Students who receive financial support from their parents may be at a disadvantage when it comes to grades, according to a new study by the University of California, Merced.
Laura Hamilton, assistant professor at the university, recently found parental support decreases the average student’s GPA.
In her study, “More Is More or More Is Less?” Hamilton explored the idea that more financial support could be detrimental to students’ success.
The study claimed that traditionally, people have adopted the attitude that more is more. Parents seem to believe the more money they invest in their child, the more success their child will find at a post-secondary institution.
As the role ascribed to parents expands further into their children’s lives, “scholars have begun to note the possible high cost of creating a young-adult life stage where parents free youth from the realities of financial responsibility,” according to the study.
Hamilton proposed the idea that perhaps less help will amount to more student success, or that less is more.
“Children may direct more effort to school when they personally feel the economic costs of poor performance,” Hamilton wrote.
The study explained that children may contribute less effort to their education because they are “satisficing: they meet the criteria for adequacy on multiple fronts, rather than optimizing their chances for a particular outcome.”
Although Hamilton found that while students with financial support had lower GPAs, these students also had an increased rate of degree completion because they could afford to stay in university, regardless of their grades.
Hamilton supported her theory by analyzing data from three databases: the Baccalaureate and Beyond Study, the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, and the Beginning Postsecondary Students Study.
Brandon Filatow, a second-year political science student at Carleton University, disagreed with the idea that financial support is detrimental to student success. He said that for such a large bill, any help is appreciated.
“I receive financial support from my parents, but I work hard to pay for tuition while not being on OSAP,” Filatow said. “I believe putting the strain on students to both achieve high grades and work to pay for classes is too great for even the most organized people.”
In addition, Filatow said students should take responsibility for their grades.
“If a student gets support from their parents and they do poorly it is because of their lack of drive, not necessarily from getting financial support,” Filatow said.
