• University of Miami released findings from new study on role personal characteristics play in the class room.
• Good looks have a positive effect on GPA.
• Grooming and personal traits have even bigger effects on GPA.
• Study intended to find roots of other findings found at different levels.

As finals week approaches, the University of Miami Health Economics Research Group may have found the key to better grades — better looks.

According to a new study released last Wednesday, physical attractiveness has a positive effect on grade point averages in high school when considered alone. The study also examined the effects personality and grooming had on GPA.

Marie Guma-Diaz, director of media relations at the University of Miami, said similar studies have found similar results at the college and professional levels.

"The purpose of this study was to trace the roots of these findings back to the high school level," she said.

The study found a broad array of characteristics that are likely to affect academic performance.

For males, grooming has a positive effect. Personality plays the biggest positive role for females. When all three are considered together, physical attractiveness actually has a negative effect on GPA.

Michael T. French, professor of health economics at UM and one author of the study, said looks and appearance can be a way for students to rebel against authority.

"But we found that whether a student is a 'rebel' or if that student conforms plays no role in their performance," he said.

French said while physical attractiveness did have a positive effect on GPA, he was more interested in the fact that personality and grooming actually played larger roles.

"We expected personality to play a large role with the girls, but the role grooming played with the boys was very big, bigger than we thought it would be," French said.

The study also found with all else equal, Hispanics and black students have lower GPAs than whites, girls have higher GPAs than boys, and receiving public assistance is negatively associated with GPA.

Scott Adams, an associate professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said good looks and other personal traits play a factor later in life.

"Appearance plays a key role in the business world," Adams said. "Whether it's getting a job at an interview, or the likelihood for promotion, better looking people tend to fare better."

Other findings showed that students attending smaller schools, living in two-parent households and living with a mother who attended college all outperform students in other situations.