PROJECT: College Financial Planning for Janella

My Group Members:

TO DO:

 Move back into your financial planning groups.

 Use the organization chart provided to summarize your college research and recommendations for Janella.

 During the next session, you and your group will present your college recommendation for Janella to the cohort. PLAN and ORGANIZE how you will present to the group: You may choose to make a poster, PowerPoint, or just prepare to talk through your research and recommendations without a visual aid.

Gather with your group to review Janella’s prospective college choices. Take into consideration what you’ve learned about credit, student loan debt and ROIs, and answer the following questions:

1. What were the primary reasons for selecting the two colleges your group researched for Janella?

2. What major and/or career is Janella considering?

3. How much can she expect to make in her first year of employment after earning her degree?

Use PayScale’s research to identify the starting salary for a college graduate with the degree your group has identified. Be sure to review starting (not average) salary and location due to varying costs of living. The PayScale webpage is found at: https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Degree

4. How much student loan debt is Janella expecting to take to help finance four years of college?

Based on her starting salary, what amount of student loan debt is reasonable for Janella, if she follows the rule of thumb that her student loan payments should not exceed 10% of her take home pay?

You may use Nerdwallet to look up salaries and calculate her monthly payments. https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/loans/student-loans/is-college-worth-it/

5. Compare the ROI for each of the colleges that Janella is considering. Which provides a better ROI for Janella’s education?

https://www.payscale.com/college-roi

6. Given the estimated cost for Janella to attend either school, which would you recommend she attend? Why?

How do you recommend she finance her education?

Are there additional opportunities for scholarships based on a change in her standardized test scores, major, etc.?