When Parents Pay/Don’t Pay for Their Kids’ College Education

And here she found — across all types of four-year institutions — the greater parental contributions were, the lower the student grades were.

This finding backs the idea that parental financial support can act as a “moral hazard” in that students make decisions about how seriously to take their studies without having personally made the investment of cash in their educations.

Over at Inside Higher Ed, Scott Jaschik reports about a study showing that college students who have their parents generously pay for their educations get lower grades than those who pay for their own educations. Caveat: Students who have to pay for their own educations have lower graduation rates (because those who can’t afford to pay for college are forced to drop out). So.

Support The Billfold

The Billfold continues to exist thanks to support from our readers. Help us continue to do our work by making a monthly pledge on Patreon or a one-time-only contribution through PayPal.