A lot of college freshmen headed off to school this past month. And one of the top things their parents are worried about is DRINKING.
So here’s the question: Is it okay for them to join a frat or a sorority? Or will they just drink their face off, fail out, and end up in your basement?
Well, according to a recent study, there’s a good chance it WILL cause their grades to slip. But you might want to encourage them to do it anyway.
Researchers at Union College in New York talked to over 3,700 former students to see how joining a fraternity affects grades. And they found the average GPA dropped by a quarter-point. So if they had a 3.5 GPA, it dropped to a 3.25.
But they also found that joining a frat increases your eventual EARNINGS by a whopping 36%. So even if you don’t do as well in school, you end up making more money. Partly because you have more opportunities to network and find a job.
They didn’t run the numbers for sororities. But we’re assuming there’s a similar effect.
Drinking too much CAN obviously be bad though. Another study recently found college kids who binge-drink six times a month are 10% less likely to land a job right after they finish school.
(Market Watch / SSRN)
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