I Can Afford College

(created by Ms. Devi, Ms Xuncax, and Mr. Narasimhan)

In this lesson, students will learn mathematics skills to evaluate student loan offers and financially plan their college education.


I. INTRODUCTION: (10 minutes)

Start conversation with students about where they want to go to college. Have them pick a few schools and do research on the tuition and fees for those places. Have them fill out some tables in a worksheet.


II. REVIEW FINANCIAL DOCUMENTS

Give them a typical financial award packet and have them dive into it and underline what they think is important and what they don't understand. Teacher can note where they seem to be most interested. After a few minutes, give them a list of vocabulary words to go find in the documents, and have them read those sections and fill out a vocabulary list.

Examples of vocabulary list: Promissory Note, Grants, Loans, Work-Study, Subsidized v. Unsubsidized, Late Charges,


III. THE MATH OF LOANS

-Using Cumulutative Indebtedness Loan Repayment Schedule

- Teach them about exponential growth using that P (1+r/t)^N
- Set up spreadsheets for them to change different numbers in the repayment plan to see how much more money that ends up costing them.
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IV. DISCUSSION

- What if you don't pay on time?
- Principal and the Interest (exponential growth, optimal payment plans, calculating times of repayment)
- VOlunteer Cancellation Service and Teaching awards

Questions: How much money do you need to repay for this particular Financial Award. Would this financial award work for your different colleges? If not, what other sources could you look at?