A new study released this month by a researcher at the University of California, Merced finds that the parental contributions to a child’s college tuition correlate to lower student grades. The study, from assistant professor Laura Hamilton and published in the American Sociology Review, compared parental contributions and student grades. Using socioeconomic control factors, she found parental contributions “increase the odds of graduating” but decrease GPA. In her report, Hamilton said, “Students with parental funding often perform well enough to stay in school but dial down their academic efforts.”