Two people quit work and begin college at the same time. Their salary and education information is given in the table below. Salary prior to school Years attending college Total cost of college Salary upon graduating Person A $18,000 3 $45000 $33,000 Person B $27,000 4 $30,000 $37,000 Choose the true statement.

Include both college costs and the salary each person gives up while attending school. Person A’s investment is $45,000 + 3($18,000) = $99,000, and the annual salary increase after graduating is $33,000 − $18,000 = $15,000, so recovery takes $99,000 ÷ $15,000 = 6.6 years. Person B’s investment is $30,000 + 4($27,000) = $138,000, and the annual increase is $37,000 − $27,000 = $10,000, so recovery takes 13.8 years. Therefore, Person A recovers their investment in a shorter amount of time.

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