Grades 9–12Ages 14–18 · Unit 4.8 · Student Loans and Smart Borrowing
Principal, interest, rate: a free student loan worksheet.
A student signs the largest contract of their life so far having never been taught the six words it is written in. This sheet asks for a definition of each in their own words, and then the question that actually protects them: does this one increase what I pay back?
No account. No email. Nothing collected about your child.
What is on the page
- Six loan terms to define in your own words
- A column for whether each raises what you repay
- A written question on fixed versus variable rates
- An answer page with plain-language definitions
What it teaches
- The vocabulary of every loan document
- That fees and term change the total, not just the payment
- Why a fixed rate can beat a lower starting rate
How to run it
Origination fee and term are the two students miss. A fee is taken out before the money reaches you, and a longer term feels cheaper every month while costing more overall — the most common trap in consumer borrowing.
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Where it comes from
Unit 4.8 · Student Loans and Smart Borrowing of a 266-lesson curriculum.
This sheet is one activity, unchanged, from Financial Foundations™. Teachers can run a free five-week pilot with one class. Families can take the Family Edition home.