Survey: Most Parents Require Kids Maintain B Grades Or Better If They Want To Keep Getting Support

No more free rides for you, underachievers! A new survey says two-thirds of American parents say they’ll only pony up the cash for their kids’ college education if they can maintain a B average.

Fidelity Investments conducted the survey of around 2,400 families, reported by Bloomberg News, which says the golden grade point where parents require a 3.1 GPA out of 4.0 once their kids get to college.

Many parents also said they’d like their children to attend public colleges and work part-time to help pay for other college expenses and allay the cost of tuition. Almost half those surveyed are considering having kids live at home, up from 38 percent in 2007.

“You see folks significantly changing their overall lifestyle and part of that is shared accountability,” said Joseph Ciccariello, vice president of college planning at Fidelity, the third-largest administrator of 529 college savings plans. “It’s between the parents and their child in the cost of college, and both parties are making sure they pay for it.”

Around 40 percent of parents are saving earlier for when they send their kids off, starting at under 5 years old, with a savings account set aside just for that purpose.

Students Require B Averages to Keep Parents’ Cash Flowing, Fidelity Says [Bloomberg]

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