re: Louisiana should eliminate TOPS, Free up Budget

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Right now about 30% of Louisiana High School graduates claim the award. One can surmize that those students are around the top 30% of what our high schools put out. I'm not sure how a top 30% achiever in this state is considered average. You might think it should be higher, and that is fine, but as compared to their peers, TOPS recipients are decisively above average. They also perform very well in college compared to non-TOPS students.

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For comparison, to automatically qualify for entrance into UT and A&M, you have to be in the top 8% and top 10% of your class. That is not to qualify for scholarship, but just ENTRANCE into school.

There is nothing wrong with being in the top 30%, but that alone should not qualify for a TOPS scholarship. Let me ask you this....was the whole premise of TOPS to keep people in Louisiana after college? That is going to be determined by "available" jobs more than anything else.

Secondly, students who are borderline on receiving "academic" scholarship are most likely to stay in state because it cost more to go out of state.

Thirdly, if you lower the cost of out of state tuition you bring more people into the state who might eventually stay because they enjoyed the area.

It's always just a matter of time before the money runs out on any government funded subsidy.