Help! freaking out! scholarship might be revoked!

<p>Hey everyone,</p>

<p>I started this thread to get info from people who have ever in the past been in danger of losing their scholarship or have had one taken away. I am a freshman in college and I have a 10000/yr scholarship that requires a 3.0 cumulative GPA. My first semester I got into trouble with one of my teachers(did not show up for an exam) and got a D in that class along with 2A's 1B and 1B-(overall gpa 2.91). Second term, all semester long I was expecting 3A's and 2B's but because of my horrendous finals I only managed 4B's and a B+(overall GPA 3.06). As you can see, my cumulative GPA turns out to be 2.985 which is really close to a 3.0, but I don't know if they might let this pass or take my scholarship away. so if anyone who reads this has had such an experience please please let me know as I am totally freaking out right now!!
(I know that every college has its own rules and all but if anything like this has happened to any student at any college please let me know)</p>

<p>Please note: the scholarship is a president's scholarship. I know that demands of me to achieve more than the minimum academic requirements but I have had the toughest year of my life(house got burned down, family is having major financial problems). This puts me in a difficult position as I will not be able to pay for college if the scholarship is taken away.</p>

<p>You may be able to request being put on academic probation (or this may be the action taken anyway) in lieu of the immediate revocation of the scholarship.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

<p>thanks for replying. At the end of the first semester they sent me a letter saying to ‘improve’ my performance. It did not specifically state if I was on academic probation but my scholarship requirement says I have to maintain a 3.0 for the whole year. Its just that its so so close to a 3.0(I mean I’m 0.015 away from a 3.0!) so I don’t know what happens to people in such a situation.</p>

<p>If your scholarship is revoked, check to find out if there is an appeal procedure–this is common. You would typically be required to explain why you were deficient and how you plan to improve. Since your GPA missed by so little, and colleges tend to cut freshmen some slack, you’d have a good chance at winning an appeal.</p>

<p>Thanks momma J, and yes I am already looking into that but I want to avoid the whole process altogether so that my dad won’t get mad. I have always been a pretty good student(always getting A’s and just a few B’s) so if my dad hears about this he will be soo disappointed. And guess what, my B+ for this semester is at 88.5 and the teacher won’t change it to an A-. This year could not be going any worse than it is.</p>

<p>My son lost his scholarship due to not making the 3.0. At his college, there is no appeal, no exception. I you miss it by .00001%, you miss it and lose. You also have to have passed 12 credits each semester. If you drop under 12, it’s over too.</p>

<p>Why would a prof change an 88.5 from a B+ to an A-? You got a B+. You are not in High School any more.</p>

<p>My friend has a daughter who did lose hers eventually, BUT her grades were a lot lower than yours. They did give her another semester to bring up her GPA, so some schools definitely do give you 3 semesters. My theory on why they offered 3 semesters is not just to be kind, but because it also raises the freshmen retention rate for them. They offered her some tutoring, and a how to study/time management class, and counseling. I don’t know if she took advantage of those things because she was required by the school to do so, or she wanted to do this for herself. At the end of the day, she still lost her scholarship, but because her parents covered her costs to attend anyway (hard for them to do), she graduated from the school. She had a hard time getting into professional schools, but she did get into a graduate school program at a flagship university (paying full freight for her master’s degree as an OOS student).</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>Student has done nothing to be placed on academic probation (which would be if s/he fell below a 2.0 gpa).</p>

<p>Since you have received a letter at the end of the first semester telling you to improve your performance, it does not sound like there is a phase in period, you either have a 3.0 gpa or you lose your scholarship. You need to find out if there is an appeals process. If there is one, appeal because to your credit your performance did improve in sememster 2Find out if yor scholarship can be reinstated in the future. You need to find out if your school offers need based financial aid, if you will be able to get some increased need based aid to hopefully fill in some of the gap created by losing the $10k scholarship.</p>

<p>You need to sit down and talk to your parents about your situation so that they can come up with a way to fill the gap if you should lose your scholarship. The sooner the better. As a parent, I would be really mad if my kid sprung this on me at the last minute.</p>

<p>At this point, you need to take ownership, accountability and responsibility for your actions. Telling your parents that the teacher would not change your grade (an 88 is a B+, not an A- so you got the grade you earned), getting in trouble with one of your teachers (who was it that did not show up for the exam, you or the teacher?). Man up and stand on your own two feet.</p>

<p>If your school does let you keep your scholarship, then carefully plan each semester so that you’re not overwhelmed. Balance your schedule with some less-demanding courses when you’re also taking more demanding courses.</p>

<p>Are you trying to take too many hard classes at one time?</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>I’m sure every situation is different, but when I was in college, I was on a full-ride scholarship and also had to maintain a gpa (can’t remember what it was - 30 yrs ago!).</p>

<p>I was top in my high school class but my freshman college year was dreadful. Like OP, I came in just below the cut-off and was devastated. I don’t remember the specifics, but I did end up going to one of my profs, explained the situation, and she looked over my exam and was able to give me a couple more points which increased my letter grade.</p>

<p>I ended up completing my Chemical Engineering degree - graduating at the top of my class. I am grateful to my prof who saw enough in me to help me out through that difficult time.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I agree completely.</p>

<p>S1 had a college much like cpt talks about. 2.99999 will get the scholarlship revoked with no “probation.” You need to ask the question. I certainly asked. In my oldest son’s case, while the college said they would revoke with no “grace period” no “do over” and no appeal, they did say that if the grades went up they would “evaluate” whether or not to give back the scholarship. I took that to mean they would not. You absolutely need to talk to whichever office is in charge of granting the scholarships so you have the summer to make a decision about what next. The best advice for everyone is if you have a GPA dependent scholarship you keep your GPA where it needs to be to keep the scholarship. Mom2 is correct in suggesting that balancing the courseload is one tactic to keep that GPA at 3.0 or higher.</p>

<p>One more idea – call and ask about the scholarship situation, and determine if it is possible to retake the class in which you received a D – that will help you partially clear the impact/weight of that D, which will continue to drag your GPA down. If it is possible to retake the class, do so!</p>

<p>While some schools are very strict about these things, others like to see a student ameliorate his/her situation. By offering to clear the most troublesome aspect of your GPA/freshman academic record, you’re showing that you’ve learned something.</p>

<p>Best wishes.</p>

<p>Thank you all for replying.
To those who are telling me that I did not deserve an A-: you are completely right but its just that that teacher bases a good percentage on attendance and class participation. In fact, she told me that I did not get an A- for missing more than 2 classes. However, I know that I got what I deserved, nothing more nothing less.</p>

<p>To those who want me to tell my parents: I will! its just that my grades haven’t been posted yet(to be posted on Monday) but I know my grades because I asked my teachers. When they are out(and if my scholarship does get revoked), my parents will be the first to know.</p>

<p>My school does have an appeals process and I certainly will be appealing but since it is such a prestigious scholarship I doubt they will let me keep it when I haven’t met even the minimum requirements. I’m sure they were expecting like a 3.7 or higher out of me since i was such a bright student in HS. I just feel like such a failure.
@northeastmom: really? thats great, if I can get another semester then no worries…</p>

<p>@Mom2: yes I was taking harder classes because I wanted to apply for another scholarship but thats all down the drain now. Its also not that I can’t keep it maintained when I’m taking hard classes but its just that the circumstances weren’t right(even that is no excuse).</p>

<p>Also could anyone tell me if it is wrong to ask a teacher to raise your grade? I mean, could I get in trouble for that? because I already e-mailed all my professors to see if they would help and now I’m scared they might report me or something.</p>

<p>Sweetheart,</p>

<p>You are no longer in high school. Unless there were some really extunuating circumstances and your grade was miscalculated, no one is going through the paperwork process (including getting approval by their department chair) to change your grade. For all you know they may have already given you the benefit of the doubt and raised your grade to the ones that you already have!</p>

<p>You need to live with the grades that you have.</p>

<p>It will depend completely on the conditions of your scholarship. It sounds like the letter you got after your first semester was a warning that you should have heeded.</p>

<p>In most cases if the scholarship requires a certain GPA then you have to meet that GPA. They probably won’t round up. Is there any opportunity for redemption if you take a summer class and bring the GPA up? Or even if you bring it up after next semester? You should have the conditions of the scholarship in writing from when you accepted it, and all this information should be there.</p>

<p>Most teachers are not going to up your grade unless there was an error in the calculation of the grade. I don’t think you would get into trouble for it, but it most profs will not do it. (My daughter did once get a grade upped from a B to an A, but it was because the TA had made an error in data given to the prof. Even though the TA and the Prof acknowledged the error it took over 6 months for the grade to be corrected [and even then only after she went to the head of department with the copies of emails where the error was admitted and copies of her phone records showing her numerous fruitless phone calls to the prof]. And that was for a grade she should have received in the first place.)</p>

<p>Unfortunately it is quite common for students to lose scholarships after the first year. We knew 2 students that had the same scholarship my daughter has and lost it after the first year. Both really good students but did not meet the requirements that 1st year. We can finally let go of the breath we have been holding as she is going into her final year and has kept hers the whole time. But in all honesty it seems like a matter of timing - she had a very good freshman year and that gave her a good cushion for the next few years where her GPAs were not always as good. Starting off with that good GPA really helped protect her scholarship (if this year was her freshman year the scholarship would be gone).</p>

<p>Keep in mind also that many college have a minimum GPA to stay in your major. For my S1 it was also a 3.0 so there are always going to be thresholds as you both pass through college and enter the workforce. Sometimes a situation like this is a strong wake-up call. Best of luck and if you find yourself out of a scholarship and in need of a a Plan B because of college costs it will not hold “you” back…only “you” will hold you back.</p>

<p>Please just go directly to the scholarship office at your school and speak with someone! It is so easy to get correct information from someone who actually knows the policy.</p>

<p>I know a mom who was worried sick about her daughter’s grades and how she was going to lose her scholarship. She fretted about it, and tried to figure out how she could afford to keep her daughter in school there. Then she started planning what school her daughter could transfer to. A week later she called the school, and they said they would drop her down to the next lower down scholarship for one semester, and if her grades went up over the requirement they would raise the scholarship back up again. Then she wondered why she hadn’t just asked a week earlier!</p>

<p>Her daughter got the necessary GPA in all the following semesters. Best of luck to you.</p>