Client
Services
impact areas
Amid the national conversation on the rising burden of student debt in the US, Professor David Musto of the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance wanted to find a tangible way to address the roots of the student loan crisis.
The challenge was two-fold:
1. To create a free app that teaches students how to think critically about college financing, and
2. To train local high school students in the skills required to design and code this app.
Levra Labs partnered with Professor Musto and Dr. Jill Bazelon to conceptualize Finiverse, a web app and a student program meant to empower students in making informed financial decisions about their college and career paths.
Back in 2022, we started working closely with a small team of high school student interns to design and develop a beta version of Finiverse.
In order to collect feedback from a larger population, we subsequently conducted a series of classroom visits in several public high schools in Philadelphia. The user feedback from these site visits led to new feature additions and final refinements before the official public launch of Finiverse.
Researched and analyzed reputable data sources for college costs and student loans. Such calculations and datasets were used to develop Finiverse's unique Markov risk simulation.
Visited local high schools to conduct focus groups and usability testing sessions with the goal of identifying points of friction and better understanding user needs. This phase is crucial for refining Finiverse's interface and user flow.
Focused on creating a visually appealing, intuitive, and educational experience. The interface and copy are designed to be easily understood by high school users.
Developed the Finiverse web app using modern programming frameworks while paying special attention to data privacy. Post-deployment, we monitor and scale engineering resources to accommodate usage and traffic.
We officially launched the Finiverse website in early 2024.
Since the launch, the app has garnered 4,000+ active users, and the Finiverse internship program has grown to 80+ students.
Finiverse is a living project, so we continue to refine the app, expand local partnerships, and add new product functionalities based on user feedback.
Finiverse.org is a free tool that gives prospective college students clarity on the true costs of higher education. The platform allows students to compare colleges by net price, evaluate financing options, and learn how to make informed decisions about their financial futures.
Students can use our Student Aid Calculator to get an estimate of their financial aid and Pell Grant eligibility.
They can also compare net prices across different schools.
Students can use a slider to figure out how they could pay each school's net price.
There is also a walkthrough of how loans accumulate while students are in school.
Our Markov simulation shows one possible version of what could happen after the student graduates from college based on their selected job and loan amount.
This simulation incorporates the probabilities of different financial risks, such as dropping out of college or unemployment.
Thanks to the University of Pennsylvania's deep connections both within and outside of the Philadelphia community, our go-to-market strategy has consisted of building local partnerships with high schools and educational organizations.
