Lesson
FAFSA
Summary
Billions in free college aid go unclaimed every year over a 12-minute form. This lesson demystifies the FAFSA and helps students build a realistic plan to fund education beyond high school.
Bellringer: The 12-Minute $4,000
- Pose the free-money scenario and ask how much time students would sacrifice.
- Surface why so many people skip the FAFSA despite the payoff.
Instruction
- Define FAFSA and the aid it unlocks across grants, work-study, and loans.
- Bust the five common myths in rapid succession.
- Walk the FAFSA website screenshot, emphasizing the 12-minute estimate.
Discussion: Ranking What Matters
- Students privately rank GPA, test scores, deadlines, area of study, and cost.
- Cold-call the list; students defend or brainstorm why each item matters.
- Stress that missed deadlines can't be recovered.
Activity: Paying for College
- Launch the Paying for College activity using each student's COA from earlier.
- Circulate to help students apply gift aid, savings, and job income.
Wrap-Up & Assessment
- What does FAFSA stand for?
- How long is it going to take you to fill out your FAFSA application?
| Est. Time | Activity | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 7 min | Bellringer: The 12-Minute $4,000 |
|
| 10 min | Instruction |
|
| 10 min | Discussion: Ranking What Matters |
|
| 13 min | Activity: Paying for College |
|
| 5 min | Wrap-Up & Assessment |
|
Lesson Prep
Paying for College
Students navigate the FAFSA, grants, scholarships, and student loans.
Paying for College Pretest
Assess student knowledge before the Paying for College unit.
Class Presentation
Includes a 13-slide deck with teacher notes. Present from Banzai, download a PDF, or copy it to Google Slides.
Presentations, Ready to Go
- Built-in PresentationPresent full screen, straight from Banzai
- Copy to Google SlidesMake an editable copy for your class
- Download or PrintSave as a PDF or print
- Teacher NotesSlide-by-slide guidance, printable as one handout
Unit 3: Post-Secondary Pathways & Funding
Admissions & Campus Research
A shiny campus website is basically a highlight reel. It won't tell you the real graduation rate or what students actually pay after aid. This lesson pushes students past brochures into hard data, then has them launch real fieldwork outreach.
FAFSA
Billions in free college aid go unclaimed every year over a 12-minute form. This lesson demystifies the FAFSA and helps students build a realistic plan to fund education beyond high school.
Work-Study & Student Employment
Work-study isn't a tuition discount—it's permission to earn an hourly paycheck while the government foots part of the bill. This lesson explores the Federal Work-Study program and weighs the trade-offs of working on campus versus off.
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