For Teachers, Counselors & Families
One project. Pick your format.
The College Project teaches one decision: finding a college that fits and knowing you can afford it before you commit. Every format below teaches that same project with the same data and the same voice. They differ in one thing: how much time you have. One class period, a few weeks, or a full quarter or semester.
Under AB 2927, California high schools must offer a standalone personal finance course starting in 2027, and personal finance becomes a graduation requirement. The college decision is where those lessons carry the most money: real prices, real aid, real debt, decided in senior year. Every resource on this page is free and exists to help your students make that decision with real numbers. See the AB 2927 crosswalk →
One class period
A single seminar, a sub day, an assembly follow-up, or a warm-up inside another course.
The One Hour
A condensed 60-minute version of the project's core moves, on paper. No devices needed.
Time: one class period · Tech: none
For students
Real Takes
Three 10-to-12-minute interactives, each with a matching print version: Sticker Price vs. Real Price (net-price myth-buster), FAFSA: Myth or Must (sort beliefs, leave with a checklist), and The Three Piles (decode award letters: free, earned, borrowed).
Time: one class period or less · Tech: laptops, or the print versions
For teachers
A few weeks
The college decision taught inside a personal finance course, with a live dashboard showing you what your class actually understands.
The Launchpad College Project Unit
Nine interactive modules (about 20 to 25 minutes each) with live net-price and outcomes data, reflection checks, and shareable cards. Part of The Launchpad, the full personal finance curriculum by The Finance Lab.
Time: about three weeks of class periods · Tech: student laptops
For students
For teachers
A quarter or a semester
A dedicated college unit in AVID, advisory, economics, or English. Everything on paper, with an optional digital companion.
The Workbook + Teacher's Guide
A 202-page hands-on workbook (The College Project, 5th edition): students build a Money Map, a Running List, a Decision Dashboard, and leave with My Plan. The Teacher's Guide adds 9-week and 18-week pacing, chapter-by-chapter lesson flows, and a grading rubric.
Time: a quarter or a semester · Tech: none
Using the book and The Launchpad together
The workbook and the Launchpad unit teach the same project. The book is the most complete version: students write in it, keep it, and leave with a plan in their own handwriting. The Launchpad unit is the digital version: live net-price and outcomes data, and a teacher dashboard that shows you where each student is.
Classrooms run them separately or together: the workbook as the spine with the Launchpad's live data on laptop days, or the Launchpad unit as the course with the book for students who want to go deeper. If you only want a digital version of this project, open just the College Project unit in The Launchpad for your students.
For families
Grade-by-grade parent calendars: what is happening this year and every real deadline. Print the PDF for the fridge, or tap the calendar file on a phone to import every date with reminders built in.
The student deadline calendar, the interactive College Roadmap, and the Family Letter (English and Spanish) live on the family resources page.
If you have…
What's covered where
The formats mix well. Many classrooms run the workbook and send students to the College Roadmap for the checklists and calendars, or run the Launchpad unit and use the print Real Takes on no-device days.
| The goal | Workbook | Launchpad unit |
|---|---|---|
| Decide it is worth deciding | Before You Start, Ch 1 | Why This Matters |
| Know yourself: careers, majors, interests | Ch 2–3 | Who You Are |
| See the real price (sticker vs. net) | Ch 6, 9 | Real Costs |
| Check the payoff: grad rates, earnings, debt | Ch 7–8 | Outcomes |
| All paths: community college, transfer, trades | Ch 10 | All Paths Have Costs |
| The aid plan: FAFSA, CADAA, scholarships | Ch 6, 12–13 | Aid Plan + FAFSA Real Take |
| Borrow wisely | Ch 14 | Aid Plan + Outcomes |
| Build your balanced list (Focus Schools) | Ch 4–5 | Final Three |
| The timeline: every deadline on your calendar | Junior/Senior checklists, also on the College Roadmap | Timeline |
| Read award letters (the Three Piles) | Ch 15 | The Three Piles Real Take |
| Choose, commit, don't disappear over summer | Ch 17–18 | Launch |
Questions about which format fits your setting? Email team@thefinancelab.co.