Good Grades = Free College?

Growing up, academics were always stressed in my family. Being the "social butterfly" of the family, my grades hovered more in the low B range instead of the high A range of my three older sisters. It was not a question of if we were going to college, but rather where. OK, the where was not really a question. As my Dad told me. "You can go where ever you want for college, but I am only paying for Valpo." Which really streamlined the decision process for me.

We will have two kids in collage this fall. One in a private school (good old Valpo) and the other in a state school. I am well aware of the cost of tuition for both private and public education. That being said, I think MN Governor Pawlenty's idea to give free college tuition to the top 25% of students in Minnesota is a bad idea. Here are the highlights of the plan

Nearly all students in the top 25 percent of their high school class, or
with comparable admission test scores, would get two years free at the
University of Minnesota or Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.
• Two more years of free tuition would be available to eligible students who
major in science, technology, engineering or math.
• Households with adjusted gross income of $150,000 or less would be eligible.
• Students would have to maintain a B average and attend full time.

The thought behind the plan is that students will work harder if they have an incentive. I agree with the premise, just not the outcome. I feel the money would be much better spent on programs that encourage people to improve their grades - period. The SCSU Scholar Blog has a great posting on the program and how a similar plan has worked (or hasn't) in Georgia.

The Excelsior Rotary club is on the right track regarding this issue. They have a program called STRIVE, that encourages seniors in high school to study and work towards goals. The program started a couple of years ago, and this year they gave a $2,000 and $1,000 scholarship to the two kids in the program who improved their GPA over the year before. The Rotarians met with the students every other week for about an hour. The topics varied from setting goals, careers and attitude. Each session a Rotarian would speak about their particular career path, and how they have been successful. At the lunch honoring the STRIVE program, I had a chance to talk to the people who were involved. I knew how much impact it had on the kids, what I didn't realize was the impact on the adults who participated.

Ross was involved in the program and received one of the scholarships. More important then the money was the chance to interact with adults who also believed in him. Where at first, he was reluctant to go, as the months progressed he eagerly looked forward to the meetings. Not only did his grades improve, but his confidence, especially around adults also increased.

As the Georgia program has shown, it isn't much of an incentive to give kids scholarships that they really haven't earned. Let's give the money to organizations like the Rotary who will take the money and make a difference. Or, use the money to give interest free loans to kids who have shown an improvement in their grades and who really want to learn. I am not saying that kids who get good grades don't earn them, I am just saying lets give the kids an incentive to learn and to strive.