Meet Full Need: Means the college will meet the full demonstrated need of the accepted student as calculated by federal formula (and, for private colleges, by the individual college formula).
Need Blind: Means the college will never review ability to pay as part of the admission process.
Need Sensitive/Aware: For those students on the cusp (not clear admits or denies) the college reviews the student’s ability to pay as one factor in admission.
Gap: Means that while the college might be “need blind” they do not “meet full need.” There will be a gap between your estimated family contribution and the money offered in the financial aid package. You will need to make up that gap by paying more than your EFC or securing private loans.
Unsubsidized Loans: Means that interest starts to accrue the moment one takes out the loan.
Subsidized Loans: Means that the government pays the interest while the student is in college—and then the repayment process commences (with interest) once the student graduates.
PLUS Loans: These are issued by U.S. Department of Education—it is your lender. You must not have an adverse credit history. The maximum loan amount is the cost of attendance (determined by the school) minus any other financial aid received. The current interest rate on those is about 4.27%. You can find out more about those here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/plus#eligibility
Perkins Loan: Available to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students with exceptional financial need. The interest rate for this loan is 5%. Not all colleges participate in the Federal Perkins Loan Program. You should check with a college’s financial aid office to see if they participate. The college is the lender; you will make your payments to the college that made your loan or your college’s loan servicer. Funds depend on your financial need and the availability of funds at your college. Find more information here: https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/loans/perkins
Grants: Free money.
Merit Money: Many of the top colleges/university do NOT offer merit money—they only offer financial aid to those who are eligible. However, there are some colleges that offer merit money for a variety of different reasons. If, for example, a student is a highly qualified candidate for College X (test scores and GPA well above what the college publishes as the middle 50% of accepted students) and that college offers merit aid, College X might be compelled to offer that student a generous package which would include grants/scholarships.