Students who pay their own way through college have better GPAs on average

According to a new study published by the American Sociological Review, students whose parents help them foot the majority of the bill for college may actually have a lower GPA compared to less privileged peers. 

Although a student will have a better chance of making it to graduation if the bill for his or her education is taken care of, the report finds that individuals who have more personal wealth invested into financing school will tend to work harder for better grades. 

Moreover, students who are racking up their own student debt are less likely to be tempted by an expensive social life or distracting extracurricular activities.

"[When parents pay for college] it allows for a lot of other activities in college that aren't academic," said author Laura Hamilton of the University of California in a story from The Associated Press. "Participation in the social scene is expensive – money to hang out, drink. The more you have all these extras, the more you can get dragged into the party scene, and that will drag down your GPA."

The study was conducted using information from three large federal data sets that allow parental contributions and grades to be compared.

Results from the report show that the biggest disparity comes from families whose income levels are greater than $90,000 annually. Parents in this demographic who don't give their students financial aid can expect, on average, a GPA of 3.15. The GPA drops to below 3.0 for students whose parents are in the same income bracket and pay $16,000 of their student's tuition. When parents pay $40,000 in college expenses, students only averages a GPA of 2.95.

Despite lower GPAs, students whose parents provide help paying for college generally are not affected by this setback once they hit the job market, as the study shows that parental support in other areas besides finances after college increases a graduate's chance at securing a career.