is this possible?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I've been a lurker on this site for an almost pathetically long time, and finally decided to join to ask about a problem I have.</p>

<p>I wanted to ask on here before I call my fin-aid advisor, to see if what I'm wondering is even possible/has happened to anyone else before. Most of you parents have been extremely helpful with other peoples' issues, so hopefully you can help me too.
So here goes:</p>

<p>** the backstory**
This fall, I'm 95 percent sure that I won't be continuing at the school I've been to for my first year of college. I've already been accepted at another school that I'm reluctantly transferring to, because I don't think I can afford my old school anymore (lets call that school "A", and my new school "B", because I don't want to say my schools' names). The thing is, the reason I won't be able to continue at A is because after the fall semester, I will most likely lose my scholarship after the probationary period. After not doing so well in my 1st/2nd semesters, if I dont get like a 3.7 in the fall (to bring up my gpa to an overall 3.0) I will lose my scholarship. And I don't think i will get that gpa; I can come close, but it seems like a fantasy to me to imagine actually getting a 3.7 in a tough semester. I can't pay the full cost in the spring without that scholarship (at school A, when you EVENTUALLY get your gpa back to the required spot, the scholarship is reinstated, but i cant aford the school during the period where my scholarship will be gone).</p>

<p><strong>finally gets to the point</strong>
I am wondering if it is possible to make a deal of some sort with financial aid....like If i get close to that 3.7 (maybe a 3.5) fall semester, they can agree to sponsor me with that scholarship in the spring, or some sort of grant of good faith (for lack of a better term). My gpa last sem was a 2.6, so if it jumps up an entire 1.0 point, would a school consider sponsoring a student still, even though they didnt exactly meet the scholarship requirement? Has this happened to anyone before? Am I making sense? I'm just trying to find out if this is feasable before I call my finaid person </p>

<p>I hope someone responds....
--most likely x-posted in another forum</p>

2

<p>I think you're putting the cart before the horse. My suggestion would be to make a list of the reasons why your gpa was a 2.6 before making some sort of a deal that you'll bring it up to a 3.5. That seems to be a huge jump to me..... and unless you've done some soul-searching on what went wrong, it seems to me that your fin aid officer won't be in a mood to haggle.</p>

<p>Go away and figure out the action steps you're going to take (study skills sessions? Tutoring? living in a single with fewer social distractions? work fewer hours in an off-campus job.... or whatever the problem was....) before you get on the phone....</p>

3

<p>"I'm just trying to find out if this is feasable before I call my finaid person"</p>

<p>I like to have these sorts of discussions face to face. You need the financial aid person to see how serious you are about succeeding at the school. JMHO.</p>

4

<p>Maybe you should consider going to work for a year. Maybe college has been too much fun and not enough work for you. It's no sin to be honest with yourself. </p>

<p>Knowing before you started that a certain GPA was required to maintain your scholarship and really not doing anything to keep it there, what makes you think you'll do better anywhere else? </p>

<p>I left school the first time and lost scholarships. I just wasn't into it to do what I knew I was supposed to. After about a year of work, I realized I needed to finish college, so I went back and continued to work. It took longer than four (six) but I did it. I just needed to do it my way. </p>

<p>Could that be you? Are you submarining yourself because you aren't ready yet to work hard at school?</p>