Academic Scholarship
Glossary
Academic Scholarship
Sometimes referred to as merit aid, but known as an academic scholarship at Carolina. Aid that is awarded to a student based upon their accomplishments or characteristics during a holistic review of the admissions application. Criteria can include some of the following, such as GPA, SAT score, ACT score, community service, leadership, entrepreneurship etc.
Academic Year
Period of enrollment that covers fall, spring and summer. For example, the academic year 2022-2023 includes fall 2022, spring 2023, and summer session I and II 2023 terms.
Adjusted Gross Income
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is defined as gross income minus adjustments to income. Gross income includes your wages, dividends, capital gains, business income, retirement distributions as well as other income. Adjustments to Income include such items as Educator expenses, Student loan interest, Alimony payments or contributions to a retirement account.
Aid Year
Shorthand used to describe an academic year for processing purposes in Connect Carolina. Aid year 2019 refers to Academic year 2018-2019 (Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Summer 2019). Aid Year 2020 refers to Academic year 2019-2020 (Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Summer 2020). Aid year 2021 refers to Academic year 2020-2021 (Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021).
Carolina Covenant
A packaging policy awarding eligible students with grant and work study to meet full need. Also includes academic programming and interventions. You can read more about the Carolina Covenant here.
Census Date
For financial aid census date is when we will lock in your enrolled hours. If your enrollment is different at census date from when your aid was originally offered, we will have to adjust your aid to reflect your enrollment at census. You can find census dates and other important dates here.
Certificate Program
To be eligible for federal aid, certificate programs are approved programs that lead to a recognized education credential and have been certified by the school.
Continuing Studies
When you have already received your degree and are taking additional coursework after graduation.
Contributor
any individual required to provide consent and approval for federal tax information (FTI) along with their signature on the FAFSA® form, including the student; the student’s spouse; a biological or adoptive parent; or the parent’s spouse (stepparent).
Cost of Attendance (COA)
COA stands for Cost of Attendance; serves as a student’s budget, including tuition, fees, room, board, etc. Total of all aid cannot be greater than COA.