NGPF Activity Bank

Paying for College

INTERACTIVE: How Much Will Your College Actually Cost?

Interactive: TuitionTracker

Before deciding on a college , it is important to research the sticker price compared to the net price of
attendance. This interactive allows you to calculate how much your college will actually cost.

1. What is the difference between “sticker price” and “net price” for college?
The sticker price is what colleges advertise and the net price is the full amount that you actually have to pay.
The sticker cost includes everything including the cost of a dorm and more.

2. Choose five colleges to research - one large public college, one small public college, two private colleges, and
one ivy league. Complete this spreadsheet using information from the interactive.

3. Create a multi-line graph comparing the annual net price of the five universities you are researching. If you need
help creating the graph, follow the directions below.
a. Highlight cells B1:G6
b. Select INSERT, CHART
c. Change the CHART TYPE to a line graph (use the Chart Editor on the right-hand side)
d. Check the SWITCH COLUMNS/ROWS (if needed)
e. If preferred, customize your chart
f. Click on the title in the graph and change it to better fit the data presented
g. Move your graph so you can view both the graph and data

4. If your annual household income is between $48,000 and $75,000, which college would be the most affordable
option?
The large public college.

5. If your annual household income is above $110,000, which college would be the most affordable option?
For some reason it is a small public college.

www.ngpf.org Last updated: 9/28/20

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 6. If your annual household income is $48,000 -$75,000, what percentage of the sticker price are you actually
paying?

College Type Percentage of sticker price

you are actually paying

Large Public College 49%

Small Public College 47%

Private College #1 3%

Private College #2 n/a

Ivy League 44%

It said that it was the same but it seems like I did it wrong.
7. If your annual net income is above $110,000, what percentage of the sticker price are you actually paying?

College Type Percentage of sticker price

you are actually paying

Large Public College 49%

Small Public College 47%

Private College #1 3%

Private College #2 n/a

Ivy League 44%

8. What are some misconceptions YOU had about the sticker price of a college? Do you think these are common
misconceptions of most consumers? Did this comparison debunk those misconceptions?
I thought that in general private college was just unreachable. But when I did all the work I found out that the
percentage of a sticker price that you would actually pay in a private college was only 3%. That means that if
you budget your money you could maybe reduce the cost enough for the amount to be the same as a public
college.

www.ngpf.org Last updated: 9/28/20

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