Although parents may have good intentions paying for college, their help might be hurting their children’s GPAs.
Students who receive more financial support for college from their parents tend to have lower GPAs, according to a new study published this month in the American Sociological Review.
The study predicted that students who received more than $16,000 in aid from their parents have GPAs below a 3.0. It also found that students apply themselves less when they don’t have to earn their money for college.
“If you’re always given everything, there’s no motivation to really invest in it,” said Victor Harris, assistant professor and extension specialist for UF’s Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences. “But if you have to work for it and create this educational experience for yourself so that you can be successful, then you’re more likely to be invested in it.”
Samantha Adams, a 20-year-old UF criminology and Japanese junior, said she thinks financial aid, such as scholarships and loans, can motivate students to work harder.
“I know people who are on scholarships … I feel like they might actually do better because they feel like they have this obligation, and they’re just harder workers in general,” she said.
At UF, 84 percent of students receive some form of financial aid, according to the most recent report from the Office for Student Financial Affairs. With about 97 percent of incoming freshman receiving Bright Futures, according to the SFA report, most UF students have a constant reminder to keep their GPAs up.
“It’s a good way at the beginning of the semester to remind yourself what you’re here for,” Adams said.
However, the report suggested that students who have extra money from home are more likely to spend the money on social events and extracurricular activities, which could impact their GPAs.
Parna Daeimojdehj, 25, a UF building construction first-year graduate student, agreed.
“It is really hard to focus on your studies when there’s so many distractions,” she said.
Harris said for students, education should be a priority, especially if their parents are supporting them financially.
“School is really their job right now,” he said. “A number of students work as well, but I think that the greatest gift they can give back is showing their appreciation by investing in school and showing through their education that they’re preparing themselves to be self-reliant and independent.”
