Who knew the best investment you could make in your kid's future is to not pay for college? That's the conclusion from a new study. Turns out, the more financial assistance a parent gives a child, the lower his GPA. The solution? Let our kids foot the bill. It's counter-intuitive, I know. Especially if you can afford to help pay the way. But this actually makes perfect sense and here's why.
You would think someone who has no financial worries would practically breeze through college. It's stressful to wonder how you are going to pay for tuition each semester, not to mention room, board, and books. But according to the study published in the American Sociological Review, poorer students actually have it easier when it comes to excelling in school. Basically, kids who have their own "skin in the game" work harder than those getting a free ride from their parents.
"The reason it was so shocking, however, is that all the research on parental investments from preschool through [college] assumes you give something to your kids, particularly money, it leads to good things," said study author Laura Hamilton. "This is one case where it not only doesn't have the expected good effect, it has a small negative effect." Another part of the problem is that wealthier kids are able to socialize more -- which can be costly on college campuses. Those pub crawls and girls' nights at clubs aren't cheap. But all that fun can cause your GPA to take a serious dive.
It makes sense to me. You have even more to lose when you are taking out tens of thousands of dollars that you will have to pay back on your own. If you waste the chance to learn something and lay the foundation for a career, you are the only one who suffers in the end. You may also be more grateful for whatever contribution your parents can add because you know how hard it was for them to do that. A student who doesn't see this education as much of a sacrifice doesn't carry the same weight on his shoulders.
I can see why kids who are poorer or struggle financially outperform their rich counterparts. I believe that hunger -- literally and figuratively -- drives kids to work harder. I am not sure if the solution is completely cutting off my kid when it comes to college. I can't imagine doing that. But I think that there has to be a compromise. It's entirely too easy for students to squander those years. I think making them pay a hefty portion is only fair. It teaches a hard lesson early -- you better get all you can out of this because you sure as hell are paying for it.
Do you think kids who have to pay their own way through college work harder?
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Comments 13
Success in college has nothing to do with a student's parents paying or not. It has to do with the student's character. Sure, there may be some wealthy parents who have taught their children to be flippant about doing well in school, but there may also be poor parents who never chose to instill that value or who never had the time to do so as well. I think the lesson you should take away from this fail of an article is that correlation does not imply causality.
I didn't start college until I was 25, because I had to pay my own way. I have more work and supervisory experience than most people my age. That helped tremendously in my career.
My kids will do what I did - work when they can, search and apply for every scholarship they can, choose good but affordable school even if it means not going away or where everyone is going. They'll be better for it.
The key here is making sure that you actually inform your children of what you are willing to do, and then helping them to choose a school that best matches what they will then be able to afford.
I got a scholarship that paid for half my schooling, and still ended up with 50,000 in student loans. If my parents had helped me to understand my future income potential versus what the monthly payment would be, I might have chosen differently. (And I did work my butt off at college.)
My husband had his paid for entirely - not as great of a student, I hate to say; so I could believe the higher GPA thing. It's the same for even little things - you buy it, it's suddenly more valuable.
I do resent making it about conservative/liberal and morally upright or not. I am a liberal, I've worked since I was 11 (I'm 23 now so over half my life) - babysitting then working in a bank then in a hospital ... I paid for school myself. Okay a fair amount is a loan but that was only after I got as much financial aid as I could. It's not without merit to suggest parents make college their child's investment.
My parents told me, and continue to remind me, that my college education is my job. I need to work just as hard at getting good grades as I would at my dream job or an internship. Also, my parents have told me that my inheritance is me going to school-getting the education I need so I can succeed in the future. My parents are middle class and they work hard for their money, just like many others.
And I've never been good at school, I'm more of a hands-on person. It's not just money that plays into a factor for students, but how the colleges and universities teach the students. Lecture halls are not always the best answer, hands-on experiences and connections with professors and people in the field in addition to lectures(big and small) are what will help make a successful student, but it is the student himself/herself that has to have to drive to get through school and earn a degree.