Federal Aid: Financial aid from the federal government to help you pay for education expenses at an eligible college or career school. Grants, loans and work-study are types of federal student aid. You must complete the FAFSA form to apply for this type of aid.

FSA ID: The FSA ID is a username and password combination that serves as a student’s or parent’s identifier to allow access to personal information in various U.S. Department of Education systems and acts as a digital signature on some online forms.

Pell Grant: A federal grant for undergraduate students. Federal Pell Grants are awarded only to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need. The Federal Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have to be repaid, except under certain circumstances.

Federal Student Loan: A loan funded by the federal government to help pay for your education. A federal student loan is borrowed money you must repay with interest.

Subsidized Loan: A loan based on financial need for which the federal government generally pays the interest that accrues while the borrower is in an in-school, grace, or deferment status, and during certain periods of repayment under certain income-driven repayment plans.

Unsubsidized Loan: A loan for which the borrower is fully responsible for paying the interest regardless of the loan status. Interest on unsubsidized loans accrues from the date of disbursement and continues throughout the life of the loan.

Parent PLUS Loan: A loan available to parents of dependent undergraduate students for which the borrower is fully responsible for paying the interest regardless of the loan status.

Private Loan: A nonfederal loan made by a lender such as a bank, credit union, state agency, or school.

Master Promissory Note: A binding legal document that you must sign when you get a federal student loan. It lists the terms and conditions under which you agree to repay the loan and explains your rights and responsibilities as a borrower.  It’s important to read and save your MPN because you’ll need to refer to it later when you begin repaying your loan or at other times when you need information about provisions of the loan, such as deferments or forbearances.

Entrance Counseling: A mandatory information session that takes place before you receive your first federal student loan that explains your responsibilities and rights as a student borrower.

Exit Counseling: A mandatory information session that takes place before you graduate or drop below half-time enrollment that explains your loan repayment responsibilities and when repayment begins.