Boston University Medical Campus
Student Financial Services

GLOSSARY

A-F

Academic Period – The period of time needed to complete one academic level.

Accrued Interest – Interest that accumulates to be paid in installments at a later time rather than being paid in installments which begin at the time the loan is made.

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) – Income after adjustments for social security, federal, state, and local taxes, health care costs; business income or losses, retirement and/or social security benefits, also referred to as net income.

Assets – Savings and checking accounts; value of home, business, farm, or other real estate; stocks, bonds, and trust funds. For financial aid purposes cars, jewelry, stamp and coin collections are not considered as assets.

Bankruptcy – A legal action in which a person who is unable to meet financial obligations is declared bankrupt by court decree; under federal bankruptcy law this person’s property becomes liable to satisfy creditors.

Base Year – Calendar year prior to the academic year that you will attend school. A student’s income for the base year is used to determine financial aid eligibility.

Campus Based Programs – Programs such as Perkins Loans and College Work-Study which use federal funds and are administered by the financial aid office.

Cancellation – The balance of some student loans may be canceled upon the death or permanent disability of the borrower or upon full or in part service in a particular field or geographic area.

Capitalizing Interest – Computed interest that is added to the principal to arrive at a new principal balance. Interest is then assessed on the new principal balance.

Citizen/Eligible Non-Citizen – To be eligible to receive Title IV financial assistance, you must be one of the following:

• U.S. Citizen
• U.S. National
• Permanent resident with an I-151 or I-551
• Holder of an I-94 indicating:
  1. Refugee
  2. Asylum Granted
  3. Indefinite Parole and/or Humanitarian Parole
  4. Cuban-Haitian Entrant, Status Pending
  5. Conditional Entrant (valid only if issued before April 1, 1980)

Cash Flow Projection – The estimate of your income and expenses for any given period of time.

Compound Interest – Computed interest which is added to the principal to arrive at a new principal balance. Interest is then assessed on the new principal balance.

Consolidation – The creation of a new single loan by a lender paying off a borrower’s multiple educational loans.

Cosigner – A second creditworthy party who signs a promissory note with a borrower who has no collateral or satisfactory credit history. The second party guarantees that the loan will be repaid if the borrower fails to make payments.

Cost of Attendance – Total amount it will cost a student to attend school, including: tuition and fees, housing and food for the period of enrollment, books and supplies for education, travel costs directly related to being a student, documented child care expenses, and costs related to a handicap.

Debt – Something owed; an obligation or a liability which must be paid or rendered to someone else.

Default – Failure to meet financial obligations on loan notes or other contractual obligations or to make loan payments as required. Defaults are recorded on a permanent credit record and may result in prosecution and/or loss of future borrowing possibilities.

Deferment – A specified period of time during which principal and/or interest payments need not be made; deferments are frequently granted for time spent as a student, a resident, or in the Peace Corps.

Delinquency – Failure to make a loan payment when it is due; multiple delinquencies may lead to default.

Disclosure Statement – A statement of the interest rate, monthly repayments, due dates, length of repayment, and total repayment obligation on a loan.

Eligible Program – A program of study which leads to a degree, certificate, or other recognized educational credential at an institution of higher education that participates in U.S. Department of Education student financial aid programs.

Expected Family Contribution (EFC) – Determined by a federal formula, the amount of money that a family is expected to contribute to a student’s cost of attendance.

Federal Methodology – Method of determining ability to pay for education, as written by Federal statutes.

Fixed Interest – Rate of interest set at the time loan is negotiated that remains constant over the life of the loan.

Forbearance – Arrangement between a student and a lender whereby the lender may delay payments of principal and/or interest to relieve a borrower’s financial hardship during repayment.