<p>We explored how many kids lose/keep their merit awards at all the schools we were considering because the merit awards were attractive and the schools wouldn’t have been nearly as attractive or affordable w/o the merit awards. We did get some straight answers. At Santa Clara, they threatened to have our S withdraw if he missed 2 weeks in a quarter so we discarded that school (due to chronic health issues that are well-documented, he had missed at LEAST 2 weeks most quarters of HS but was still able to keep up; the college refused to be accommodating on attendance). I had read several threads of kids losing their scholarships at Az state schools but since S wasn’t that interested, we didn’t pursue it (would have vigorously questioned this if S was seriously considering these schools).</p>
<p>Annecdotally, we know many kids personally and from their HS who attended USC on merit awards and have never heard of any of them losing them due to grades, so we figured it wasn’t that difficult to keep them. To date, S hasn’t mentioned anyone losing their merit awards due to grades. The administration in engineering assured us that nearly all their students retain their merit awards all 4 years.</p>
<p>Everybody should try to maintain as high GPA as possible. College education makes little sense otherwise. They got to get a job and/or get accpted to Grad. school. Unless, they are all set up with ton of $$ and do not need to support thmeselves in a future.</p>
<p>“Everybody should try to maintain as high GPA as possible. College education makes little sense otherwise”</p>
<p>If maintaining as high a GPA as possible means avoiding stretching oneself or taking difficult classes then that’s a bad idea. When it comes to jobs and even grad and professional schools, there are things in addition to gpa that are important. As a person who helped make hiring decisions for a Fortune 500 company, I often saw people with sky high gpas passed over for applicants who had excellent skills and leadership/organizational experience that were gained through ECs and courses taken from demanding professors from whom the student did not earn “As”.</p>
<p>We have consistently encouraged and reminded our kids that we want them to embrace opportunities in college, including taking courses and trying things they wouldn’t otherwise. We’re pleased S is taking metalworking & rockclimbing in addition to his EE curriculum and D is fencing and exploring many of the ECs offered by her U.</p>
<p>The option to take courses P/NP is one that is also useful, allowing kids to explore w/o penalty. Some of the courses are only offered on that basis. A friend’s S is auditing upper division courses in finance while taking a chemical engineering major.</p>
<p>I also think a college GPA is starting for a 4.0 HS kid. My DD at a top public in a science major is grateful to be above 3.5, but never got less than an A in HS. And never got less than a B in university…a few A- points, a few B+ marks here and there really drag down the GPA.</p>
<p>I feel like my DD did a great job, B+/A in Ochem, and yet she has a ‘low’ GPA for med school apps :eek: It is unsettling and I am sure people attempting to maintain a GPA for merit money must feel the same!</p>
<p>DD has also used P/NP for classes taken for fun- like multivariable calc ;)</p>
<p>Northstarmom,
"If maintaining as high a GPA as possible means avoiding stretching oneself or taking difficult classes then that’s a bad idea. "</p>
<p>I meant that “other” part of life, like valuable EC’s and experiences are also being pursued. It is a must this days and kids are aware of it. There is no chance for low GPA, for example, to be accepted to Med. school - all applicants have EC’s, leadership and so on, they are aware of all reguirements (lower than 3.4 most likely will not have a chance with only about 43% acceptance out of applicants pool of very exceptional and driven people). I am not familiar with Law School, I imagine it is the same. And I mentioned many times my own experience of being asked my GPA after having MBA, 25 years of experience and 8 places of empoyment in the same profession and the same city with references easily available. I would have not gotten that position with low GPA, which is my current place of employment and the best out of 9 places.</p>
<p>My daughter would like to be above 3.5 in order to get jobs in finance. But it is hard as a math major, especially at her school. After two years, she is still doing fine, except for one art history course. It is a 300 level course and she didn’t take it as P/F. She got a C- and B on two tests, but think she may have done very well on the research paper. She got a C- on the first test because she didn’t know what the professor was looking for, not because she didn’t know the material. She is hoping for a B range final grade, but if not, it is still her favorite class so far. She felt she learned so much in that class, but it was hard to reference many historical events when it wasn’t her major. Her professor also got to like her quite a bit because of amount of work she’s put into it. I am proud of her for sticking it out.</p>
<p>It was tough semester for her because of low grade in art history she had added pressure of having to do a lot better in other classes to maintain her GPA. Glad the semester is over.</p>
<p>oldfort,
it is such a coincidence, my D is in the same predicament. She is Zoology major and her science classes are tough, but she is dealing with them and loves most of them anyway (maybe not Org. Chem.). However, she decided to have Music minor which includes lots of singing classes. Well, we have to see how she is done since she is in the same class with real musicians for whom these classes are their future “bread and butter”. In addition, D. ahs also decided to take an art class just because she has always been taking private art lessons and misses it somewhat in her “science” environment. Well, we have to see how she is done there also after final project has been exibited in school gallery. At least, she admitted this time that it was a bit more than she originally thought, which she has been warned about. I hope that her GPA will not be affected too much by these classes. Would be very sad to drop down from perfect 4.0 in pre-med because of Music and Art classes, which she happen to love but took mainly for R&R.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP, of course they should try to maintain a high GPA. That is not the point. I would wager that the majority of students who have earned some kind of merit scholarship are not the kind of students who will be (or are) doing the bare minimum in college. They have demonstrated that they are serious about their education and have been rewarded for their accomplishments. I think they should be given some slack. If they happen to be failing, it’s a different story. </p>
<p>My daughter is in engineering, which is not an easy major for most people. She works 15-20 hours a week. She studies hard. She rarely goes out because she either needs to study or work. Now she could lose her scholarship because she might not make a 3.2 by the end of the year. THAT makes little sense to me. :(</p>
<p>“My daughter is in engineering, which is not an easy major for most people. She works 15-20 hours a week. She studies hard. She rarely goes out because she either needs to study or work. Now she could lose her scholarship because she might not make a 3.2 by the end of the year. THAT makes little sense to me.”</p>
<p>Son is a second year engineering student who once thought he could maintain that 3.2 GPA in his sleep… First quarter he had a 3.17, numbers the like of he had never seen before. There ought to be a way to make this work for the “harder” majors, but I have no idea how that could work. By way of encouragement, son would say that the work doesn’t really get any easier, but that he has learned how to study more effectively and be aggressive about getting help when he needs it. The GPAs for the engineers (at least the ones in my family) tend to come up as the coursework progresses.</p>
<p>Wow! I’m stunned. My D has received a four-year merit scholarship from Oberlin. The minimum GPA to automatically renew is the same as that needed to graduate: 2.0! So, if she gets off to a horrendous start, which I don’t anticipate, she keeps her scholarship. She’d have to flunk out to lose it. I love that policy!</p>
<p>How do you beat that? </p>
<p>When I was a grad student at a flagship state U, I had a full tuition, room and board, monthly cash stipend fellowship. It was a competitive award that I applied for as part of my application for admission. In other words, the two years of grad school was cost free, and there was no minimum GPA other than the minimum needed to get my Master’s degree. </p>
<p>I don’t think I like the idea of a 2.75 or 3.00 or higher “minimum” GPA to renew each year just to get a Bachelor’s degree. That’s crazy. I like Oberlin’s policy. They offer merit scholarships to students they really want for four years, without stressing them out with minimum GPA nonsense.</p>
<p>We also thought a 3.2 would be no big deal to maintain. I guess I am thankful for the fact that she will not have to leave her school if she loses her scholarship since she is at a state university. (I’m trying that glass half full thing.) I can’t imagine the stress of those kids at expensive private schools. </p>
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<p>I think my daughter would agree with this. She has learned how to study more effectively and she has found study partners. The problem is, it is probably going to be too late to save the scholarship. :(</p>
<p>I think that the schools that aren’t known as party schools, and that also give very few merit scholarships, are more likely to have at most a “C” average that is required to maintain scholarships. I think that’s because their merit scholarship recipients are more likely to have selected the college for academics, not for partying or social opportunities.</p>
<p>My perspective comes from having taught at a second tier that had 3.0 or so requirements to maintain merit aid, and I also had an older S who got wonderful merit aid at a college that he’d selected based on the excellence of its sports teams. He had a great time partying and socializing, and ended freshman year (his only year in college) with an average of below 1.0.</p>
<p>Holy cow, thank you for this thread! Here’s yet another potential land mine that hadn’t even occurred to me! After I research the terms of D’s scholarship, and we will be having a serious discussion about this.</p>
<p>ETA: Cum 3.0 at the end of the 4th semester, plus one probationary semester. That seems reasonable; it gives her time to adjust to college on the front end, and a chance to redeem herself if necessary on the back end.</p>
<p>We walked into a merit scholarship with a minimum 3.3. The CC parents cautioned me on this particular university and that there would be no room for error with the school. (thank you!!)</p>
<p>The kid took the honors classes and some core requirements 1st semester. 2nd semester she jumped into German and few more honors classes. She is keenly aware that she must maintain the gpa requirement. 1st semester, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, she finished with 3.6xx. We called it a cushion. She got her grades for the 2nd semester, and ended up with a 4.0. More cushion.</p>
<p>She learned very quickly how to manage time and get the work done. She was also involved in several activities. We are pleased with her and she is pleased with herself.</p>
<p>The choice was always hers. She knew the consequences of falling below 3.3. She very much likes her school and made it work. A little (lot) of stress and knowledge can be a good thing.</p>
<p>I am happy that the merit aid that younger S got f requires him to keep a 3.0. He is a guy who graduated from high school with an unweighted 2.6 or so, and had underperformed in high school, due in part, to a laziness that he admitted even then.</p>
<p>He loves his college, and despite working 14 hours a week, taking 20 credits this semester, and doing time-intensive ECs including being in a play, he ended the semester with a 3.75, and has a 3.45 overall gpa. For him, the gpa requirement works. He can, and has been able to stretch himself in terms of exploring academics and ECs. He also has learned to be organized and to focus so that he attains an EC that allows him to keep his scholarship.</p>
<p>I’m glad that he didn’t get their top scholarship, which would have required a 3.5. That gpa requirement would have been too high for him to do the activities and academic exploration that he’s able to do now. He does, though, have friends who have that top scholarship and are able to do ECs and take a range of interesting courses, while maintaining their averages and staying sane and happy.</p>
<p>SportsMama,
"My daughter is in engineering, which is not an easy major for most people. She works 15-20 hours a week. She studies hard. She rarely goes out because she either needs to study or work. Now she could lose her scholarship because she might not make a 3.2 by the end of the year. THAT makes little sense to me. "</p>
<p>The answer to that is simple, your D is working way too many hours, while is in a hardest major, engineering is much harder than pre-med, that is a fact (I have been in engineering). My D. can afford working only about 4 hours / week. She knows that she absolutely have to maintain high GPA for being in Honors, having Merit scholarships, have a chance to enter Med. school (absolutely no chance for GPA=3.2), need to volunteer, shadow doctors, intern in Med Research (no pay).</p>
<p>DD is so glad that at Rice she can elect 4 p/f classes in non-major areas. The professor does not even know if the class is being taken p/f since only the registrar knows and translates the number grade when it comes in. You can even change your mind if you are doing well or poorly in one of the classes. She can comfortably take a few stretch classes and take them p/f to keep her scholarship gpa up if necessary. A nice system.</p>
<p>I agree that jobs during school year should be looked at very carefully, especially if a GPA-dependent scholarship is involved.
Even without the scholarship consideration, I feel that if I am paying 40+K/year for my kid’s education, I want the kid to get the maximum benefit from it. Sometimes having a job adds to educational experience (like tutoring, TAing, etc.), but often it does not. If the jobs gets in the way of academics, I think the situation needs to be reevaluated.</p>