Their website lets college students place wagers on their own academic performance, betting they will earn, say, an A in biology or a B in calculus. Students with low grade point averages are considered long shots, so they have the opportunity to win more money for high grades than classmates with a better GPA.
The pair of recent college graduates who founded Ultrinsic.com say they hope to turn a profit and inspire students to work harder. “It would be great if everyone was intrinsically motivated to get good grades, but that’s, like, not reality,” said Jeremy Gelbart, a 23-year-old co-founder of the site.
But students can bet against themselves, too, wagering they won’t achieve a high grade point average. And education experts—along with several of the schools Ultrinsic is targeting—say the use of money as a motivator for academic achievement is dubious at best. Questions remain about whether the venture will run up against laws restricting Internet gambling.
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