Two Schools, One Major, Two Very Different Numbers
Session 10 handed students two real financial aid award letters for the same major at two different schools, with the tuition sticker price already circled. The assignment: figure out which school actually costs less, once grants, loans, and work-study got subtracted out correctly. For most students, the school with the higher sticker price ended up costing less in practice.
"I would have picked based on which name I recognized. The letter told a completely different story."
Reading Past the Total
The trap in an award letter is the single "total aid" number at the top, which blends grants that never get repaid with loans that do, with interest. Students learned to separate the two first, then compare what's actually left to pay out of pocket or borrow, school by school.
Cost of Attendance, Not Just Tuition
Housing, food, books, and transportation belong in the real number too, and they're exactly the costs that make a "cheaper" school expensive once you're actually living away from home. Students recalculated both schools using full cost of attendance instead of tuition alone, and the gap between the two schools changed again.
What's Next
Session 11 turns to long-term wealth: Roth IRA versus 401(k), and the real math on why starting at 18 beats starting at 28.