A new website is betting that college students will want to gamble on their own grades. The site, Ultrinsic.com, lets students bet on whether they can achieve or exceed a certain grade, with bets starting at $25. As of now, this unique and obviously controversial service is currently available to students in both New York University and the University of Pennsylvania, who can upload their student schedule to give the server access to their school records, chosen classes and education history.

The website then calculates the student's odds of achieving certain grades in each of their classes, taking into account the university's grade average in each field and data obtained about the difficulty of the subjects and the leniency of its professors.

The way it works is, the student puts up an amount that is determined by class difficulty and past performance, and the site puts up the rest. More money is available for the student for A's, less for B's, and so on. If the student makes the grade then he or she will win the money - the cash the student put up as well as the money that was put up by Ultrinsic. If the student does not make the grade, then the site keeps the money the student put up.

The company hopes to expand their operations to more than three dozen schools in the United States, but is sure to come under fire from various groups that will denigrate the site for encouraging students to gamble online. However, Ultrinsic founder Jeremy Gelbart is insisting that his product is not gambling - online wagering is illegal in the U.S. - but is merely an investment by the student in his or her performance, and is a great enticement for them to study harder and get the best grades they can. Also, the website contends that the high degree of skilled involved in obtaining certain grades means that it cannot be labelled as "gambling."

It will be interesting to see if Ultrinsic runs into any legal problems despite its claims.

Some of the schools it will expand to this year include George Washington University, Georgetown University, Howard University and American University. Want to make sure your favorite student is trying his hardest?Put some money down on his behalf an we bet he'll be more apt to make the grade than not.

Tags: Ultrisnic.com