Ultrinsic, a New York-based Internet company, is helping college students to achieve better grades by giving them a platform where they can wager on their own good grades. From betting on top grades to delving into “grade insurance” against failure, Ultrinsic gives students the opportunity for students to put their cash where their grades are.
Ultrinsic CEO says this is different than online gambling
Online gambling is illegal in the United States, so Ultrinsic CEO Steven Wolf makes a point of informing any person who will listen that his company is not an online gambling site. According to the Associated Press, Wolf makes the distinction between “betting on grades” at Ultrinsic and using a standard online gambling portal- Ultrinsic involves skill, instead of luck. It isn’t gambling, he says, but a platform where students can inspire themselves by investing in the future of their academic career.
“The students have 100 percent control over it, over how they do. Other people’s stuff you bet on – your own stuff you invest in,” Wolf says. “Everything’s true about it; I’m just trying to say the underlying concept is just a little bit more than just making a bet – it is actually an incentive”.
The Ultrinsic way
A college student 18 or older who’s interested in Ultrinsic can register. The odds on present wagers are tabulated depending upon the student’s past academic record. Course specifics provided by affiliate colleges also play a role in formulating the odds. Original wagers cap at $25, but future wagers could be higher, based upon customer activity. At this time, there are 36 colleges that are accessible for business within the Ultrinsic network.
Isn’t this nevertheless gambling?
Skeptics like I. Nelson Rose of Whittier Law School in California are skeptical of services like Ultrinsic, although it doesn’t specifically meet the classic definition of gambling in that it doesn’t revolve around total chance, fees and a prize at the end. Grades aren’t always 100 percent within control of the student, as instructor bias is not uncommon. But in most cases, grade responsibility is squarely in the hands of the student. Thus, luck falls largely by the wayside as skill becomes the prime determinant.
Wolf doesn’t deny that such variables can in fact exist. Student effort reigns supreme. ”The biggest variable is how much effort the student wants to put in,” Wolf stated with great clarity. “In general, if anybody would study 10 hours a day consistently for one class, they would get no matter what grade they wanted to get”.
Associated Press
articles.moneycentral.msn.com/news/article.aspx?feed=AP and amp;date=20100810 and amp;id=11861854
Ultrinsic
ultrinsic.com/
