Last week I chipped away at the beginnings of a financial aid glossary. Here's the remainder of the alphabet, again courtesy of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Financial Aid for College," David Rye, $18.95 (www.idiotsguides.com).

The Federal Direct Loan Program offers four types of loans to student and parent borrowers:

• Stafford Loans: Subsidized (need-based) and unsubsidized (not need-based) loans. Guaranteed by the federal government and available to students to fund their education.

• PLUS: Loans for parents borrowing for the education of their dependents.

• Consolidation loan: A loan arranged through the U.S. Department of Education's Direct Loan Servicing Center; designed to combine Title IV education loans into a single loan with one monthly payment.

• Federal Perkins Loan (FPL): A campus-based loan program providing low-interest loans to students in need.

Besides loans, here are other financial-aid options to explore:

• Federal Pell Grants: A need-based grant program for undergraduate students.

• Gift/Grant Aid: Financial aid, generally in the form of a grant or scholarship, that a student is not required to repay or earn through employment.

• HOPE Scholarship: Provides a family with a tax credit of up to $1,500 maximum per year for two years for each dependent student.

• Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) Program: Provides grants for education to postsecondary students with substantial financial need through matching grants to the states.

• Lifetime Learning Credit: A tax credit of up to $1,000 per family per tax year for postsecondary education courses. Claimant must file a tax credit and owe taxes for that tax year.

• Profile: The College Scholarship Services Profile. This is the customized financial aid application form required at certain colleges to determine eligibility for institutional aid.

• Renewal FAFSA: Version of the FAFSA students might use if they applied for federal financial aid the previous award year.

• Satisfactory academic progress (SAP): To be eligible for federal student aid, a student must maintain satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate.

• Simplified needs test: The basis on which only the first part of the FAFSA form is required. Asset information is not required if the parents of a dependent student have income of less than $50,000.

• Student Aid Report (SAR): Sent to students by the federal government. Summarizes financial reported on the FAFSA. Includes the expected family contribution (EFC).

• Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UMGA): Legislation that introduced a tax-effective manner of transferring property to minors without the complications of trusts or guardianship restrictions.

Lee Bierer is an independent college adviser based in Charlotte, N.C. For more information, visit www.collegeadmissionsstrategies.com.