Although adult learners (aged 25–34) have comprised over 33% of all enrolled students in US institutions of higher education, researchers have consistently found adult learners are under-supported by federal and institutional financial aid, leading these students to experience high dropout rates and low graduation rates. To better understand what adult learners understand about the process of applying for federal student aid, this study captured nationally representative survey data from 813 adult learners applying to four-year, bachelor’s degree-granting US institutions of higher education in Fall 2018. A financial aid jargon survey was written to assess what financial aid jargon terms are unfamiliar or confusing to adult learners. Results suggest some adult learners understand financial aid jargon, but many reported jargon as unfamiliar and confusing, such as Free Application for Federal Student Aid, master promissory note, entrance counseling, data retrieval tool, and non-filer’s statement. Implications for research and practice are addressed.

中文翻译：

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什么是FAFSA？对学生资助术语的成人学习者知识调查

尽管成年学习者（25-34岁）占美国高等教育机构所有在读学生的33％以上，但研究人员始终发现，成年学习者在联邦和机构资助下的支持不足，导致这些学生的辍学率很高和低毕业率。为了更好地了解成年学习者对申请联邦学生资助的过程的理解，本研究收集了来自813个成年学习者的全国代表性调查数据，这些数据于2018年秋季申请了四年制，学士学位的美国高等教育机构。行话调查旨在评估成年学习者不熟悉或困惑哪些经济资助行话。结果表明，一些成年学习者了解经济援助术语，但是许多报道称行话不熟悉且令人困惑，例如免费申请联邦学生援助，主要本票，入学辅导，数据检索工具和非申报人的陈述。解决了对研究和实践的影响。