Donna Danns, Brenda Cude, Brenda Gill - Financial knowledge and competence in money management have become imperatives for all segments of society. Some researchers have pointed to a lack of basic financial knowledge on the part of high school and college students, and posited that this deficiency may be a result of a lack of personal financial education in school curriculum. Some states have mandated that personal finance or some form of economic education be taught in high schools. This study analyzes recent survey data from freshmen at a state college to determine whether those who had a standalone personal finance course in high school performed better at basic financial knowledge questions than those who received financial education embedded in other courses and those who reported not receiving any formal financial education.