My niece has been accepted to 2 colleges with merit scholarships. She has had some medical issues and missed quite a bit of school. Some questions:
-Should she call the admissions office and identify herself?
-Does she keep the scholarship if she defers for a year? Does she need to pay the deposit first and then let them know she will be deferring?
-The high school is trying to help her stay on track by changing some of her classes to pass/fail, tutoring, and so on, but it’s likely her grades will be affected. Will they rescind scholarships when they get her updated grades, even though she has documented medical reasons for missing school?
Advice appreciated.
She’s going to have to call the schools and explain her situation and ask what her options are. I know some schools won’t defer scholarships, while others will. We were surprised that one school my daughter turned down sent a letter saying that if she changed her mind and transferred for her sophomore year, the scholarship would still be available. You just never know unless you ask.
^ This.
And some schools don’t even allow deferrals; you must start everything over. Hope she has some options to defer and keep the same FA (after updating FAFSA and other docs)
At many schools, if she does not start fall after graduation, she will lose the merit scholarship. For need based aid as long as the family’s financials remain pretty consistent , she will have the same need based aid package.
@MyThreeKiddos: I would love to know which school offered your daughter the same scholarship in the event she later decided to transfer in.
And does any know what they are likely to do if her grades have fallen due to,the time missed from school? Will they rescind the offer?
@mom2collegekids or @MYOS1634 , any advice?
It really depends on the schoolbso she needs to call and say she’s ready to deposit but may have to defer a semester or a year due to medical reasons
If she has medical issues, could they offer reasonable accommodations in the form of ALL grades pass/fail, with only unexcused attendance counting toward the grade? This is ‘reasonable’ because it doesn’t cost the scholarship anything and it’s fair to a student who is sick. The alternative would be ‘sick/at home’ schooling, which would be much more costly.
@Publisher - It was Valparaiso. She loved the school and it was a serious contender until a senior year decision to major and minor in things they don’t offer.
MODERATOR’S NOTE:
For privacy reasons and other reasons, “Asking for a Friend” posts are not allowed. The only exception is a parent asking on behalf of the child. The niece or her parent is more than welcome to open an account and ask his/her own question. There’s enough advice to get her started. Closing thread.