Lesson Plan: Paying for School

Overview 

Paying for school is an important subject that requires a proactive approach, since so much is left up to the individual student. By understanding student loans, grants, awards and scholarships, students can get ahead of the game in financing their education.

Goals

• Help students understand the different ways to pay for their higher education

• Help students prioritize different sources of school funding

• Break down the basics of federal and private student loans

Objectives

• Explore three categories of tuition funding—free money, your money and borrowed money

• Identify the main sources of funding for higher education: grants, awards, scholarships and student loans

• Learn the ways in which proactive, informed decisions can help students to save on tuition

Assessments

Activities A and B can be used to gauge student understanding. An optional quiz has been provided with this lesson plan (the quiz is not factored into the lesson’s 45-minute runtime).

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lesson plan activity a activity b quiz