Scenario
Each student in MATH201 is required to complete a quantitative reasoning project. The project that has been chosen for this course addresses the cost of repaying student loans.
Students pay for their education in a variety of ways. Some pay their tuition and other expenses out-of-pocket. Others receive assistance from their family. Employers sometimes contribute toward a student’s educational expenses. Some students receive grants or scholarships based on need or merit. Many—if not most—students, however, find it necessary to take out loans to help pay for all or part of the costs of their college education.
Student loan debt can create a serious burden for new graduates. It is important that students begin preparing themselves to meet the obligation of repaying their loans at the beginning of their college careers rather than waiting until graduation to think about this issue. This project is designed to start you thinking about how you will repay your student loans once you have graduated. You will produce your project in Microsoft PowerPoint and your project should be professional in appearance.
Week 3
You will submit Part 1 of your Portfolio Project by creating your PowerPoint. Please include the following:
Title Page (Slide 1)
Include the course name, the project title and your name
Introduction (Slide 2)
Write a brief overview describing the purpose of the project (This project is designed to start you thinking about how you will repay your student loans once you have graduated.).
Hypothesis (Slide 3)
Define a hypothesis, which you intend to evaluate throughout your project. This step will help you to stay on track as your project develops, leading you ultimately to your conclusion. When creating your hypothesis, use the following question:
1) Will you be able to pay back your loan faster than the standard 10-year repayment plan?
Determine your expected salary after graduation from Bryant & Stratton (Slide 4)
For this slide, you can use the attached file as a guideline. Find at least two credible sources that provide estimates of starting salaries in your chosen field of Vet Tech, in the state of South Carolina, where you hope to work. If the two sources provide markedly different salaries, conduct additional research until you find reasonably close agreements between two projected salaries (within $5,000 or so). Average the two salaries (add the salaries and divide by two) to determine your expected annual salary. Determine the monthly salary (divide the expected annual salary by 12). Then compute the net (after tax) pay. For simplicity we will use a 25% tax rate. Realize that taxes are complicated, so this is just an estimate.
In Part 2 of your Portfolio Project, please add the following slides:
Create a budget based on your estimated salary (Slide 5)
Make it as realistic as possible so you are prepared upon graduation. Excel will make it easier for you. You can work in Excel and copy it to PowerPoint. Note that you will add the student loan payment later.
Consult Section 4.A in the textbook (pp. 186–192) for suggestions on creating a realistic budget or use the link below:
Estimate the total amount of your student loans at graduation (Slide 6)
Estimate your student loan obligation upon graduation from Bryant & Stratton College. You will need both the loan amount (principal) and interest rate for each loan.