The College Project · The lost unit in personal finance
Who are you, what do you want, and what can you afford?
Most personal finance courses cover paying for college. The College Project goes further: an investigation of self and education that ends in a personalized plan for life after high school. Every student explores their strengths and interests, compares every path (college, community college, trade school, apprenticeships), runs the real numbers, and finishes with a plan they can defend, afford, and adapt.
Why it matters
443 students. One counselor.
That's California's student-to-counselor ratio (ASCA, 2023-24). One counselor cannot build 443 personalized plans, so many students make the biggest financial decision of their lives with almost no one walking them through the numbers.
The College Project puts that work in each student's hands: real prices, real aid, real outcomes, and a plan they wrote themselves. Counselors keep the relationship. The project does the personalization.
ASCA student-to-counselor ratiosThe investigation
Fit and cost, worked out as one decision.
Most college-prep books cover finding a fit or paying for it. The College Project treats them as one decision, because they are.
01
Find your fit
Explore majors and careers, visit schools, and build a list that is actually yours.
02
Run the real numbers
Free money, net price, red flags, and the FAFSA and CSS Profile, in plain language.
03
Make your move
Applications, award letters, and student loans, compared side by side.
04
Finish what you started
A junior and senior year checklist and calendar so nothing falls through the cracks.
What every student builds
Money Map
What college will really cost this student, and how they will pay for it.
Running List
The schools still in the running, and why each one earned its place.
Decision Dashboard
Offers side by side, so the final choice rests on evidence.
Ways to teach it
One period, one unit, or a whole semester.
The One Hour lesson
Students guess what five colleges cost one student, see the real prices, then research their own. Printable handouts and teacher notes.
onehour.thelostunit.orgGet the lessonThe book
Four parts, 19 chapters, with CA Dream Act, DACA, Cal Grant, and CalKIDS chapters. $15 per copy for schools.
Buy on AmazonInside The Launchpad
The College Project runs as one of The Launchpad's six units, with the dashboard and pre/post check built in.
launchpad.thelostunit.orgOpen the demoThe College Roadmap
Tap-to-check lists for junior year, senior year, and the college years, with one-tap calendar import for every deadline.
roadmap.thelostunit.orgOpen the RoadmapFamily calendars
Grade-by-grade college calendars for families, a student deadline calendar, and a family letter.
Get the calendarsThe Teacher's Guide
The 59-page guide to teaching the Fifth Edition, free to download.
Download the guideClass sets
Ordering for a class or a school? Schools pay $15 per copy, shipped from the author. Proceeds currently go to The Finance Lab, the nonprofit that runs The Launchpad.