"Free Ride Failures" The Goonies Maria Suszczynski, Yoo-Jin Lee, Karl Scherm, & Bill Lawyer 2 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5 Literature Review................................................................................................................ 8 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 10 Graphical Analysis ............................................................................................................ 10 Scholarships (Graph 1) ................................................................................................. 11 Grants (Graph 2) ........................................................................................................... 12 Parent’s Financial Support (Graph 3) ........................................................................... 13 Loans (Graph 4) ............................................................................................................ 14 Out-of-Pocket (Graph 5) ............................................................................................... 15 Hours of Work per Week (Graph 6) ............................................................................. 16 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 17 Appendix A ....................................................................................................................... 18 3 Abstract With the price of college increasing steadily each year, a concern of students and parents alike is how are they going to cover all the cost of college. The purpose of this research paper is to determine if there is any correlation between a college student’ s GPA (Grade Point Average) and how their finances are covered during college. This study will look into scholarships, grants, loans, parent’ s contributions, and self-financing. A survey of LeTourneau students was done and the data was analyzed to determine if a relationship existed between a student’ s financial resources and their GPA. Our hypothesis is that if a student receives a large percentage of free aid (grants, scholarships, parental contributions….) then their GPA will on average be lower. On the other side of the spectrum, if a student has to work 20+ hours in order to pay for their education then their GPA will also suffer. After the data was collected and analyzed, it was concluded that there was no solid relationship between a student’ s financial resources and their GPA. 4 5 Introduction In today’s society, to improve one’s chances of becoming successful, one must seriously consider attending college. When making that choice, there are many factors that play a vital role in one’s decision. Due to the steadily increase in the cost of a college education one of the most influential factors in choosing what college to attend or even to attend college is how the potential student will pay for their education. “Since the beginning of the 1980's to 1999 college costs have increased faster than the rate of inflation (as measured by the Consumer Price Index). According to the College Board, in the last 5 years college costs have risen an average of 5% per annum. If college costs grow at only 5% per year over the next 18 years, the total costs for four years of college could range from $85,000 for a public university to $210,000 for a private university by 2017.” (http://personal100.fidelity.com/planning/college/parents/rcparent.html) Source: Trends in College Pricing 2000, the College Board With this ever-increasing cost of tuition students have to rely on a variety of different resources to meet their financial needs. Students who achieve a high GPA (Grade Point Average) in high school, who excel in sports, or score 6 high on standardized tests (ACT and/or SAT) are able to cover some or all of their college cost through scholarships. Scholarships are one of the best forms of financial aid due to the fact that they are a monetary reward that does not have to be paid back. Although these scholarships do not have to be paid back, many scholarships will have strict academic requirements, such as a minimum GPA of 3.0, that must be met in order to keep them. Along with scholarship, grants are another form of “free financial aid”, financial aid that does not have to be paid back. The difference between scholarship and grants are that scholarships are usually based off of academics or athletics, whereas grants are based on the financial needs of a student regardless of past academic performance. These are usually awarded to students whose parents are considered to have a low annual income. A third form of financial assistance that students can receive and probably the most influential is assistance given by the parents of the student. This source of aid fluctuates greatly with each family from covering the entire cost to absolutely no support. A lot of times parents will place academic requirements on the student in order to keep the parent’s support much like scholarships. The largest source of financial aid and unfortunately the most costly to the student and/or parents are loans. The down side to loans is the interest that must be paid back along with the loan itself. However, there are loans that will defer interest on the loan until the student completes their education. 7 The last resource that a student can pull from to cover cost is his own income. This can be achieved through work-study, co-ops, internships, summer jobs or jobs held while going to school. As one can see, there are many ways a student can pay for their college each of which could have an influence on how a student performs in college. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a negative or positive correlation between a college student’s GPA and how their finances during college are covered. 8 Literature Review A search for and review of materials with respect to the subject of financial aid and its influence on GPA gave very little data. The following surveys were examples found on the Internet that were as close to this topic as could be found. 1) Financing A College Education, EBSCO’s College Guide, 1998, Internet source. This source presents ideas on financing a college education. Assessing the cost of a college education; determining eligibility for financial aid; Types of financial aid; Searching for scholarships. 2) Factors Relating to Academic Performance of Second Year Students in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, www.chiangmai.ac.th/abstract1998/Abstract/edu/abstract.edu980690.html. This source examines the relationship between student’s economic and adaptation factors to their GPA. A questionnaire was used to collect data by the researcher herself, which was analyzed in form of SPSS. Students who took the survey were found to have a moderate level of both personal spending as well as family financial problems. 3) Janjija, Tussanee, Factors Relating to Absenteeism…, www.chiangmai.ac.th/abstract1998/Abstract/edu/abstract.edu980689.html. This source looked into the factors affecting student absenteeism as a basis for poor performance. All students, teachers, and administration of the Ban Nam Sod School were surveyed to collect the data. 9 4) King, J., UNLV’s Freshmen are Concerned About Financing College,1998, www. Unlv.edu/PAIR/assessment. The source investigated how much a concern financing college was to freshmen at UNLV. They used a “national normed” survey. They found that 21% found this a major concern. 21% expect to borrow $1500 or more to cover first year expenses. 44% planned on getting a job. 10 Methodology In order to find if there is a relationship between GPA and a student’s financial aid, a survey was given at random to students at LeTourneau University. The information from these surveys was then analyzed to determine if this hypothesis was correct or not. The surveys can be seen in Appendix A. Graphical Analysis Each of the following graphs compare all of the above-mentioned financial resources with student’s GPA’s. Within each graph the students are also classified according to their belief in whether or not their grades are influenced by their types of financial assistance. 11 Scholarships (Graph 1) With the data that was collected it is not possible to say whether financial aid received in the form of scholarships has that great of an influence on the student’s GPA. However, the trend lines do show a slight direct relationship between the two. One should notice that the three students who received over $10,000 in scholarship have relatively high GPA’s. Again, the driving force in this relationship could be due to the academic regulation that are placed on the students in order to keep the scholarships. Scholarships vs. GPA Graph 1 16000 14000 Scholarships 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 0 1 2 GPA 3 4 5 Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances Do believe GPA is influenced by finances Poly. (Do believe GPA is influenced by finances) Poly. (Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances) 12 Grants (Graph 2) Again, with the data collected, it is not possible to say whether financial aid in the form of grants has an affect on a student’s GPA. Grants Grants vs. GPA Graph 2 10000 9000 8000 7000 6000 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 0 1 2 GPA 3 4 Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances Do believe GPA is influenced by finances Poly. (Do believe GPA is influenced by finances) Poly. (Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances) 5 13 Parent’s Financial Support (Graph 3) When looking at the relationship between parent’s contribution and the student’s GPA, the trend lines show a slight indirect relationship between them, but again, the data is too scattered to make a solid correlation. Parent's Financial Support vs. GPA Graph3 Parent's Financial Support 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 0 1 2 GPA 3 Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances Do believe GPA is influenced by finances Poly. (Do believe GPA is influenced by finances) Poly. (Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances) 4 5 14 Loans (Graph 4) Once again, the data is too scattered to make any solid conclusion. Loans Loans vs. GPA Graph 4 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000 0 0 1 2 GPA 3 Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances Do believe GPA is influenced by finances Poly. (Do believe GPA is influenced by finances) Poly. (Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances) 4 5 15 Out-of-Pocket (Graph 5) Once again, the data is too scattered to make any solid conclusion. It is interesting to note that the one student surveyed who is covering the entire cost of college out-of-pocket also has a 4.0 GPA. Out-of-Pocket vs. GPA Graph 5 Out of Pocket 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 0 1 2 GPA 3 4 Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances Do believe GPA is influenced by finances Poly. (Do believe GPA is influenced by finances) Poly. (Do not believe GPA is influenced by finances) 5 16 Hours of Work per Week (Graph 6) The information on this graph came from other variables that were considered on the survey. This graph shows the relationship between the number of hours worked per week and the student’s GPA. Of all the data collected, this data gave us the best results of a non-academic force affecting a student’s GPA. The results of this graph show that on average, the more hours a student works, the lower the GPA will be. Hours Worked per Week Hours Worked per Week vs. GPA Graph 6 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 1 2 GPA 3 4 5 Do not believe GPA is affected by finances Do believe GPA is affected by finances Poly. (Do believe GPA is affected by finances) Poly. (Do not believe GPA is affected by finances) 17 Conclusion After looking at the data collected it was concluded that various financial resources did not have an affect on the way a student performs in college. After analyzing the surveys it was also concluded that there were too many other determining factors that could play an integral part of a student’s performance at college. Factors such as age, sex, race, education level of the student’s parents and siblings, social life, and the overall student’s drive to achieve a high standard for himself are all factors that influence a student’s GPA. 18 Appendix A