Which College Do I Choose?

DAY 1

  1. You will use to calculate your EFC (estimated family contribution) for college.
  2. After going to the web site, click Calculators; then, scroll down the page and click Quick EFC calculator under Needs Analysis.
  3. Enter the following information in the calculator (choose any one of the numbers in each section):
  4. Age of Older Parent – 45, 40, or 55
  5. Number in Family – 4, 3, or 6
  6. Number of Children in College – 1 or 2
  7. Student Income – 0, 2000, or 4500
  8. Student Assets (Business/Farm) – 0 or 20000
  9. Student Assets (Other) – 3000, 5000, 8000
  10. Parent Income – 20000, 60000, 75000
  11. Parent Assets (Business/Farm) – 0, 30000, 100000
  12. Parent Assets (Other) – 0, 30000, 200000
  13. Click Calculate, and record the EFC. Also, note whether you would be likely to get a Pell Grant.
  14. Begin to research colleges that you may like to attend. Remember that college web sites end in .edu rather than .com.
  15. You must research 1 two-year community college in-state, 1 four-year public university in-state, and 1 private four-year in-state university.
  16. Find the cost of attendance for each college/university. Cost must include everything: tuition, fees, books, room/board, meals, transportation, etc.

DAY 2

  1. Continue to research colleges.
  2. Begin to create a presentation to share your cost-EFC comparison with other students.

1.What to include in your presentation:

  1. Title Slide (be creative)
  2. 1 slide for each of 3 colleges/universities
  3. Title will be college/university name
  4. Picture of college/university
  5. Bulleted list of all cost items and total cost of attendance
  6. EFC
  7. Cost after EFC deduction (Amount that may be awarded in the form of grants, loans, scholarships, work-study, etc.)
  8. Conclusion Slide – Compare the total costs, EFC, and amount to be awarded in some form other than EFC. Indicate the best option for you using a formatting option such as Bold, Different Font Color, etc.
  9. Format slides with background colors and fonts that enhance its appearance.
  10. Format bulleted lists to be presented one at a time.
  11. Format costs appropriately – dollar sign for the first item in a list and the last item, and commas for items in that are at least 1,000.

DAY 3

Complete your presentation according to the elements from Day 2.

DAY 4

Presentations will be given to peers.