as individual courses, professional subjects (business, engineering…) are generally not offered as majors in liberal arts programs.
Liberal Arts Colleges are schools that confer a four-year bachelor's degree and no graduate degrees. They are generally smaller than universities with usually 400 students per year or less. This small size, however, does not mean that they are inferior institutions. Liberal Arts Colleges such as Amherst, Williams or Swarthmore are as competitive as most Ivy League schools.

A Bachelor's degree of Arts or Science is the first university diploma that one can obtain in the US after four years of coursework. A bachelor of arts (BA) is conferred for humanties subjects such as English, History or Political Science. A bachelor of science (BS) is conferred for scientific subjects such as Math, Physics or Biology.

An undergraduate is a student who is studying towards his/her bachelor's degree. A graduate is someone who has obtained a bachelor's degree and is studying towards a graduate degree:

• Masters degree such as an MA (Master of Arts), an MS (Master of Science), an MBA (Master of Business Administration) or MFA (Master of Fine Arts) , which usually entail two years of studies after a four-year bachelor's degree;
• JD (Juris Doctorate: bachelor's+3)
• MD (Doctor of Medicine: bachelor's+7 to 12)
• PhD (Bachelor's+5).

There are three categories of early admissions: Early Decision (ED) entails applying early to a single first-choice school and committing, if accepted, to matriculating, i.e., enrolling. The obligation may only be waived if a student who applies for financial aid is not offered an award that makes attendance possible (as determined by FAFSA guidelines). This does not preclude a student from filing regular applications elsewhere, but these other applications are only relevant if a student is either rejected or deferred. Next, Early Action applications break down into two sub-categories: ordinary Early Action (EA) simply refers to the deadlines and carries no particular obligation. There is no limit to the number of EA applications, and admission is not binding. The third category, Single-Choice Early Action (SCEA), is a hybrid currently in place at Harvard, Yale and Stanford. Under SCEA, students may only apply early to a single college, but results are not binding; both EA and SCEA students have until May 1 to choose a college.

All three types of early applications are due around November 1 instead of late December or early January, and results are available in mid-December; early enough so that, in most cases, no other application need be sent if the answer is positive. The possible outcomes are admission, rejection, and deferral, in which case the early application loses its early status and becomes part of the regular application pool.

In the land of financial aid, knowing the native dialect is half the battle. Before you can learn how to get help funding your education, you first need to understand all those strange terms and acronyms. Here is a glimpse at the language you can expect to encounter when applying for financial aid.

Award Letter: An official document issued by a financial aid office listing all financial aid (scholarships, grants, loans and/or work study) awarded to the student. The award letter will include information about the cost of attendance and terms and conditions for financial assistance.

Campus-Based Aid: Financial aid programs administered by the university. The federal government provides the university with a fixed annual allocation, which is awarded by the financial aid administer to deserving students. The Perkins Loan Program, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG) and Federal Work-Study are examples of campus-based aid.

EFC (Expected Family Contribution): Amount a family is expected to contribute to a student's education, based on family earnings, net assets, savings, size of the family, and number of students in college. This amount will appear on the Student Aid Report (SAR) that the student receives from the federal government.

FAA (Financial Aid Administrator): A college or university employee who is involved in the administration of financial aid. Also known as the financial aid advisors, officers, or counselors. Students with specific questions about the financial aid available at individual colleges should contact the FAAs at those schools.

FAFSA (Free Application For Federal Student Aid): The form that must be completed by students and parents applying for federal student aid. The form is generally available at the start of the new year and students are advised to submit it as soon as possible after January 1 of the year that they are applying to college.

FWS (Federal Work Study Program): This federal program provides part-time jobs for undergraduate and graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses.

Financial Aid Package: The total amount of financial aid (federal and nonfederal) such as scholarships, grants, loans, and/or work-study for which a student is eligible. The package is disclosed in the award letter sent to the students from the school where they are admitted.

Financial Need: The difference between the cost of attendance at a college and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Also known as financial aid eligibility.

Gift Aid: Financial aid, such as grants and scholarships, which does not need to be repaid.

Grants: Financial aid awards that do not have to be repaid. Grants are available through the federal government, state agencies, and colleges.

Lender: A bank, credit union or other financial institution that provides funds to students or parents for an education loan. Loan: A type of financial aid that is available to students and to their parents. Student loan programs have varying interest rates and repayment provisions. An education loan must be repaid.

PLUS (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students): Federally insured loans that allow parents of dependent students to borrow up to the full cost of the student's education minus the financial aid received. Credit-worthy parents are eligible to borrow a PLUS loan regardless of family income.

Pell Grant Program: The largest federal grant program. Students who meet federal criteria for financial need automatically receive this grant, which does not require repayment. Once a student accepts this offer, the grant is automatically credited to his college account.

Perkins Loan Program: Federally insured loans funded by the federal government that are awarded by the school to students based on great financial need. The loans feature a low interest rate and are repayable over an extended period.

Prepaid Tuition Plan: A college savings plan that is guaranteed to rise in value at the same rate as college tuition. For example, if a family purchases shares that are worth half a year's tuition at a state college, they will always be worth half a year's tuition, even 10 years later when tuition rates will have doubled.

SAR (Student Aid Report): A report summarizing financial and other information reported on the FAFSA, sent to a student by the federal government. The student's financial aid need or eligibility is indicated by the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which is printed on the document.

SEOG (Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant): This federal grant is awarded to low-income students based on availability of funds at the college, and does not require repayment. Once accepted, the grant is credited directly to a student's college account.

Stafford Loans: Federally insured, low-interest rate student loans for which borrowing limits vary depending on a student's year in college. There are two types of Stafford Loans:

• Subsidized Stafford Loans: Loans awarded to students who demonstrate financial need (i.e., need-based loans). The federal government pays the interest on these loans while students are in school and during a grace and deferment period.
• Unsubsidized Stafford Loans: Loans available to students regardless of financial need (i.e., non-need-based loans). Borrowers pay interest on these loans while in school, or may defer payment and allow interest to accrue.

A high school transcript is the US equivalent of our "bulletin de notes." A transcript lists the courses you have taken from ninth grade (troisième) through twelfth grade (terminale) along with an annual average grade for each course. The grade is reported on a standard American alpha scale (A to F). The college counselor prepares a transcript for each student who is registered for college counseling. Grades are converted using the Franco-American Commission conversion chart where, for example, 18-20 is an A+, 15-17 is an A, 13-14 is A-, 12 is a B+, 11 is a B, and 10 is a B-.

The Ivy League is comprised of eight universities (Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Pennsylvania, Princeton, and Yale) that over the years have had common interests in scholarship as well as in athletics. In 1945, the eight presidents entered into an agreement "for the purpose of reaffirming their intention of continuing intercollegiate football in such a way as to maintain the values of the game, while keeping it in fitting proportion to the main purposes of academic life.''

The Little Ivies is a colloquialism often used in reference to a number of small liberal arts colleges, meant to imply that they share some characteristics with the colleges of the eight Ivy League universities, but at a smaller institution. Typically this term is meant to imply they are academically respected and socially prestigious. There is no authoritative list of Little Ivies, but the names most mentioned are: Amherst, Bates, Bowdoin, Colby, Hamilton, Haverford, Middlebury, Swarthmore, Trinity, Tufts University, Wesleyan and Williams.