Looking for a tool to help students compare colleges across various criteria as they search for a "best fit" school?

Be sure to check out the College Scorecard which just recently got a makeover as reported by NPR.  Given the size of the investment in time and dollars, it's nice to know there's a tool available to show how graduates of specific majors fare in their careers. 

Here's the data you will find about colleges:

School: Cal State-Fullerton

Screen #1: 

Screen #2

Detailed information available on outcomes for specific majors including # of grads, median earnings (monthly earnings) and median debt after graduation (monthly payment):  

Note for Median Earnings: The median annual earnings of students two years after graduation. Only data from students who received federal financial aid are included in the calculation.

College Scorecard also includes data on costs, graduation and retention, financial aid, typical earnings, student body, test scores and acceptances. 

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Questions for students:

• Go to College Scorecard and research a college that you are interested in. 
• As you are reviewing the data, identify five factors that will be important to you in selecting a college. 
• Create a table that has specific data on the five factors for the first college you researched. 
• Now repeat the process for a second college that you are interested in and add the information to the table. 

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Prepare students for the college-going process by playing the NGPF Arcade game, PAYBACK. 

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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