"Free Ride Failures"
The Goonies
Maria Suszczynski,
Yoo-Jin Lee,
Karl Scherm, & Bill Lawyer
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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
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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
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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
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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)
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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.
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Appendix A