The TOPS Program in Louisiana is an absolute joke. It's a way for the average to get into college at the expense of the state. The minimum requirements are basically to have a pulse.
Fucking Gatorubet has a kid in the TOPS program. A fucking lawyers kid goes to school for free. That [Mark May] doesn't happen in Virginia.
yeah it's become a farce.
when it first started it was a good idea.
standards were about minimum entry standards, but below those typically requires by the school for a scholarship.
and it was limited to lower income kids.
it was a way to get kids that were decent students who didn't have the means to attend into school.
over the years, the minimum requirements got lower and lower, and they removed income restrictions as well.
so now, pretty much anyone can go to school at expense of tax payers.
back in mid 90s when I graduated high school, I did not receive a scholarship. I fell just short (did not have a foreign language, or arts credits). But I also came from a family above the poverty line, so I wasn't eligible. my family paid my way through school. which is the way it should be.
by the time my lil sister graduated, it was damn near open enrollment, and the high schools were practically begging her to take a tops scholly. even though she struggled throughout HS, had to repeat a grade, and was generally not a very good student.
the high schools push for it because it makes their scores look better to show a high number of grads going on to college.
but what you end up with is a ridiculously large number of kids who have no business being in college sucking on the state's tits for a year or so until they flunk out.