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6/5 FA 9.7 Financial Aid Packages

By Jennifer Pariseau
Last updated over 1 year ago
28 Questions
Note from the author:

OBJECTIVES & STANDARDS

Math Objectives
  • Analyze data using a box plot
Common Core Math Standards
  • Link to all CCSS Math
  • CCSS.HSS.ID.A.2
  • CCSS.HSS.ID.A.3
Personal Finance Objectives
  • Differentiate between sticker and net price of college
  • Explain how the FAFSA, student aid report (SAR) and a financial aid package are connected
  • Read multiple financial aid offers and understand what types of aid are being offered
  • Accept, adjust, or decline offers of student aid to best meet their financial needs
National Standards for Personal Financial Education
Managing Credit
  • 4a: Describe the different sources of funding for postsecondary education

DISTRIBUTION & PLANNING

Distribute to students
  • Student Activity Packet

OBJECTIVES & STANDARDS

Math Objectives
  • Analyze data using a box plot
Common Core Math Standards
  • Link to all CCSS Math
  • CCSS.HSS.ID.A.2
  • CCSS.HSS.ID.A.3
Personal Finance Objectives
  • Differentiate between sticker and net price of college
  • Explain how the FAFSA, student aid report (SAR) and a financial aid package are connected
  • Read multiple financial aid offers and understand what types of aid are being offered
  • Accept, adjust, or decline offers of student aid to best meet their financial needs
National Standards for Personal Financial Education
Managing Credit
  • 4a: Describe the different sources of funding for postsecondary education

DISTRIBUTION & PLANNING

Distribute to students
  • Student Activity Packet
Intro
MOVE: The Net Price of College
SUMMARY
The objective of this activity is to expose students to the net cost and sticker cost of various well-known colleges and universities across the country. Students try to match each college with their price and line up in order.
1.

What is meant by sticker price?

2.

What is meant by net price?

VIDEO: How to Read Your Financial Aid Offer

After FAFSA completion, you’ll receive your Student Aid Report detailing how much federal aid you’re likely to receive. As you just saw, the net price at a given college can be thousands or tens of thousands of dollars cheaper than its sticker price. But how does each individual applicant know how much they would pay if they choose this specific school? The financial aid offer, of course!
3.

On a financial aid offer, is the cost of attendance similar to the sticker price or the net price?

4.

Kiki was accepted into four different colleges and received four different financial aid packages as a result. She’s thinking to herself: I already know what’s on my Student Aid Report (SAR), so how different could each of these packages be? List some problems with Kiki’s logic.

Practice It!

ACTIVITY: FINE PRINT: Financial Aid Package

Now that you know the key sections of a financial aid offer, try reading one on your own.


5.

After reviewing Financial Aid Offer #1, what question should you ask the financial aid representative regarding important information that is not available in the offer?
a. What calendar year is this financial aid offer for?
b. What is the school’s cost of attendance?
c. How much will I receive in college grants?
d. How do I accept or decline this aid offer?

6.

How much annual aid are you being offered in Offer #1 that you do not have to pay back or earn through work?
a. $73,332 (Federal Loans + Work Study + Grant + Family Financing Option)
b. $44,562 (Family Financing Option)
c. $25,770 (Federal Loans + Grant)
d. $20,270 (Grant)

7.

Financial Aid Offer #1 includes a “Family Financing Option”? Which statement best describes this type of aid?
a. This option is gift aid and does not need to be repaid.
b. It is a reflection of options available to finance the remaining cost of attendance.
c. It is a loan available through the federal government which requires a family member to cosign.
d. It is a type of scholarship available to students who have another family member also attending the university.

8.

What is the estimated annual Cost of Attendance in Offer Letter #2?
A. $28,013
B. $15,888
C. $14,007
D. $12,125

9.

How much annual aid are you being offered in Offer #2 that you do not have to pay back?
A. $23,368
B. $15,946
C. $7,422
D. $4,645

10.

In Financial Aid Offer #2, which of the financial aid package options would be reduced by fees (deducted from each loan distribution)?
A. UW Engineering Alumni Fund
B. UW Madison Grant
C. Federal Pell Grant
D. Direct Subsidized Federal Loan

11.

Fill in the blanks of this sentence: The __________________ minus financial aid awarded equals ____________________.
A. cost of attendance; sticker price
B. scholarship; net price
C. cost of attendance; net price
D. net price; sticker price

12.

Assume that the college in Offer #1 has a cost of attendance of $73,332. What would be the "net price" for the college?
A. $53,062
B. $44,562
C. $28,770
D. $0

13.

Assume that the college in Offer #1 has a Cost of Attendance of $73,332. Which of the statements below comparing Offer #1 to Offer #2 is TRUE?
A. College #1 has a lower “cost of attendance” than College #2
B. College #1 has a lower “net price” than College #2
C. College #1 has a higher “net price” than College #2
D. Both College #1 and College #2 have the same “net price”

14.

Which sentence is TRUE?
A. You must accept ALL the aid in a financial aid offer.
B. All of the aid listed in Offer #2 is free, meaning it does not need to be paid back.
C. All universities use the same format for their financial aid offer.
D. You can choose to accept some of the aid listed in the financial aid offer and decline some aid.

15.

Part II: What Did You Learn?
Use what you learned from analyzing the financial aid package to answer this question.
What information is listed in a Financial Aid Offer? Which letter format did you find easier to understand - Offer #1 or Offer #2? Why?

ARTICLE: Accepting Financial Aid

Remember: Just because your Financial Aid Package includes student loans doesn't mean you have to accept them in their entirety (or at all, if you don’t need them). You can decline other forms of aid, too, if you choose. Read this article, starting at the section titled “Deciding Which Loans to Accept” and continuing through the end, in order to answer the questions that follow.
16.

Kiki’s pretty happy with 2 of the 4 financial aid packages she is offered and will choose between those 2 schools. Once she makes up her mind, what does she need to do?

17.

Why is a promissory note a particularly important document?

18.

At the school of her choice, Kiki’s financial aid letter includes $4,000 of unsubsidized federal loans for the year, but she’s been saving money since she was in middle school and only thinks she’ll need about $1,000 in loans during that first year. She’s thinking, “Eh, I’ll still just the full loan amount in case other expenses come up.” Do you think she’s making a good choice? Why or why not?

Math Connection: Box Plots

GRAPH: Comparing Net Prices

Once you have your financial aid offer, you’ll be able to tell how the price you will pay to attend the college compares to the college’s published sticker price.
The graphs below show the net price distributions for two different groups of colleges – one group that’s sticker price is between $30,000-$39,999 (181 institutions) and one group that’s sticker price is between $70,000-$79,999 (118 institutions). Use the graphs to answer the following questions.

19.
For colleges with a sticker price between $30,000 and $40,000, what is the median net price of attendance?_______
20.
Using the average ($75,000) as the sticker price for the bottom graph, how much financial aid does the median student receive at a college with a sticker price between $70,000 and $80,000?_______
21.
For colleges with a sticker price between $70,000 and $80,000, what percent of students pay less than $40,000 to attend?_______
22.

Which group of colleges has the larger interquartile range?

23.

True, false, or uncertain: The mean net price is higher than the median net price for colleges with a sticker price between $70,000 and $80,000.

24.

After looking at the box plots, Demetri concludes, "The median net price is way cheaper for a school with a sticker price between $30,000 and $40,000 rather than $70,000 and $80,000. So I'm definitely going to go to a 30-40k school because it will save me at least $10,000 per year!" Is Demetri correct? Why or why not?"

25.

Which set of colleges offers more financial aid? Explain your thinking.

Exit Ticket
26.

Which statement best represents the relationship between sticker and net prices of colleges?
  1. The sticker price and net price are typically the same
  2. The sticker price is typically lower than the net price
  3. The sticker price is typically hundreds of dollars higher than the net price
  4. The sticker price is typically thousands of dollars higher than the net price

27.

Steph has completed the FAFSA and applied to 11 colleges. He should expect to receive…
  1. ONE student aid report and ONE financial aid offer
  2. ONE student aid report and up to ELEVEN financial aid offers
  3. Up to ELEVEN student aid reports and ONE financial aid offer
  4. ELEVEN student aid reports and ELEVEN financial aid offers

28.

What’s the best advice regarding promissory notes?
  1. Sign your promissory note after you receive your diploma
  2. Sign as many promissory notes as you can to make college more affordable through grants and scholarships
  3. Sign one promissory note for each college that offers you financial aid
  4. Sign a promissory note only after you know which college you’ll attend and how much you want in loans