The narrative of the American Dream is the belief that anyone, regardless of where they were born, what class they were born into, what one's gender is, can attain their own version of success in American society, where upward mobility is possible for everyone. Meritocracy is the core idea of the American Dream, emphasizing that success is achieved through hard work, rather than by chance.

Buy-now-pay-later services allow consumers to make purchases and pay for them in a predetermined number of interest-free instalments. Unlike credit cards, these services do not require the examination of your income and existing debts to determine whether you will be able to meet your repayments on the money they are lending you.
Users are charged late fees if they miss a payment, and are charged higher fees to use the service in the future if repayments are not being paid on time.

An 'open-book examination' is an assessment method designed to allow students to refer to approved material during the examination. This includes, but are not limited to, class handouts, written notes, summaries, or textbooks while answering questions under controlled conditions.