Glossary of Financial Aid Terms

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Acronyms

Half-Time: Most financial aid programs require that the student be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for aid. Some programs require the student to be enrolled full-time.

Hold: A situation when the institution prevents a student from receiving a Financial Aid check. For example: a delinquent debt owed to MSU-Northern, a document required by the Financial Aid Office that the student has not yet submitted.

Holder: The lender, institution or agency that holds legal title to a loan. The holder may be the bank that issued the loan, a secondary market that purchased the loan from the bank or a guarantee agency if the borrower defaulted on the loan.

Horizontal Equity: The principle of horizontal equity is that families with similar financial circumstances should pay the same amount, regardless of how their assets, investments and income are defined.