You may be surprised by the number of unfamiliar terms associated with college and college life. Undergraduate, TA, accreditation, Greek life, the FAFSA—high school counselors and college admissions officers use these terms every day. Unfortunately, they don’t always stop to explain what each term means.
The “College Speak” series explains the college-oriented vocab that you need to be in the know and focus on the more important questions, such as “which school would be the best fit for me?”
Today’s terms are . . .
Campus: The actual physical presence of a college or university. It’s the buildings, the land, and, in a larger sense, the people.
A campus might have clearly defined boundaries, or it might be integrated into a city or town. Either way, you’re “on campus” whenever you visit a college or university.
Dorms: The on-campus buildings where students live.
If a college or university has dorms, they’re usually a popular living option for freshmen, sophomores, and possibly juniors. (Upperclassmen tend to live off-campus.) They’re often a big part of the social scene at a school.
Some dorm buildings are like large houses and have shared bathrooms, living rooms, and kitchens. Other dorms are more like apartment buildings. In either case, you’ll probably have at least one roommate your freshman year if you live in a dorm.
Residential Advisors (RAs): A student, usually a sophomore, who oversees a group of new freshman and advises them on non-academic issues. College RAs live in the same dorm building as the freshmen whom they oversee.
Different schools use RAs differently. At some schools, RAs are basically the “fun police”—they shut down unauthorized parties and look for contraband. At others, RAs are more like friends.
Most colleges have some type of RA system, though the role takes different names at different schools.
Fraternities, Sororities, and Greek Life: Fraternities and sororities are single-sex social clubs with paid membership. Each club is identified by a combination of two or three Greek letters—for example, Tau Kappa Epsilon or Alpha Phi. Taken together, fraternities and sororities are referred to as the Greek life at a school.
So what do these groups do? Many of them do community service or fundraising for local causes. Many also throw big parties.
At some colleges, 50 percent or more of the students are Greek and the on-campus social scene is dominated by Greek parties. Other colleges don’t allow these groups on campus. (These schools believe that Greek organizations create a social environment that excludes non-Greeks.)
Click here to see the previous entry in the College Speak series.
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