STUDENT ENGAGEMENT:

When in the market for a high ticket item, most people spend time comparison shopping. It can be a pain, but ultimately it’s worth it to get that thing you need at a deeper discount than you might have found at the first outlet you visited. A college education should be no different. Sure, the costs are usually much higher, but the principal is the same. Students are buying a thing. It only makes sense to do the work to find the most competitive price for the degree they are seeking.
 

Of course, comparison shopping for a college education is much different. To truly understand the costs of going to college, it is important to understand the idea of “net price.” The “net price” of college is a simple equation: cost of attendance - federal and state financial aid = “net price.” “Net price” is the amount of money that a student will have to cover by either, 1. tapping into savings or 2. seeking out scholarships.
 

Ask the students if they can remember the four parts that make up cost of attendance (tuition, room and board, books and miscellaneous expenses). Then, ask if they can think of any forms of federal or state financial aid. The most likely won’t be able to think of any. The main form of federal financial aid is called the “Pell Grant.”
 

Students can receive anywhere from zero to $7,395 in Pell Grant aid. As its name suggests, this aid is in the form of a “grant.” This means that this money does NOT have to be repaid at any time.
 

The main form of state financial aid is the 21st Century Scholarship. This scholarship (which functions more as a grant) also does not need to be repaid. Students who are 21st Century Scholars receive full tuition to a public college in Indiana. 21st Century Scholars who attend a private college receive a smaller award of $8,950.
 

 

DIGGING IN:

Students will be doing the work to identify the net price of their top college choice. To begin, though, walk the class through two examples: one public college and one private with a simple slide show that can be found here: intoolkit.com/netprice . As you’re walking through the process, stop and ask the students if they can name the components that make up “Cost of Attendance.” Next, remind students that a Pell Grant is federal aid and the 21st Century Scholars program is state aid. There is no way of knowing how much Pell Grant someone might receive before doing a FAFSA, so any amounts presented are for practice purposes.
 

If students were listening carefully, they CAN identify how much the 21st Century Scholarship will be worth. Remind students that the 21st Century Scholars program pays full tuition to a public college in Indiana. In this example, the 21st Century Scholarship would be $10,130.
 

Demonstrate subtracting federal/state aid amounts from the Cost of Attendance to calculate Net Price.
 

Next do the same with the Private Indiana College example. This time, students should also know the value of the 21st Century Scholarship even though it is different. The 21st Century Scholarship pays $8,950 for students attending a private institution.

This time, ask students to do the calculation independently and offer their solutions. The correct net price in this example is $33,215. Compare these two and ask students which they think is the best college based solely on financial fit, and how they came to that solution. Explain that there is still a big gap even after subtracting financial aid. Ask student think that college students cover these amounts.
 

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INTO ACTION:

After completing the two examples, give each student a copy of the “Calculating Net Price” handout. Here, students are going to work through the process of calculating Cost of Attendance, determining state and federal aid and subtracting to determine the net price of their college experiences. Keep in mind that the Pell Grant amounts listed here are maximums and only represent hypothetical examples. Students should pay close attention to whether their first and second choice colleges and universities are public or private to determine the correct amount for the 21st Century Scholarship.
 

As students are completing their Net Price forms, remind them that their net price represents an amount of money that they would have to provide on their own to pay for college. Many colleges and universities have scholarship programs to help students cover these types of expenses. Ask students to search for scholarship for which they may qualify on the college websites to explore how to cover these expenses.