"Automatic" merit scholarships - 3.0 GPA floor

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Mississippi
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Wonder if anyone has info about whether Ole Miss can be flexibile with its “automatic” merit scholarship GPA floor of 3.0. My son’s cumulative GPA will be somewhere on the border of 2.9/3.0. He has 1300 SATs so if he gets the automatic scholarship he’ll get a $8,250 award each of 4 years (including our $5000 OOS portion award). I’m really stressing that he will barely NOT make the GPA cutoff, making the school hard to afford. Ole Miss is his first choice by far (considering somewhat limited options for a smart boy with relatively low GPA).

I have asked UM’s admissions and financial aid offices about whether an exceptions could be made but haven’t really gotten an answer, or at least not the answer I want to hear! My son has had health challenges including 2 major surgeries that have affected his GPA due to stress and missed time. And the high school he attends is a top-notch private school where Bs (not As) are for good, above average work. Oh, and I guess bribing his teachers or the high school registrar is out of the question!!

Anyone have any experience/knowledge about potential exceptions to the 3.0 GPA cutoff? Of course, best case would be that my son finishes strong and earns the 3.0 or higher! Thanks for weighing in.

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my son was in the same boat. During orientation last May the academic advisors said that if his overall GPA hit a 3.0 by graduation, he would be eligible. He ended up just shy of it so we didn’t benefit from any scholarships. I think that is great that they allow an overall 3.0 to post by graduation. No exceptions though. They have to draw the line at 3.0 to be fair to all.

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upperarlington: UGH! so sorry to hear that was your experience, but I appreciate your sharing your info. Also, I didn’t realize til now that you are the same parent who responded about Fasttrack. Our sons’ situation must really be similar. Thank you, and I wish your son continued success!