<p>nngmm,
I am glad you mentioned “like tutoring”. That is exactly what my D does for Chem. prof while being on school’s payroll. She knows that this is not just a job, but her preparation for General Chemistry portion on MCAT. She also enjoys helping others to understand material.</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.” - Northstarmom</p>
<p>I didn’t think of that at all. I’m sorry to hear that some kids with merit scholarships show up and fold. They deserve to lose their scholarships. But after talking with financial aid officers at other colleges, schools my daughter turned down, I was shocked when she received a merit scholarship from Oberlin with no minimum GPA required. We were told even if we win the lottery and her college GPA is 2.00, she would keep her scholarship. That’s pretty sweet!</p>
<p>I don’t mean anything personal by this question, but how did your younger son get a merit scholarship with a 2.6 HS GPA? That seems extraordinarily lucky.</p>
<p>S had scores in the 99th percentile, extremely rigorous academics, had won a county award for an exceptional EC related to community service that he really had done, and that was done out of genuine interest, and had been an Americorps Volunteer, doing some very impressive things with community service and leadership. The college loves students who love community service. The college is a LAC, too, which makes it an advantage to be male. </p>
<p>During his interview, S did not ask questions like, “Where can I get a fake ID”, which I learned later from one of his student interviewers, some applicants really did ask! S expressed concern about the campus’s rep as a party school, and he traded stories about community service projects – sharing information because he really does like stuff like that.</p>
<p>Apparently on the committee was an administrator who has an excellent rep for being able to spot underperforming guys who will blossom at the college, and he certainly was right with S, who (since his parents were refusing to provide money for the first year until S proved he had shed his lazy academic ways) would not have been able to go there without merit aid. S loves the college and is very grateful for the merit aid, and i working hard to keep it. </p>
<p>S had gone to the scholarship interview by himself, so I learned all of the above during orientation when I met a couple of the people who had interviewed him. All S had told me about the interview was that he had met a recent graduate who was really into community service, and they’d had a great conversation.</p>
<p>Back to the OP for a bit…</p>
<p>Here’s my “favorite” situation: The student who contacts me AFTER grades are in, tells me he/she needs X GPA to keep their scholarship, play a sport, stay in school, whatever; and then asks me if there is anything he/she can do for “extra credit.” My response is always very measured, and I invariably say that it wouldn’t be fair to the other students. But here’s what part of me is thinking: Right! I’m, going to put together an extra assignment for you and then spend time grading it, when you didn’t put in the time during the semester. I don’t think so!</p>
<p>I always try to be sensitive to students who are dealing with a tough situation; and I’m usually inclined to say YES to a make-up, even though I suspect that sometimes I’m being played. But I’d rather err in the direction of being supportive. Sometimes this gets very tricky. I once had a student who was sick for a very long time and missed HALF the classes in a course where attendance counted. This put me in a tough spot because I couldn’t just ignore the fact that they missed half the classes! It had a pretty serious impact on the grade I gave them. I suspect others may handle situations like that differently.</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=cadbury]
I’m usually inclined to say YES to a make-up, even though I suspect that sometimes I’m being played.
[/quote]
I had a college student who did everything he could to “play” the faculty. Lied his way into an independent-study scenario with me, then blew off the assignments until I called him out on it (after that, he did quite well). The topper, though, comes from a different prof’s experience with him. Apparently the student disappeared for a number of weeks, missed some hefty deadlines, then phoned to say he’d been in a car accident and was in the hospital. Was asked to bring in his paperwork, which for some reason he couldn’t produce. Instead, he showed up on campus with a bandage on his head. As he sat in the prof’s office discussing make-up work, the bandage unraveled; it was fake, as was his story.</p>
<p>He was on the “7-year plan.” Every semester, his mom (who didn’t have a FERPA waiver on file) would call the department and demand to know why he hadn’t graduated yet. The staff couldn’t tell her anything. God knows what he was telling her. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>There was a student at the college where I used to teach who started gaining weight around the middle and claimed that she had an abdominal tumor. The faculty thought she was pregnant, but she (a theater student) insisted that she had a tumor. The student dropped out of school – for a couple of years, and when she returned, came with a toddler, and – in front of lots of people – told one of her former classmates that he was the father. </p>
<p>The drama in drama departments!</p>
<p>Northstarmom I guess you just added to my list of reasons why holistic admissions is a good thing and why everything about colleges and universities should not be stats driven!
To add to the original OPs comments/question: My son’s school requires a 3.0 to keep the merit award. He did, but would not have made a 3.5 his freshman year. Finishing up his sophomore year he did reach the 3.5. His school will “return” the award when the student reaches the threshold. On example, if a freshman finished up at 2.8 that person would loose the scholarship but it would be reviewed at the end of sophomore year and returned junior year if the student reached the 3.0 threshold. I felt that 3.0 was reasonable but I would have been quite nervous if it was 3.5.</p>