Our Story
760 students.
One counselor.
No personalized plan.
California's counselor-to-student ratio is 1 to 760. That's not a criticism of counselors; it's an impossible situation. No single professional can build a personalized roadmap for every student.
The result: most young people make the biggest financial decision of their lives with almost no preparation.
Who We Serve
The Finance Lab serves high school and college students from underserved, underbanked communities: young people who are most often first-generation college students navigating a financial system that was never designed with them in mind. For these students, the gap between knowing and not knowing (about financial aid, investing, and how money works) is the difference between upward mobility and staying stuck. We exist to close that gap.
Why It Matters
What a student does after high school is one of the most important decisions they'll ever make. Yet many make it without a personal plan, or the tools, research, and guidance to build one they'll follow through on. Of everything we teach in high school, this decision deserves better support: so students can own it, modify it, and live it.
The research agrees: how students decide before enrollment predicts their outcomes after it (Public Agenda, 2009).
To Counselors & Educators
We're not here to replace you. We're here to extend what you can do: a tool you can put directly in students' hands, so every student gets a personalized experience regardless of caseload size.
The College Project
The book that gives every student a personalized plan.
4 parts. 19 chapters. A hands-on workbook that puts pen back on paper: plain language, diligent research, and a personalized plan each student builds for themselves. Built for California classrooms. Proceeds fund scholarships and student programming.
Find Your Fit. Afford Your Future.
Most college-prep books cover finding a fit, or paying for it. Rarely both. The College Project treats them as one decision, because they are.
Find Your Fit. Explore majors and careers, visit schools, and build a list that's actually yours.
Run the Real Numbers. Free money, net price, red flags, and the FAFSA and CSS Profile, in plain language.
Make Your Move. Applications, award letters, and student loans, so you can compare offers side by side.
Finish What You Started. A junior and senior year checklist and calendar so nothing falls through the cracks.
Along the way, students build three artifacts: a Money Map, a Running List, and a Decision Dashboard.
Built and classroom-tested by a former wealth manager turned high school teacher. Every worksheet has already been used by real students choosing real colleges.
A Look Inside · Chapter 6: Free Money
“You've probably heard that the total costs of college (tuition, fees, room, and board) have grown sharply over the past decade. Here is what fewer people hear: financial aid grew even faster. Measure what students actually pay in tuition after grant aid (the net tuition), and the trend points down.”
net tuition per year after grant aid at a public 4-year, in 2024 dollars. Down 41% from the 2012–13 peak.
Chapter 6, “Free Money”
Pre/post matched cohort · n=368 / n=99
Pre/post matched cohort · n=368 / n=99
For Educators
Bring it to your classroom.
No one can hand-build 760 personalized plans. The College Project sits in students' hands and does the personalization work that isn't possible at scale.
Course Fit
California-specific content. CA Dream Act, DACA, Cal Grant, CalKIDS. No adapting required.
Undocumented student chapters. Dedicated sections that serve every student, including those who can't file the FAFSA.
Modular design. Assign all 19 chapters or pick what fits your course. Flexible by design.
No financial institution affiliations. No bank sponsorships, no enrollment funnels. Proceeds fund scholarships and student programming.
Built-in reflection activities. "Blank Space" and interview exercises for deeper, personalized learning.
Scholarship pipeline included. Schools on the Scholarship Tier connect students directly to Finance Lab scholarships.
Ordering 25+ copies? Email us and we'll set it up.
team@thefinancelab.co →The workbook is the heart of it. When a screen helps, students working on their own can pick up the free companion app at college.thefinancelab.co, built to support them from 9th grade through graduation. Teaching a class? The same chapters run as a full unit inside The Launchpad, teacher dashboard included.
The Finance Lab Scholarship
Learn to invest by actually investing.
The plan is step one. The portfolio is step two: our $1,000 scholarship is disbursed across four milestones, not handed over all at once. Students earn each increment by demonstrating real competency.
Meet Our Current Scholars
“I first invested right when I turned 18 and one of my first investments was in the S&P 500! Start investing as early as possible!”
Real Money, Real Stakes
Not simulations. Students invest actual dollars, and that emotional weight changes everything.
Earned, Not Given
Each $250 is unlocked by demonstrating competence. Accountability a free course can't replicate.
Authentic Audience
Defending choices to real professionals transforms how seriously students approach the work.
Designed for Equity
ITIN-accessible enrollment. Built for first-generation wealth builders.
Year-Long Relationship
From spring application through first college year: ongoing mentorship, not a one-day workshop.
College Transition Support
Financial literacy meets the biggest financial moment of a young person's life.
Or email us directly: team@thefinancelab.co
Free Classroom Curriculum · Grades 11–12
The Launchpad
by The Finance Lab
Gaining velocity for life after high school.
A complete personal finance curriculum for high school classrooms, delivered as a web app and free for every teacher and student. Six units built around the decisions students actually face in 11th and 12th grade.
Ready for AB 2927
Under AB 2927, California high schools must offer a standalone personal finance course starting in 2027, and personal finance becomes a graduation requirement. The Launchpad gives your school a complete, no-cost way to meet it.
A teacher dashboard that does the reporting
Watch live, class-level outcomes and analytics as students work. All-time impact data survives roster changes, exports to CSV, and comes with standards alignment and pacing guides.
Adjustable to your classroom
Assign one module, one unit, or a full semester. Every unit stands on its own, so the course fits your bell schedule and your students.
Real Takes
Short decision activities that put a common money misconception on the table, like “Do you even have to file?” Every Real Take ships in both digital and print.
California-specific throughout
Cal Grant, CADAA, CalKIDS, and the CA Dream Act are built in, not bolted on. No adapting required.
No banks. No funnels.
No bank sponsorships and no enrollment funnels. Built by a nonprofit whose proceeds fund scholarships.
Built by a working teacher
Designed and coded by a California classroom teacher who teaches it every day and is also its sole developer. Teacher-first, not vendor-first.
The Launchpad Activity Workbook is here: a print companion that collects the quick activities, the Advisor Series, and every Real Take in one place. The Teacher's Guide is a free download: an answer key, pacing, and a run sheet for every activity.
Ordering 10 or more workbooks? Take 10% off. Email us and we'll set it up. team@thefinancelab.co
The full app: all six units, ready for your class.
A sample class with live data. No signup, no email.
Free Tools
Start here. No cost. No catch.
Every student deserves access to financial education. These tools are free and open to anyone.
Free Tool · Compounding Calculator
Real life isn't a flat monthly payment.
Contributions and risk change as your career grows. Set what each stage of life invests, and see what compounding does with it.
Why do return rates change?
When you're young with decades ahead, you can be nearly all stocks (historically about 10% per year). As you age, you shift toward bonds and stable investments for safety: lower returns, less volatility. This is how real financial planning works.
After 44 years of investing through every life stage
You contributed $529,200 · Compound growth added $1,586,160
Impact & Mission
Building a generation of first-time wealth builders.
The Finance Lab is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Your support funds scholarships, classroom programs, and the work of bringing real financial education to students from underserved communities.
The Finance Lab · 501(c)(3) Nonprofit · EIN: 82-5305120 · team@thefinancelab.co