What to expect
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College vocabulary
College is a whole new world complete with its own language. Enjoy this fun take on some common college terms.
Accreditation
Certification that a school or institution has met standards set by an outside review organization. K-State is fully accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Many other K-State programs are accredited by professional agencies.
Book bag
An overstuffed container that students use to carry gum, cell phones, lip gloss, paper, candy wrappers, sunglasses, student IDs, and every so often a notebook.
Caffeine
The drug of choice for most college students.
Commencement
The graduation ceremony you weren’t quite sure would ever come.
Dean
The mythic leader of the college that students hear about but may never actually meet.
Distance education
These classes are not time-or-place-specific. Many times they are held online, or they are videotaped lectures.
See the distance education courses offered at K-State
Elective
A course that is not required for a major or minor. For example, if you’re in engineering, you can take a class in cultural anthropology.
Check out K-State’s cool classes
Extra credit
A rare form of “bonus points.”
FAFSA
Stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The FAFSA is the key to grants, loans, and work-study jobs. For most students, getting their financial aid check is the highlight of their semester.
Incomplete
A temporary grade given to a student who has to leave a class with the intention of completing it within the next semester.
Internship
A part-time or full-time, temporary job in a real-world setting closely related to a student’s area of study.
Loan
Borrowed money to be repaid after graduation. The looming fear of repaying loans may keep students in school for a few extra semesters.
Major
The areas of study students spend four years learning about, but still have no idea what to do with after they graduate.
See K-State’s list of more than 250 majors and options
Off-campus parking
Any place is fair game when you’re late for class.
Prerequisite
A course that must be completed before a student can enroll in a more advanced course. Sometimes referred to as “that class I have to take before I can get into the class I actually need!”
Rec Complex
The place students go to work out and to check out the campus hotties.
Resident assistant
Every student’s go-to guru in the residence halls. Being on-call all day and night for a floor full of students isn’t easy, but we’re glad they do it.
Residence hall
The on-campus building you live in, but which always happens to be coincidently located on the opposite side of campus from your 8 a.m. class.
Learn more about the residence halls
Syllabus
An outline of course requirements, academic policies, and tentative schedule of assignments. Otherwise known as the only thing discussed on the first day of class.
UGE
These three letters stand for university general education classes, courses that expand student perspectives and explore relationships among subjects. All K-Staters have to take a certain number of these electives before they can graduate.
Undergraduate
A student who has not yet completed a bachelor’s degree.
Vending machine
A coin-operated machine from which busy students receive nutritious snacks. Candy bars have some nutritional value, right?
Wabash Cannonball
K-State’s signature dance: back-and-forth motion with clapping.
Weekend
What students—and parents—live for.
Work-study
The two things students try hardest to avoid. Besides that fact, it’s also a program that helps you earn money for college by working on campus. Consideration for federal work study is given to students who demonstrate financial need and meet K-State's priority date for filing out the FAFSA.