Students Should Have to Maintain a Decent GPA for Student Loan Benefits

In an era of scarce dollars, student loan money should be reserved for those who can prove themselves to be able students.

First of all, limiting the percentage of college students who can receive, or keep receiving, student loans means that there is more money available for those who make the grade. Should a promising student be kept from becoming a doctor, engineer, scientist, or teacher because too many low-performing students siphon away too many dollars?

Secondly, allowing under-performing students to receive subsidized loans, for which all of society must pay if the student fails to repay, is a risky business that places a higher burden on other lendees.

Third, letting under-performing students receive subsidized loans is tacitly condoning mediocrity. It lowers the bar for acceptable performance. Students will perform enough to keep their loan benefits…why work harder?

As a high school teacher I have seen both carrot and stick approaches to encouraging students to work harder and study more. The carrot works well, but only for students who are naturally motivated (or if it’s an exceptional carrot). Many students, unfortunately, only aim for 70% because the stick, often loss of athletic eligibility, awaits.

But the stick works wonders, forcing teenagers who wouldn’t ordinarily worry about trivialities like academic performance, to come to tutorials, make up missing assignments, and redo tests. Over time they learn that it’s easier to work the first time around than to spend lunches and early mornings in tutorials, rewriting assignments and retaking notes. They learn to become disciplined, decent students.

Student academic performance should depend on the size of the loan: A student taking a large loan should have to work fewer hours at a part-time job, meaning that there is more time to devote to studying. A student taking a hefty loan to be able to go to college full-time should be expected to maintain a 3.0 GPA.

And, though many may disagree, students taking loans should be encouraged to pursue full-time study: Though this would be more expensive and entail taking heftier loans, full-time study is the likeliest way to ensure graduation from college. With a degree in hand, the former student would be better able to pay off the loans by landing higher-paying jobs.

Taking loans to go to school half-time, never graduating, and never increasing one’s earning potential only results in a young person being stuck with a financial burden for decades. Instead, the young person should take the larger loan, hit the books, graduate, and get a good job that allows for middle-class earning potential.

Full disclosure: I am a book-loving nerd, and always have been.


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