Banking Services Comparison Project 
(200 points assessed using school-wide research & writing rubrics)
Goals/Objective:
Using the guiding questions below, students will determine the best banking services and banking institution for themselves by researching different banking/financial services institutions and the banking services that are available.  
Instructions & Process: (100 pts. For steps 1-3)
1.	Student will begin by exploring information available regarding banking services for high school and college students beginning with the following web sites:  
http://www.investopedia.com/university/banking/banking2.asp   
http://www.ican2000.com/insDepts/?state=Massachusetts&url=http://www.magnet.state.ma.us/doi 
http://banking.about.com/od/savings/a/chooseabank.htm 
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/money/credit-loan/online-banking/overview/index.htm 
http://www.mycreditunion.gov/Pages/default.aspx 
http://banking.about.com/od/creditunions/a/bank-vs-creditunion.htm 
http://www.findabetterbank.com/ 
http://banktruth.org/ 
http://www.businessinsider.com/credit-unions-vs-big-banks-2013-4   

2.	After reviewing the information available for banking services, specifically for high school and college students, students will create a table in word processing to organize all of the data gathered.  Students are expected to gather data from a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 8 banking/financial institutions regarding banking services they offer.  

3.	Next, students will analyze the various banking services offered by banking/financial services organizations, based on the guiding questions below:    
BANKING SERVICES COMPARISON PROJECT	
1.	Name of Financial Institution, address,  phone # & website address						
SAVINGS:						
2.	Annual interest rate						
3.	Minimum balance required						
4.	Certificate of Deposit (CD) interest rate for 6 months						
CHECKING:						
5.	Monthly service charge						
6.	Minimum balance for “free” checks						
7.	Cost for checks						
8.	Online banking/bill pay services						
9.	Fees for ATM						
10.	Overdraft protection & fees						
11.	Stop payment fees						
SERVICE:						
12.	Banking hours						
13.	Location						
14.	Number of ATMs						
15.	24-hour phone service						
16.	Other						

4.	After completing the table and analyzing the data.  Students will compare and contrast the different banking services & banking/financial services institutions to determine which offer is best for them.  Be sure to explain “why” in detail! (100 pts. for step 4)