# Module 6 — Follow the Money

> **App quest:** 🧮 Run the Money Math
> **Time:** 60 min · **Worksheet:** ROI Worksheet

## The big idea

"Follow your passion" is good advice — right up until it meets a loan statement. This module teaches you to weigh what a path *costs* against what it *pays*, so passion and math can shake hands.

## Why it matters

The same salary can be a great deal or a trap depending on the debt you took on to get it. Two graduates earning $60,000 are in completely different situations if one has $15,000 of debt and the other has $120,000. ROI — return on investment — is how you tell the difference.

## Key numbers (2025)

- Public four-year, in-state tuition: about **$11,950/yr**; total cost of attendance often **$30,000+/yr**.
- Private nonprofit tuition: about **$45,000/yr**.
- Average graduate leaves with roughly **$29,000–$40,000** in debt.
- A bachelor's degree holder earns about **70% more** at the median than someone with only a high-school diploma — but median pay by major ranges widely, from about **$58,000** to **$98,000**. ([Georgetown CEW](https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/major-payoff/))

Sources: [College Board](https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing/highlights), [Federal Reserve](https://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/g19/current/), [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/).

## Do this in the app

1. In your career world, open **🧮 Run the Money Math**.
2. Enter realistic numbers: cost per year, years to finish, the share covered by scholarships or family, and the expected starting salary (the app pre-fills the median).
3. Read the results: total debt, the monthly loan payment, the share of your take-home pay it eats, and how many years the salary bump takes to repay the debt.
4. Now change one input — try a cheaper school, more scholarships, or a two-year/apprenticeship path — and watch the verdict change.

## The questions ROI answers

- Will the loan payment be a minor line item or a monthly anchor?
- Does a cheaper path to the *same* job exist? (Often, yes.)
- Is the high-salary dream still a good deal after the debt to reach it?

## Activity — fill the ROI Worksheet

Run the numbers for **two different paths** to the same career (for example: private university vs. in-state public, or degree vs. apprenticeship). Compare.

## Deliverable

A completed ROI Worksheet comparing at least two paths. Using the calculator earns the **🧮 ROI Master** badge.