Class of 2000 — Student loans

Article: Class of 2000 — Student loans (PDF)

Objectives

• To plan financially for postsecondary education.

Classroom instructions

1. Survey the class to find out how many plan to go to university or college. Ask how they plan to finance their education.
2. In a spreadsheet, have the students identify categories of expenses for their first year of university or college. For each category, have the students estimate their expenses for an eight-month study period. Many universities and colleges have Web sites showing tuition fees, residence costs and meal plans. Newspapers or real estate listings may show the cost of apartments or houses for rent.
3. Have the students estimate the resources they have available to pay for their education such as part-time jobs, savings, support from their family. Itemize the sources of income and other resources in another part of the spreadsheet. Calculate the differences between educational expenses and the resources available to spend on education.
4. The Canada Student Loans program and provincial student loans programs may provide loans and grants for students in need. Check out the National Student Loans Service Centre Web site to find out the terms and conditions for eligibility for student loans.
5. Discuss the impact that education expenses may have on students and their families if students continue their studies at university or college.

Using other resources

• Check out the Statistics Canada Website to find lesson plans, articles and data for elementary and secondary schools. There are more than 150 lesson plans for high school classes, many articles, E-STAT access and other data.
• See the Family studies kit for detailed graphs that you can use to make overheads for your class.

Please e-mail comments or examples of how you used this exercise in your class.