Super Bowl XLIII may not be the only thing Penn students are wagering big bets on this week.
A new Web site, Ultrinsic.com, allows students to enter a contest where earning an A in a course wins them money. The deadline for entrance is Wednesday.
A $20-per-class bet plus a $2 entrance fee allows students to enter a pool which they can win outright or split with others if they earn an A or A+ in a class.
The contest guarantees minimum pot sizes on some of the classes, including Math 104.
According to co-founder Jeremy Gelbart, who transferred from Penn to Queens College in his sophomore year, the $20 price is the perfect entry point to make the contest affordable yet also worthwhile to enter.
"The financial incentive for getting an A, especially at a school like Penn, is already built in," said Gelbart. "However, it's too far down the line sometimes. We want you to shoot for it now."
Gelbart and fellow founder Steven Wolf thought of the concept one day when betting on whether Gelbart would receive an A on his next exam.
"This really is an innovative concept in education," said Gelbart. "It brings enjoyment to a student and, I think, an element of control. You'll say, 'I want to work hard in this class.'"
At Penn, any student with lower than a 3.7 GPA may participate; however, it differs at other schools.
The contest is currently open at Penn and six New York City schools, and the founders have plans to expand to other campuses in coming semesters.
Despite the few sign-ups - but steady traffic to the site - Gelbart expects participation to pick up briskly just before the entrance deadline.
Students are unlikely to find the contest open for smaller classes, like foreign language and English courses. But most of the big Wharton core classes - which are graded on a curve - are listed.
College freshman Cindy Berman was one student interested in the new concept.
"I would definitely do it for a popular class," she said.
No stranger to big and popular courses like Statistics 101 and Business and Public Policy 250, Wharton and College sophomore Daniel Rickles believes there is plenty money to be made for the site's owners.
"It all comes down to word-of-mouth," he said. "If the site can get thousands of participants, then they can generate very sizable revenue. Plus, their costs are so minimal."
Not all were convinced of the site's premise, however.
"It sounds like a waste of money unless you're in a class that you are very confident about," College junior Michael Rocchino said.
