<p>My son received a very nice scholarship offer but he has to maintain a 3.5 or he loses it.</p>
<p>He is a very good student (3.9) and has taken a number of AP classes. However, he wants to major in biology and we are well aware that maintaining a 3.5 in college biology/science is a far/far cry from HS.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if it is possible to negotiate to a lower paying scholarship that of course also carries a lower GPA requirement? </p>
<p>In looking at the different scholarships there are ranges. Would you assume if you were in the mid-range of the top scholarship - and you were able to drop down to a lower scholarship - that you would probably end up in the top end of the lower scholarship? In other words the 2 scholarships may end up to be very close in dollar amount - but the GPA requirement could be a major factor(4 year scholarship versus the "possibility" of a 1 year scholarship)??</p>
<p>Check on the college’s policy. Last year as my daughter was doing her college search we discovered a few schools that do not completely wipe out the scholarship if the GPA falls below the required level. Some merely drop the scholarship to the level according to the actual GPA. For example, if the school gives $15,000.00 level scholarship which requires a 3.5 and a $10,000.00 level with a 3.0 requirement. A student with a 3.2 would just get $10,000.00 for the next semester. The other good thing was if the student was able to get his GPA to a 3.5, his original $15,000 would be restored for ths subsequent semester.</p>
<p>elipse, I have heard of other folks here on CC who have negotiated for less money with an commensurately lower GPA requirement. There are a couple of schools that seem to have pretty high requirements knowing that a given % won’t be able to sustain that level.</p>
<p>Try searching on the FA/Scholarships threads.</p>
<p>You and your S are wise to realize that a 3.5 in college is a whole 'nuther ballgame from outstanding HS grades.</p>
<p>I suspect the college only offers the prestigious scholarship to those students they know are capable of maintaining a 3.5+ GPA. Your son is one of those students. I would encourage him to go for it (unless he will be playing a sport or has some other demanding commitment).</p>
<p>I don’t know why you would decline a scholarshp and accept a lower paying one. That’s a waste of money. Why would you do that? That’s just wrong (from a Chinese point of view).</p>
<p>Some of the reasons for doing such are in the posts before yours. Did you read them?
3.5 is very high for a scholarship. OP, I would definitely ask. Good luck.</p>
<p>Before asking for less money, first try to see if you can negotiate a lower GPA and still keep the same money. (why not try???)</p>
<p>If the school wants your child’s stats, then they may be willing to do that.</p>
<p>BTW…if you end up stuck with the 3.5 GPA, there are ways to manage that. Your child needs to “balance” his course load each semester. If possible, he can take a summer class at a local CC to lighten his semester load, and also help keep his university GPA high. He can take a particularly hard class or classes his last semester when a drop in GPA won’t matter.</p>
<p>Another option…try to snag a similar scholarship from ANOTHER school with a lower GPA req’t. Then see if the school will match it.</p>