Name ______

This booklet will help guide you through some of the big decisions you will be making in the next few years as you plan for your postsecondary education. In this booklet, college is defined as any post-secondary educational institution or accredited program (after high school completion) including: technical, vocational, community college, 4-year colleges and universities and beyond.

Part 1: Occupational Goal

  1. Describe your occupational goals below. Not sure? Go to Appendix A to explore occupations.
  1. Will this occupation provide you with enough money to buy the things you need and want? Not sure? Go to Appendix B to take a Reality Check.

Part 2: Program of Study

  1. What type of postsecondary education is needed to achieve your occupational goal? Use the Texas Workforce or Big Future tool below to explore your options.
  2. Go to:
  3. Choose: Occupational Info
  4. Type in your occupation and click Career Search
  5. Click on your occupation from the generated list
  6. Click on the Training tab to see education/training required and programs of study.
  7. (Alternative) Go to:

Degree(s) or Certification(s) ______

Program of Study ______

Record below why you choose this program of study and how it will affect your long term plan?

  1. What factors affect the cost of college?
  1. What can a student do to minimize each of these factors?

Part 3: Type of Postsecondary College

  1. Go to
  2. Find and compare colleges based on the criteria that is important to you: Programs/Degrees, Location of College, Size of College, Name of College, Public or Private, Type of CollegeSTOP. Your teacher will model how to best use this tool.
  3. Choose a school, then use the tools on the right to investigate types of financial aid offered at the college and to calculate your aid. Repeat this process for at least 3 colleges of your choosing. Use the space below to record your top choices, the average annual cost for the college, the forecasted aid you could receive and why this college meets your criteria.

Part 4: The Cost of a College Education

Notice of Privacy

This next activity is designed to show how to estimate the cost of college and devise a savings plan. You will not be asked to enter any personal information during this activity.

  1. Understand Types of Aid

Grants and scholarshipsare often called “gift aid” because they are free money—financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid. Grants are often need-based, while scholarships are usually merit-based. [Source:

Loan is borrowed money for college or career school; you must repay your loans, with interest. [Source:

Work study is a work program through which you earn money to help you pay for school. [Source:

During your senior year, complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid by going to . The office of Federal Student Aid provides grants, loans, and work-study funds for college or career school. A few weeks after completing the FAFSA, you’ll receive your Student Aid Report. This report includes your Expected Family Contribution. This is how much the government believes you and your family should contribute toward your education.

  1. Calculate the cost of college

You will use the fictional character below to practice calculating the cost of college.

Johnny lives in Alvin, Texas and is a senior at Alvin High School. He plans to get a Bachelor’s degree at the University of Houston. To better plan for college, he would like to know the following.

  • What is the cost to attend 4 years at University of Houston?
  • What is the cost to attend Alvin Community College for the first 2 years of college then transfer to the University of Houston?
  • Is it more affordable to live at home, on campus or off campus?

Help Johnny examine his options by following the steps below.

  1. Go to
  2. Click on Students.
  3. Select State's Net Price Calculator (NPC) on the right column by clicking on the Calculate option.
  4. Read the Disclaimer then select I agree.
  5. Answer questions 1-14 using Johnny’s personal information below.
  6. Select at least one school you may attend:
  7. University of Houston
  8. Alvin Community College (In-district tuition - yes)
  9. For each school above, where will you live?
  10. On campus
  11. Live at home
  12. What is your age?18
  13. Are you married? no
  14. Do you have eligible dependents? no
  15. Are you a U.S. citizen (or eligible non-citizen) and a resident of the state of Texas? Yes
  16. What is your parents' marital status?Single, Divorced, Separated, or Widowed - Single
  17. What was your parents' income in 20__ (use previous year)? $38,000
  18. Was your parents' income (from the previous question) earned by one or two parents? One Parent
  19. How much did your parents pay in income taxes in 20__(or previous year)? $935
  20. What was your income in 20__ (use previous year)? $1700
  21. How much did you pay in income taxes in 2012: $0
  22. Including yourself and your parents, how many people will be considered part of your parents' household for 20__-20__ (use upcoming school year)? 4
  23. Excluding your parents, how many people in your parents' household will be in college during 20__-20__ (use upcoming school year)? 1
  1. Click on Submit.
  2. What is the total cost for each option?

University of Houston ______

Alvin Community College ______

  1. What is the estimated net cost for each option?

University of Houston ______

Alvin Community College ______

  1. What would be the most affordable option for Johnny?

  1. Devise a Periodic Savings Plan

  1. What are ways a high school student can start saving for college?
  1. What tradeoffs can you make to save additional money?
  1. How much will you save each month?
  1. What are safe avenues for saving money that will also earn money?
  1. Once you start college, what can you do to continue earning/saving money? Will you use this money to pay for current expenses or to save for the upcoming semester?

*Save early and save often. The more you save now, the more you will have for your long term goals.

  1. Plan with Your Parents

Savings accounts are not the only avenue for saving for college. Explore the websites below with your parents to find other opportunities to save and pay for college.

  1. Learnwhat you can do now to prepare for college. Learn the tax advantages of saving and find a link to a clearinghouse of state college savingsplans.
  1. Use the FAFSA4caster to estimate your eligibility for financial assistance.
  1. Learn what financial aid is available.
  1. Learn how to find a college, pay for college, and make a plan at bigfuture by The College Board.
  1. Learn about saving for college and understand the WHY to save, WHEN to save, and HOW to save for college. –
  1. Read about other ways to pay for college as well as how to plan for college -

Appendix A: Investigate Occupations

Investigate occupations in Texas:

Go to to explore careers in Texas.

  • To investigate by interest, choose Self Assessment
  • If you know a general area of your occupation, choose Career Cluster

Investigate fastest-growing occupations in Texas:

  • Go to
  • Click on State Information
  • Click on State Profile
  • Choose Texas
  • In the SEARCH option for occupation rankings in Texas, choose Fastest-growing occupations.
  • For average worker education level, choose Overall.

Investigate occupations nationwide:

  • Occupational Outlook Handbook (US Bureau ofLabor and Statistics)-
  • Exploring Career Information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics -

Record below occupation(s) that you would like to pursue. Then list the type of postsecondary education required, the median annual salary, the projected growth rate and the projected demand for the occupation in 10 years, physical demand, mental demand and any other factors that are important to you.

Appendix B: Cost of Living

  1. Go to choose Occupation Direct.
  2. Choose an occupation.
  3. Record your results under Occupation 1 in the table on the next page.
  4. Click on the arrow (How much can you purchase with this Monthly Income?).
  5. Choose where you would like to live after graduation.
  6. Then choose your expenses (savings, housing, utilities, food, transportation, clothing, health care, personal, entertainment, miscellaneous, student loan debt).
  7. Determine if this occupation will provide for all of your expenses. Record the answer (yes or no) in the space on the table below.
  8. Go back to repeat the above steps for Occupation 2.

Occupation / Occupation 1: / Occupation 2:
Annual Salary
(Income earned each year)
Taxes
(Federal income taxes based on annual salary)
Remaining Annual Income
(Annual salary, decreased by taxes)
Monthly Income
(Remaining Annual Income divided by 12 months)
Will this occupation provide for all of my expenses?

What was the most important thing you learned by using this tool?

What surprises, if any, did you encounter by using this tool?

1