Independent
Glossary
Independent
Any student that qualifies for one of the dependency questions on the FAFSA or who has been granted an independent appeal (including homeless designations); will NOT be required to provide parental information. Rules for dependency can be found here.
Interinstitutional
Under the Interinstitutional Program, any approved enrolled full-time degree seeking graduate or undergraduate student (excluding continuing studies, visiting, or non-degree students), may register for courses with appropriate approval at the following Universities: NCCU, UNCC, UNCG, NC State and Duke. The course(s) may be taken if there are seats, and your advisor/dean certifies the course is appropriate for your degree and not available at Carolina.
Last-Dollar Award
Last-Dollar awards are applied after Pell grants and/or other federal, state, or institutional aid have been applied. At Carolina, our commitment to N.C. families making under $80,000 with typical family assets is to provide grants or scholarships to cover any remaining tuition and mandatory fee costs after all Pell grants and other federal, state, or university aid have been applied. Housing, food, books, and other costs are not included.
Loans
Loans are offers that are given to you to help finance your education. They are money that you can choose to borrow to help pay for educational expenses and must be repaid.
Master Promissory Note (MPN)
An MPN is a legal document that contains the Borrower’s Rights and Responsibilities and Terms and Conditions for repayment. A student must have an MPN to receive a loan, you can complete your federal MPN on the federal website. University loans have a separate MPN through ECSI.
Merit Scholarship or Merit-Based Aid
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.
Need-Based Aid
Aid that requires a student to qualify by having financial need.
Net Price Calculator
A tool that can be used to get an aid estimate of what your financial aid package may look like before you receive an aid offer. It is based on the institution’s cost of attendance and packaging policy. The estimate is as accurate as of the information that is entered in the tool.
Non-Custodial Parent
In the case of a single-parent household or divorced parents, this refers to the biological parent of a student with whom the student does NOT live with. Many other colleges that use the CSS Profile may ask for information from this parent via what is called the Non-Custodial Parent Profile. Carolina does not require the submission of this information.
Non-degree seeking/non-degree student
Programs or enrollment for personal or professional benefit that will not result in receiving a degree. Non-Degree programs are not eligible for federal aid.