<p>S1's state u. will allow classes to be re-taken for replacement/forgiveness only for classes taken during freshman year.
I'm sure there is a limit but don't know how many are allowed to be retaken. In the case of retaking for scholarship requirments, it may or may not help. The gpa is reviewed in May of each year to see if the scholarship recipient is still eligible to receive it for the following year. If a poor grade was made in the spring semester dragging the gpa down, there would be no chance for a re-do before the scholarship review.</p>
<p>I hadn't seen anything about a GPA requirement for my merit scholarship, so I asked during the accepted student weekend. The answer? 1.75! You just need to remain in "good standing" as a student and not be on probation. I think I can handle that one!</p>
<p>It all depends on the school. It seems that some schools use freshman year scholarships to entice students, knowing that quite a few of the kids will not be able to maintain the minimum required GPA.</p>
<p>I like the schools that require "satisfactory progress" to maintain scholarships. It takes a lot of stress off the student and allows them to experiment with their courses. For example, WashU only requires "satisfactory progress" to maintain an award for all four years.</p>
<p>To maintain my President's scholarship at Ithaca College, I have to maintain a 3.0 GPA and make "satisfactory progress" toward my major, with my eligibility being reviewed at the end of each year.</p>
<p>I received a call from a staff member of my prospective department at Ithaca, and when I asked her if, in her experience, students frequently lost the Presidential scholarship, she responded with a very confident no.</p>
<p>I realize I've put myself in a touchy spot with accepting this school, because I absolutely cannot afford it without the scholarship. I hadn't really put a lot of serious thought into it, assuming that my major (Occupational Therapy) was not rigorous enough to cause me much concern.</p>
<p>^Generally, I think that if a student is good enough to be offered a merit scholarship, it stands to reason, with the occasional exception, that he or she is good enough to keep it.</p>
<p>"This 'stress factor' is a concern I have with some of these, especially when they use the same GPA cutoff for all majors. A 3.4 in engineering at many schools is very tough to keep even for the very bright kids (and at some schools almost all of the kids are bright) and is considerably more difficult than maintaining the same GPA in, for example, poliSci or history. On top of the stress factor and the likelihood of losing the scholarship, my other concern is that it might discourage the student from stretching themselves - i.e. taking normal chem to get an 'A' rather than honors chem where they're more likely to get a 'C', taking some other more rigorous courses because of GPA worries, staying away from tough major/minor combos, etc."</p>
<p>My son has mentioned this from time to time on awards based on GPA. The co-valedictorians at his school were both in soft areas. I think that it also makes it easier to get into and stay in honors programs.</p>
<p>Just to play "devil's advocate" here, though, doesn't it stand to reason that if a school is paying for all/most of someone's education, that they can expect a bit more than staying off academic probation? I mean, in my case, the scholarships are donor-funded (and we meet with our donors when possible), so I think there is a type of pressure/obligation to do well. One thing I do like about my school's renewal process (even though filling out those apps can be a pain!) is that it also takes into account things like faculty recs and EC's, though grades definitely have a lot more weight.</p>
<p>Oh, and I definitely agree with Curmudgeon about not having to dig yourself out of a GPA "hole"--I've had some friends who have had to do that, and it's not fun. Even trying to get my GPA to a highly competitive level for grad school has not been particularly easy, thanks a only decent second semester (3.75, 3.51, 3.61, 4.0 trend, aiming for a 3.7 or better cumulative if possible)</p>
<p>question_quest--</p>
<p>I see what you are saying, but how it washes out is another thing. The family member I mentioned above came in with like 30 hours AP credit, so started in taking sophomore and junior level courses and many engineering courses. A friend at the same school just retook the classes he could've gotten AP credit for, got a great GPA and had no problem keeping the scholarship. Two equally bright, star students, but one was rewarded for taking the easier path.</p>
<p>It is a problem when there are gpa requirements. My son lost his award when his gpa dipped below 3.0 for a year. If it is a big consideration, my recommendation is to take it easy with the courses at the beginning and proceed carefully. I have seen kids take loads at tech schools that were just overwhelming, and they would then be behind the 8 ball for their scholarships. Case Western and one of the Arizona state schools are two that come up a lot in this category.</p>
<p>DD is an engineering major...I know...her choice. Her GPA last term was 2.99 but I think her overall is still over 3.0. She is very worried about her small school grant (finaid wasn't sure that there was a GPA requirement for it...it is both need and merit based apparently). So keep your fingers crossed that she keeps the grant which initially finaid told her would remain the same for all four years.</p>
<p>The military service academies weed out many students for many reasons. You must receive a Congressional or Presidential Appointment (with the exception of Coast Guard) and complete Basic Training before classes start. All cadets must maintain academic, physical fitness, military knowledge and honor standards.<br>
My DS resigned after 10 months with a 1.58 GPA (He did not get to choose his first year classes). Placement testing was required on the first few days after the basic cadets arrived, regardless what you scored on AP exams. Approx. 1325 cadets reported with my DS. DS was one of the 30 cadets that validated out of Chemestry. Great!....WRONG....That freed up a spot in his schedule for a foreign language. He was told he had to take Arabic. With four years of Latin in HS, Arabic was the beginning of the end! He worked so hard not to fail Arabic, causing his other grades to suffer. Keep in mind, first year cadets have mandatory lights out and mandatory meals.<br>
DS came home broken hearted.<br>
Fast forward 13 months later.............. He has already completed four quarters at a very tough State Univ. with a 3.25 cum GPA. The first few months after DS returned home were very difficult. Time does heal fresh wounds. DS is a VERY HAPPY young man that LOVES the State University he attends.</p>
<p>Congrats to him for weathering that storm, momof3~. Resilience and perseverance in these tough situations are what life is all about. He has surely shown his mettle.</p>
<p>My son has a merit scholarship at Kalamazoo College. When we were considering schools, one thing that impressed us was that Kalamazoo has a low benchmark GPA for maintaing its merit awards. I believe it was in the range of 2.5 or 2.7. The College's reasoning is that it wants its students to take classes outside their comfort zone; they found that students with merit awards don't do so for fear of risking their scholarships.</p>
<p>I thought this was a very enlightened position. Fortunately, it doesn't appear it will be an issue for us.</p>
<p>My son APed out of enough courses that he could have graduated in three years if he had chosen any academic major rather than a BFA course of study. So even if he had lost his scholarship after the first year, in that scenario, he would have had only 2 years of full pay. Those who retake classes forgo the credit that goes with them.</p>
<p>We went through this recently as I had mentioned in an earlier thread. Very nerve-wracking, but with a successful second semester, D brought her GPA up to 3.07, with 3.0 being the minimum to maintain her merit award. Missed the Dean's List by .02 this term, but very happy to retain her award.</p>