Does being attractive get you an A?

By Jessica Druck
Published: March 21, 2011

Looking back on high school, I’m sure you can easily recall the popular, good-looking kids making you feel inadequate with their coiffed hair, cool clothes, piercing eyes and the use of words you thought sounded stupid but made everyone worship them (see: senior year superlatives).


You probably also recall that the popular, good-looking students proved looks got you further in life (see: insecurity problems).


Now that you’re in college, you wonder to yourself whether or not wearing cool clothes, smooth talking your way through Intro to American Studies and having impeccable hair will get you free tutoring like that cheerleader in senior year math.


Do good-looking people have it easier in school? No. Maybe in high school or the work force—you know, if you’re into standing in front of Abercrombie & Fitch with your shirt off while young girls take Polaroids with you—but not in college.


In fact, being attractive may actually deter your success, according to research done by psychologist Maria Agthe, who found you can be too good looking for your own good.


Being beautiful may cause you to lose opportunities in jobs, scholarships and maybe even promotions, depending on the gender and attractiveness of your evaluator.


Her research showed that attractive women were more closely evaluated by the same sex, which sometimes led to negative ratings even if they were extremely qualified.


The same went for men, but when attractive women and men were evaluated by the opposite sex, their approval ratings were higher.


She concluded that working in an environment where someone is qualified, intelligent and better looking made others who were less attractive feel inadequate, making some employers turn away applicants.


This study just gave me terrible flashbacks of high school. How many times did I not want cheerleader Christy on my dodgeball team (knowing all the boys would aim the ball at me and everyone else but not her because God forbid the girl in tiny shorts with hair bouncing about got out)?


An argument against this is a study performed by Michael T. French of the University of Miami, who researched high school students saying attractiveness, personality and grooming affected GPA in grades k through eight, as well as college.


If students took care of themselves—groomed, dressed well and had upbeat personalities—the study showed attractive people eventually got paid more. But why?


Well, he proved that throughout years of education, those who took care of themselves and presented themselves in a more put-together manner than those who didn’t got more rewarding feedback and attention from teachers, making them more confident when they applied their education to the workforce.


So does this study mean if you stop showing up to class in sweats, put on mascara or spray on some Axe, you’ll get rewarding attention from your teacher, eventually resulting in higher pay?


I show up to school put-together; I’m not calling myself Cindy Crawford, but I brush my teeth, I don’t have dirt on my face and I’d like to think I look like a normal, functioning member of society.


But I have yet to receive special attention or have it easier than someone who may be considered more or less attractive. The only special attention I’ve seen attractive students receive is unnecessary gawking from other students like me who drift into a dreamlike coma about the guy next to me who’s as beautiful as Ryan Gosling.


Dressing well, taking care of yourself and presenting yourself maturely does result in feeling more confident, but it won’t change an F to an A.


Maybe it will help you in the long run like French’s study concludes but then again, you might be screwed if your evaluator is the same sex and you’re too good looking.