Big scholarship, but GPA requirement too high?

Paying for College
1

<p>I've recently been offered admission to a great top 25 private university with a great scholarship that makes tuition almost completely free to me. Obviously this is an amazing offer and I am grateful for the opportunity, but it comes with conditions I am wary of. I must maintain a 3.5 GPA to keep my scholarship, and I'm worried that I won't be able to. I've done well in HS, but I'm sure college is a whole different ball game. Without my scholarship, I cannot afford this college. How feasible is maintaining a 3.5 GPA?</p>

2

<p>If it’s a private school, 3.5 is probably around the average GPA. Grade inflation is rampant at colleges, and private schools are generally the highest.</p>

<p>See:
<a href=“http://www.gradeinflation.com/”>http://www.gradeinflation.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p><a href=“http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/12/04/Massive-Harvard-Grade-Inflation-revised”>http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/12/04/Massive-Harvard-Grade-Inflation-revised&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

3

<p>College isn’t that different of a ball game. Unless you have taken absolutely easy classes in HS your college GPA will be similar. </p>

<p>I think to answer your question though provide us:

  • Your GPA in HS
  • Your GPA for college level classes in HS
  • Your major, and how difficult those classes are for you</p>
4

<p>My HS GPA is 3.78 UW and 4.24 weighted. I’ve had As in AP English Comp & Lit, APUSH, AP Gov, and a A- in AP Bio. My major is relating to environmental studies, but at this school I create my own major anyway. </p>

5

<p>You need to find out…is this a 3.5 after ONE term, or is it the end of year GPA. </p>

<p>It looks like you have some other affordable options. Explore those before you make a decision. </p>

6

<p>Agree with @thumper1 and also we know someone that has a 3.5 requirement but the 3.5 must be in place before each fall term begins. They allow you to take summer classes, if you are below 3.5, to try and bring it up. Those summer classes are not part of the scholarship so he would pay out of pocket, but if he had below a 3.5 come the spring transcript, he could go to summer school to bring it up in time for the next leg of the scholarship to be valid. He was told by a friend that he dropped to a 3.4 but did not worry as he went on a school sponsored summer study abroad program where they got course credit…a ton of fun and easy As to bring the GPA up before the August bill came due.</p>

7

<p>Having a higher GPA requirement might at some point limit some of your choices.</p>

<p>At some point, you might have to choose your courses based on their difficulty and likely ability to get a “A”. What if you want to take a course that you know you can’t get a high grade but feel strongly that it is worth it or you need it for your major?</p>

<p>You might need to drop a course if it your grade will negatively impact your GPA. Keep in mind that this could impact your course sequence if it is a required course. Make sure you look into the school’s add/drop policy.</p>

<p>Students juggle these issues all the time. Just something to consider.</p>

<p>If you have strong study habits and time management skills and if your AP courses were truly college level then you should find adjusting to the college workload manageable. </p>