Lesson plan · Money After High School · Lesson 8
College Costs and Scholarships
Sticker price vs. net price, the FAFSA, grants, and scholarships.
- 45 minutes
- Grades 9–12
- Beginner
- Activity: pairs
Objectives
Students will be able to:
- Distinguish sticker price from net price
- Explain what the FAFSA does and the difference between grants and loans
- Spot scholarship scams
Materials
- Slide deck and a projector
- Worksheet (one per student)
- Exit ticket slips (bottom of the worksheet)
Standards
- National Standards for Personal Financial Education (2021)
- Earning IncomeSpending
- Texas TEKS §113.76 Personal Financial Literacy and Economics
- (3) The student recognizes the costs and benefits of various types of postsecondary education and training throughout the student's lifetime.
Topic-level alignment by FLC. How we map standards
Key vocabulary
- Cost of attendance
- The full yearly cost: tuition and fees, housing, food, books, transportation, and personal expenses.
Background reading
The official sources this lesson is based on.
- FAFSA Application (opens in a new tab) · studentaid.gov
- Federal Grants for College or Career/Trade School (opens in a new tab) · studentaid.gov
- Finding and Applying for Scholarships (opens in a new tab) · studentaid.gov
- College Scorecard (opens in a new tab) · collegescorecard.ed.gov
45-minute agenda
0–5 min
Warm-up
Post: “School A costs $55,000 a year and School B costs $25,000. Which is cheaper? What would you need to know first?”
Teacher note: Sticker price isn't what you pay. You need each school's net price after grants and scholarships.
5–15 min
Direct instruction
Present the lesson slides. Make sure students leave with these points:
- Net price = cost of attendance − grants − scholarships.
- Use every college's net price calculator.
- The FAFSA is free and unlocks most aid.
- Never pay to get a scholarship.
- Dual credit and community college can save a lot.
Use the “See it” slide (Sticker price vs. net price) to make the idea visual.
15–20 min
Worked example
Walk through “The "expensive" school that cost less” on the slides. Pause before the result and ask students to predict it.
20–32 min
Net Price Showdown
Format: pairs · 12 minutes
- Two made-up award letters. School A: cost of attendance $55,000; grants and scholarships $38,000; federal loans offered $5,500. School B: cost of attendance $25,000; grants $4,000; federal loans offered $5,500.
- Pairs calculate each school's net price (without counting loans).
- Pairs circle anything in the letters that must be repaid.
- Pairs decide which school is actually cheaper and what else they'd consider.
What to look for: School A net price: $17,000. School B: $21,000. The “expensive” school costs less. Loans are not free money — they must be repaid.
32–37 min
Check for understanding
Use the question slides — or run them as a Four Corners game. Questions:
- What's your net price?
- Which type of aid must be repaid?
- What should you do?
37–42 min
Discussion
- What should matter more when choosing a college: net price or reputation? Why?
- Why do you think many families never use net price calculators?
42–45 min
Exit ticket
Prompt: What's the difference between a grant and a loan?
Differentiation
Common misconception
“Expensive private colleges are always out of reach.” Generous aid can make their net price lower than a cheaper school's.
Support
Provide a net-price formula card and a highlighter for loan lines.
Extension
Use a real college's net price calculator for a made-up family profile and report the result.
Homework or make-up work
Students can complete the full interactive lesson — including its knowledge check — at learnwithflc.org/courses/money-after-high-school/college-costs. No account needed; progress saves on their device.