School Styles: Institutions & Systems

• College vs. University: People use these interchangeably, but technically, a College typically focuses on undergraduate education (think smaller classes and a liberal arts focus), while a University houses multiple undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools (think larger research institutions).
• Public vs. Private: Public universities are state-funded, generally larger, and offer lower tuition to in-state residents. Private colleges rely on tuition and endowments; they charge the same tuition for in-state and out-of-state students (but often offer robust institutional aid).
• Liberal Arts Colleges (LACs): Undergraduate-focused institutions emphasizing a broad, interdisciplinary education across humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences rather than narrow pre-professional training. They feature small class sizes, high professor interaction (no graduate TAs), and a heavy emphasis on critical thinking and writing (Examples: Amherst, University of Puget Sound, Macalester).
• Technical Colleges & Institutes of Technology: Higher education institutions that specialize heavily in STEM disciplines. These schools blend rigorous theoretical math and science with project-based application and industry collaboration (Examples: Steven’s Institute of Technology, MIT, WPI).
• The University of California (UC) System: California’s premier public research system boasting 9 undergraduate campuses (e.g., UCLA, UC Berkeley). They use a dedicated application portal and require four short-answer essays called Personal Insight Questions (PIQs). Unlike creative essays, UC PIQs require direct, straightforward context regarding your leadership, creativity, or academic passions.
• California State University (CSU) System: The largest four-year public university system in the US, spanning 23 campuses (e.g., Cal Poly, San Diego State). Using the Cal State Apply portal, admissions focus primarily on GPA and core coursework, skipping essays and letters of recommendation for most programs.

The Pieces of the Application & Admissions Review

• Common Application (Common App): A single online application accepted by over 1,000 colleges worldwide. Fill out your background info, activities, and main essay once, then send it everywhere (along with school-specific supplemental essays).
• Personal Statement: The main 650-word Common App essay. This is not a resume rewrite; it’s a narrative spotlighting your character, voice, and unique perspective for the admissions committee.
• Holistic Review & Course Rigor: Admissions offices evaluate the “whole student” rather than relying on a single metric. They look at your background, essays, letters of recommendation, and extracurricular depth. Central to this is Course Rigor within Context—colleges assess how challenging your curriculum was (AT, Honors) based on what was available at your specific high school.
• GPA: Each college will determine the student’s GPA differently; some will take it directly off our transcript, others will recalculate to an Unweighted GPA (standard 4.0 scale) or a more simplified Weighted GPA (which adds extra weight for AT/Honors courses).
• Demonstrated Interest & Yield Rate: How much a college tracks your engagement. Some colleges monitor whether you opened emails, attended a virtual info session, or visited campus. They do this partly to manage their Yield Rate, the percentage of admitted students who actually enroll, which impacts college rankings and enrollment management.
• SAT / ACT Testing Policies: Standardized tests evaluating reading, writing, and math logic. Test-Optional means you choose whether to submit scores; Test-Free/Blind means scores won’t be considered even if submitted.

Show Me the Money: Financial Aid & Costs

• Sticker Price vs. Net Price (Cost of Attendance): A college’s published Cost of Attendance (COA), which includes tuition, fees, room, and board, is often called the “sticker price.” Your Net Price is what your family actually pays out-of-pocket after subtracting grants and scholarships. Use every college’s online Net Price Calculator to estimate realistic costs early.
• Need-Based Aid vs. Merit Aid: Need-based aid is financial assistance awarded strictly on your family’s financial circumstances. Merit aid is free money (scholarships) awarded for being awesome; academically, athletically, artistically, or through leadership; regardless of family income. Merit scholarships can happen automatically or may require additional applications and essays!
• FAFSA vs. CSS Profile: The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) is a free government form required by almost all schools to unlock federal grants, work-study, and student loans. The CSS Profile is a separate, more detailed financial application run by the College Board that ~200+ mostly private colleges require to award institutional aid.
• Student Aid Index (SAI) & Federal Loans: Completing aid forms yields your SAI (formerly called EFC or Expected Family Contribution), an index number colleges use to calculate your financial need. Federal aid packages may include Subsidized Loans (where the government pays interest while you are in school) or Unsubsidized Loans (where interest begins accruing immediately).

Our Not So Secret Weapon: SCOIR

• SCOIR: Pronounced Score, this platform is the central hub of Menlo’s counseling program—where students research colleges, organize application lists, analyze scattergrams (historical admissions data from our school), and request letters of recommendation. It’s also how we securely transmit official transcripts and school documents to colleges. Student and parents will gain access to SCOIR at the end of sophomore year when they are assigned a college counselor. If you haven’t logged in recently, now is the time!

Have questions about any of these terms or found a new one not on this list? Send our office a message - we are here to help you navigate every step of the journey!